Adamek’s uncomfortable place in the heavyweight division
Kudos must be given to Kathy Duva and Main Events. The promotional company, which represents the talents of no less than Joel Julio, Zab Judah and Tomasz Adamek, knows how to manage a fighter. Unlike other promotional companies, they don’t seem to be bent out of shape waiting for large broadcast companies to dictate schedules to them so that they can beg for televised fights. Instead they don’t mind throwing their guys into hometown venues where smaller niche markets will tune in—see Intersports for instance—since the main thing is to keep their fighters active and enhance their career prospects anyway (as oppose to, say, making everyone a million dollars right away).
For a perfect example of good promoting, see Tomasz Adamek. He has taken on stiff competition within all the divisions he has participated, and has averaged three fights a year for the last four years, despite being a ranked number four in the heavyweight division (top-ranked fighters often fight less). Compare that to a guy like Floyd Mayweather. He’s fought once this year, had one fight in 2009, no fights in 2008, and two fights in 2007. Sure, he’s at the top of the division, and the money stakes are higher. But with Adamek there is a legitimate argument to be made that he still wants to fight, for the sake of winning titles and advancing, whereas as everyone knows that’s debatable with Mayweather.
But with Adamek there can be no question: he’s out to dominate the heavyweight division. Since moving up and fighting Andrew Golota in 2009 for the IBF International heavyweight title, him and Duva have done everything they ought to in order to give him a title opportunity against one of the Klitschkos. In less than a year he’s fought no less than four times, against top-notch competition (Jason Estrada, Chris Arreola), and has shown he can beat these guys, albeit, maybe without some of the flare of former fights.
Just last weekend Adamek took on the giant Michael Grant, clone of the Klitschko's, at least size-wise, and won a twelve-round decision, indicating he is ready for a title opportunity. Other contenders in the heavyweight division, guys like Shannon Briggs, Samuel Peter and David Haye, should be ashamed of themselves for getting valuable title-ops given their lack of action. What have they done to deserve fighting the Klitschkos aside from being bigger guys than Adamek with a more steady ‘heavyweight’ status?
Adamek’s ascent is graceful. But since becoming a heavyweight, his fights haven’t been. This gets at the problem within the heavyweight division, something Duva no doubt must have considered. After four fights, it’s clear that while Adamek is a good heavyweight fighter, he’s no heavyweight champion.
In his last three fights, against bigger guys, Adamek has defeated them technically but shown he can’t knock these guys out. He doesn’t have the power. People expected him to annihilate Grant, but it should come as no surprise that he didn’t. In terms of talent and weight, Adamek isn’t a legitimate heavyweight, and part of the reason he is in the division is just because it’s so lacking and at least seems more profitable than the woeful cruiserweights.
What will happen with Adamek in the heavyweights? That’s Duva’s big question. She can save him up for the Klitschkos, and no doubt he’ll get his chance. But it’s doubtful he’ll win. If Grant can rock him when he wants to, the Klitschkos will take him out easily. What then? Start again? A good prospective fight might be fought in Haye, but even then one suspects Adamek will run into a lot of trouble. Either way, Adamek deserves all the credit for trying.
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