Kownacki: A Couple Years Ago, People Laughed At Me; Nobody Took Me Serious

NEW YORK – Adam Kownacki notices people treating him different these days.

The popular Polish heavyweight contender understands that the newfound respect he commands come with success. Honestly, though, it makes him a little uncomfortable entering his fight against Robert Helenius on Saturday night at Barclays Center in Brooklyn.

The Brooklyn native hasn’t forgotten that just three years ago the consensus seemed to be that, for all his admirable determination and toughness, he wouldn’t amount to much in the heavyweight division.

“It’s changing and you feel it,” Kownacki told BoxingScene.com before a press conference Thursday at The Tillary Hotel in Brooklyn. “I kind of look at it like, ‘Yo, a couple years ago you guys were laughing at me, and nobody took me serious.’ Now it’s like, ‘Hey Adam, how are you?’ I’m like, ‘Guys, stop. I’m still the same guy. I’m still saying a joke here and there. I haven’t changed.’ But it’s more pressure. It’s good, though. Hopefully, I’ll shine under the bright lights and I’ll give the fans a good fight.”

Kownacki completely changed the direction of his career when he blew out fellow Pole Artur Szpilka, an established contender who was favored to win their July 2017 bout in Uniondale, New York. Since that fourth-round stoppage of Szpilka, the 6-feet-3, 260-pound Kownacki’s relentless pressure, iron chin and hard right hand have helped him knock out Iago Kiladze and Gerald Washington and out-point former IBF champion Charles Martin and Chris Arreola in a pair of fan-friendly slugfests.

The 30-year-old Kownacki (20-0, 15 KOs) is ranked in the top five by the IBF, WBA and WBO. If he continues winning, Kownacki could fight for a heavyweight title at some point within the next year.

Deontay Wilder’s loss to Tyson Fury in their rematch February 22 definitely delayed Kownacki’s title shot. Al Haymon’s plan was for him to challenge Wilder for the WBC title in a fight everyone involved thought would’ve sold out Barclays Center in Kownacki’s home borough.

Regardless, Kownacki is developing into one of the biggest draws among American boxers. Many of the loud, proud Polish fight fans that packed arenas for former heavyweight contenders Andrew Golota and Tomasz Adamek are similarly fond of the humble, likeable Kownacki.

An announced crowd of 8,790 attended Kownacki’s 12-round, unanimous-decision victory over Arreola on August 3. That marked the first time Kownacki has headlined at Barclays Center, where nine of his past 11 fights have taken place.

Organizers of Saturday’s card think this crowd could exceed 10,000, without comps.

“It blows my mind,” Kownacki said. “Growing up in Brooklyn and dreaming of being in the main event, it’s amazing. I used to go to all the Tomasz Adamek fights when he fought [at Prudential Center] in Newark. It’s the same way people are coming to support me right now. It’s truly a great feeling to be in this position. But I’ve just gotta continue winning because even though it’s great, as great as this is, one fight goes wrong and it all ends. So, I have that in the back of my head, that I can’t let that happen. I can’t slip up.”

Kownacki consistently is listed by Internet sports books as at least a 25-1 favorite to defeat Finland’s Helenius (29-3, 18 KOs). Washington, whom Kownacki annihilated in January 2019 at Barclays Center, knocked out Helenius in the eighth round of a fight Helenius was winning on two scorecards seven months ago in Minneapolis.

“He was winning the early rounds,” Kownacki said. “He caught Washington with some good shots and hurt him a couple times. But Gerald Washington just stuck with it, caught him with a good right hand and knocked him out.”

The lopsided odds on a fight FOX will televise as the main event of a three-bout broadcast make Kownacki realize just how far he has come during the past 2½ years.

“It’s funny because most of my career I was the underdog,” Kownacki said. “I was the guy that everybody was waiting for to lose. I was the white, pudgy kid they would say, ‘He’s definitely losing.’ But I proved everybody wrong. Now the secret’s out the bag, and it’s the other way around, where I’m coming out as the favorite. I’m thinking right now these guys have the anxiety I had back then, where they’re the underdogs, nobody believes in them and they’re trying to prove everybody wrong. So, I’m definitely taking them more serious. It was a lesson learned from the Chris Arreola fight. I was a huge favorite, but Arreola came in and gave me a good fight.

“These fights are really tough. On paper, they look like I should be winning them. But the extra motivation that these guys come in with is great for them. Chris Arreola said if he loses, he would retire. With Robert Helenius, this is his second go-around, his second chance to make it big in America, which every fighter wants to do. If you make it big in America, you make it big in boxing. So, it’s his second chance and he can erase his loss to Gerald Washington by beating me. So, I can’t let that happen. That’s the mindset I’ve had for this whole camp, just making sure I blow him out, that I look spectacular and put me at the top of the heavyweight division.”

The 6-feet-6, 235-pound Helenius was touted as a future heavyweight champion 10 years ago. A tougher-than-expected, 12-round, split-decision win against Dereck Chisora in December 2011 and a two-year layoff caused primarily by injuries preceded a surprising, sixth-round knockout defeat to France’s Johann Duhaupas that derailed Helenius’ career in April 2016.

Subsequent setbacks against Dillian Whyte, who won a 12-round unanimous decision over him in October 2017, and Washington have made this perhaps the 36-year-old Helenius’ last chance to thrust himself into title contention.

“I was watching him when he was coming up,” Kownacki said. “He beat Dereck Chisora, who’s a pressure fighter like myself. But then he fell off. He got knocked out by the French guy [Duhaupas]. But Dillian Whyte couldn’t knock him out. He fought 12 rounds with Dillian Whyte. He’s fought a lot of tough guys. He definitely has good skills. He definitely has the experience.

“It will be a fight, so I’m definitely not overlooking him. At the same time, though, I know that the heavyweight division is wide open, especially here in America. I’m an American fighter. I was raised here. So, I know Americans need a guy to cheer on. Making a statement on Saturday will make me that guy.”

Keith Idec is a senior writer/columnist for BoxingScene.com. He can be reached on Twitter @Idecboxing.