By Cliff Rold
There’s something honorable about a fighter who can seen to know he can’t win, still taking big shots, begging his legs not to allow him to hit the floor. Challenger and former two-division titlist Tomasz Adamek (44-2, 28 KO) appeared to figure out early on that he could not win.
He still engaged, still looked for the occasional shot that might change his fate, and took his beating like a champion. It was pretty much what was expected in most quarters and that was okay. At the end of the contest, folks knew they’d seen an honest fight with an honest result.
No one could feel like they had not received what was advertised. And now, at age 40, one wonders what Vitali Klitschko (43-2, 40 KO) has left.
Let’s go to the report card and think about it.
Grades
Pre-Fight: Speed – Klitschko B; Adamek B+/Post: B; B
Pre-Fight: Power – Klitschko B+; Adamek C+/Post: Same
Pre-Fight: Defense – Klitschko B+; Adamek B-/Post: Same
Pre-Fight: Intangibles – Klitschko A; Adamek A/Post: Same
As the post-fight recap made clear, there really wasn’t much to the fight itself. It was the sort of steady, sustained, controlled beating that has been the norm since Vitali Klitschko came out of retirement in 2008. Adamek, in this scribe’s opinion, was the best opponent he’s faced in the run.
Adamek may well be the best fighter the elder Klitschko has ever defeated.
And he did it just as easy as every other fight since 2008. Has he even lost a round since returning to school Samuel Peter for the WBC belt? The recollection of one is hard to come by.
The big question now is what comes next. For Adamek, the answer could be hazy. He will remain a heavy draw in his native Poland and in the American Northeast, but the Klitschko business must be done. Stylistically, he had a sliver of hope against Vitali. The straighter punching, bigger punching, Wladimir would do bad things to Adamek. WBA Heavyweight paper titlist Alexander Povetkin is out there but Adamek might be too live for the tastes of Team Povetkin. After a few years at Heavyweight, dropping back to Cruiserweight is probably out of the question.
The future is hazy for Adamek.
The same cannot be said for Vitali Klitschko. Following Saturday’s victory, he apparently called out one David Haye (25-2, 23 KO) and, monetarily, it’s a no-brainer. Haye is the biggest payday, and biggest fight, as the same folks who tuned in for the dud that was Haye-Wladimir would love nothing more than to see Haye faced with the perceived nastier of the sibling set.
Would it be a good fight? The dollars might make that question irrelevant. As a WBC beltholder, Klitschko also has mandatory obligations and that could mean big punching Bermane Stiverne (21-1-1, 20 KO). Stiverne struggled at times with sluggish Ray Austin in a WBC eliminator earlier this year but has legitimate one-shot power. This being Heavyweight, there could be intrigue there.
Stiverne’s team would certainly love to see it. A member of Stiverne's team e-mailed after Klitschko-Adamek to make a case for Stiverne getting his crack before a Haye contest come to fruition.
According to the WBC website, Stiverne still lingers behind Alexander Dimitrenko (31-1, 21 KO) and Chris Arreola (33-2, 28 KO) in the ratings but his win in the eliminator could make the paper ratings mute. Further clarification will be sought on the issue.
Arreola already had a crack at Vitali and there’s no reason to want to see that again, at least right now. Dimitrenko has Klitschko-like size but questions exist about his chin and ability at the world-class level.
Of the three WBC hopefuls, Stiverne might ultimately be the most interesting but it usually doesn’t makes sense to risk a less known puncher before a payday. A betting man wagering to see Haye-Vitali Klitschko sometime in the next six-twelve months might not be too far off a proposition.
Report Card Picks 2011: 29-11
Ratings Update
Heavyweight: Adamek took a worse beating but, ultimately, was even less competitive than David Haye was against Vitali’s little brother. Adamek slips below Haye with Helenius and Alexander Povetkin rising a slot each as well.
Jr. Lightweight: Juan Carlos Salgado picks up his second alphabet title at 130 lbs. and gets a bump of a couple slots.
Featherweight: Both Yuriorkis Gamboa and Daniel Ponce De Leon remain as they were after an awkward contest.
These results and more are reflected a page away.
Cliff Rold is a member of the Ring Magazine Ratings Advisory Panel, the Yahoo Pound for Pound voting panel, and the Boxing Writers Association of America. He can be reached at roldboxing@hotmail.com
