By Jake Donovan
It wasn't even 18 months ago when Tomasz Adamek was still being regarded as among the best light heavyweights in the world. It was before he ran into Chad Dawson and suffered his first loss, and before he even hinted at the possibility of competing in the cruiserweight ranks.
But with the loss came his gain – in weight and in status. Three straight wins at cruiserweight couldn't have come at a better time, nor could his willingness to further enhance his profile in America. With linear champion David Haye in pursuit of heavyweight dollars and glory, the top spot is up for grabs – though not very long, if Tomasz Adamek gets his way.
"Cruiserweight is a strong division right now," says Adamek, through translator and manager Ziggy Rozalski. "It will be even stronger with me on top very soon."
Before he can zoom to the very top of the mountain, the 31-year old Polish southpaw has to take care of business this Friday. A 10-round stay busy fight against durable journeyman Gary Gomez is on tap for the main event of this week's edition of ESPN2's Friday Night Fights (Friday, Chicago, IL, 9PM ET/8PM local time).
A win over Gomez will pave the way for a mandatory title shot against cruiserweight titlist Steve Cunningham in the fall, but don't expect a simulation of the fight this weekend. Cunningham is a lean, chiseled well-schooled boxer with respectable power.
Gomez…isn't.
Aptly nicknamed "Pit Bull", what Gomez brings to the table is the potential to give Adamek some rounds and fits, while further increasing Adamek's exposure in America.
"Gomez is a short stocky guy, and walks right in, a lot like Adamek," says Hall-of-Fame promoter J. Russell Peltz, the current boxing consultant for Main Events, who along with 8-Count Productions host this weekend's fight card. "It's the type of fight that the fans will love, and help arouse more interest in Adamek and the cruiserweight division. It would be nice to get cruiserweight action in the States."
Adamek is doing his part to bring it to this side of the world, having recently relocated to Jersey City, New Jersey. For this fight, he returns to the heavily Polish-populated Chicago, which played host to his stateside debut three years ago. It was the night he captured his first major title and put himself on the boxing map, but not before being taken to hell and back by light heavyweight rival Paul Briggs in a 12-round instant classic.
The main event was a disappointment for predominantly Polish crowd on hand that evening, when Andrew Golota was blitzed by Lamon Brewster in less than a minute. At the very least, Adamek did his part to ensure that the crowd of 20,000 or so didn't go home empty-handed.
All that was missing from the fight was national exposure for Adamek. HBO was on hand that evening, but only for the Brewster-Golota main event. Fortunately, they knew better than to pass on the rematch, which came 17 months later across town in Rosemont, IL.
Televised airtime and a new venue were the only differences in the fight. The two once again waged all-out war, and Adamek once again escaped with a majority decision, this time climbing off the canvas to do so.
The repeat win over Briggs would be the last time he would leave the ring as a champion or as an undefeated fighter. Chad Dawson put an end to both in their February 2007 bout in Florida on Showtime, but not before Adamek managed to give him a scare.
Way down after nine rounds and urged by trainer Buddy McGirt to go for broke, Adamek did just that. The end result was a 10th round knockdown., though Dawson recovered well enough to cross the finish line and take a well-earned unanimous decision.
It was the last time Adamek fought in America, or as a light heavyweight, both of which seem so long ago to him.
"I had a lot of trouble making the light heavyweight limit," says Adamek, who hasn't weighed less than 197 for any of his three subsequent bouts. "I'm now at my natural weight at cruiserweight; I feel great."
He's also looked great in each of his three bouts since suffering the lone loss of his career. His cruiserweight debut came four months after the Dawson fight, sharing a card in his native Poland with countryman Andrew Golota, who returned to the ring for the first time since the Brewster debacle. Oddly enough, it was on the same evening that Dawson would make the first defense of the light heavyweight title Adamek once owned.
All three emerged victorious that evening. Dawson won a 4th round knockout on Showtime, while wins by Adamek and Golota were picked up live on Madison Square Garden network via live overseas satellite feed. But it was Adamek's win, a 7th round stoppage of former title challenger Luis Pineda that left the greatest impression on the boxing industry.
The curiosity going in was how well he'd be able to wear the cruiserweight uniform. Seven rounds later, it looked as if he'd been there all along.
If fans weren't yet convinced that he was a major player in the division, they would be this past April, after his systematic beatdown of former linear cruiserweight champion O'Neil Bell.
With Main Events having signed Adamek to a promotional contract early in the year, a deal was able to be struck where his fight with Bell would air live from Poland on ESPN Classic. The bout was only a classic in the sense that Adamek delivered one of the year's most dominant performances for a fight of that magnitude, which he attributes to a training camp like no other in preparing for the fight.
"We took Bell very seriously," insists Adamek. "I trained hard for the Bell fight; we trained for twelve weeks for that fight, expecting the toughest fight of my career."
What instead came about was perhaps his brightest moment in nine years as a pro. Adamek scored an opening round knockdown and thoroughly outboxed the Jamaican before forcing him to quit on his stool after seven rounds.
The win earned Adamek the right to next challenge Steve Cunningham, with the bout ordered to take place no later than September 29. When or where the fight lands is anybody's guess, though early speculation suggests it takes place in Poland or elsewhere in Europe.
"All we know for sure is it will take place before the end of the year," says Russell Peltz. "It'll obviously come down to whoever puts up the most money, and that's usually overseas."
Adamek is a huge draw in his homeland, and Cunningham's one of the few fighters today who truly puts the "world" in world champion: each of his last three bouts have taken place in Europe, including two in Poland against Krzysztof Wlodarczyk. Financially, it would make the most sense, though in a rare switch, Adamek would like to be the one who allows Cunningham to fight much closer to home than has been the case in the past couple of years.
"I want to keep fighting in America," insists Adamek. "Ever since I beat Bell, I've been getting ready for the big fight with Cunningham. I moved to America because I want to prove myself to the fans out here.
"I'd love to fight in New York City one day or even my new hometown of Jersey City."
Either location would be ideal for Cunningham, born and raised in Philadelphia. Though he would enter the ring with the hardware, one disadvantage facing him is coming into such a fight on upwards of a nine-month layoff, which makes this Friday's tune-up that much more important for Adamek.
"Practice makes perfect," he quips. "I want to fight on ESPN so all of my fans can see how good I am. It's not for money – and if you saw my paycheck for this fight, you'd believe me.
"I took this fight for the opportunity to show my American fans that I love to fight for them."
Jake Donovan is a member of the Boxing Writers Association of America and the Tennessee Boxing Advisory Board. Comments/questions can be submitted to JakeNDaBox@gmail.com.
