By Lance Pugmire, Los Angeles Times
The long-stagnant heavyweight division sprang to life Saturday as Riverside's Cris Arreola and Poland's Tomasz Adamek engaged in a compelling battle of slugging versus boxing, with the lighter Adamek edging out a majority decision.
Adamek was awarded a 115-113 advantage by judge Barry Druxman, a 117-111 score by Joseph Pasquale and judge Tony Crebs scored the bout 114-114.
Adamek (41-1) delivered a swollen face with his precision blows on Arreola's head, even as the Southern Californian's relentlessness and brawn proved impressive in the entertaining clash in front of 6,256 at Citizens Business Bank Arena in Ontario.
Arreola (28-2) hurt Adamek in the rounds he won, stunning the former two-division champion with an uppercut in the 10th, and twice in the fifth round, backing up the Pole with a hard left and right.
In the end, Arreola said he agreed with the decision, applauding as the final score was read.
"I had him in the fifth round," Arreola said. "I hurt my left hand in the fifth, but I kept going, but it hurt real bad. He has a hard head."
Arreola also said he endured some head butts and joked he "feels like … Shrek now."
Adamek's superior boxing ability allowed him to connect on 70 more punches than Arreola, snapping a scoring left to the face and consecutive combinations in the first and repeating the effort often through exchanges that elicited roars from a crowd thrilled not to be subjected to another one-sided Klitschko-involved bout.
"This was the toughest fight I've ever had," Adamek said in his third bout as a heavyweight after previously winning world light-heavyweight and cruiserweight belts. "This is why I feel I can be world champion."
Adamek dedicated the bout to his country's president and 95 others who perished in an airline crash this month.
Arreola consistently fought like he knew he could take the other guy's best punch, charging ahead in the second and hitting Adamek in the head with some big punches.
Adamek withstood the 33-pound weigh-in disadvantage by landing quick combinations, ducking out immediately afterward as Arreola charged forward in the third.
Adamek was showing pride in taking Arreola's punches until the fifth, when Arreola flung a left that sent Adamek reeling backward and clearly left him on guard. A big right by Arreola again backed up Adamek, but the ex-champ rallied by the bell with a good combination.
The scoring deserved questions. Judge Pasquale surprisingly differed with his peers in the sixth and 10th and Druxman surprisingly gave Adamek the first five rounds. Most ringside reporters had the fight scored as a draw, or a narrow margin either way.
The crowd booed Adamek before the sixth when he took an extended break to adjust his left shoe after being battered.
Arreola, vowing a renewed focus on fitness would help him better chase down Adamek, fulfilled his promise and forced the action, even if Adamek would meet him with scoring combinations at times. Arreola's faith in his chin was on display, and he even took to dancing a bit at the height of his success in the 11th.
In the co-main event, Coachella's Alfredo Angulo produced a superb effort in a tough WBO interim junior-middleweight fight against Colombia's Joel Julio, dropping Julio with a straight right he leaned into in the 11th round for a technical knockout triumph. Julio's right jaw and nose were belted by the blow, and when he struggled to get up, referee Raul Caiz Sr. stopped the bout at the 1:39 mark.
The three judges each had Angulo (18-1, 15 knockouts) ahead on their scorecards at the stoppage, although Angulo said afterward he thought he was trailing, and Julio said he believed he was winning.
"I made a mistake and I paid for it, but I was going to get up," Julio (35-4) said. "It was only one more round.
"They stopped the fight because this was [Angulo's] backyard."
Angulo disagreed: "If the referee let him continue, it'd be the same result."
Angulo started as the aggressor, sticking Julio with jabs, and delivering a hard combination and tough hook that backed up the Colombian. Angulo showed little bother to a nice combination by Julio in the second, backing him up again with a straight right.
Julio scored more in the third, and the fourth had moments of a slugfest, as each delivered one of their finest rights. Julio was showing more swagger, smiling at the bell after a scoring left.
Angulo's right eye started swelling in the fifth, and Julio landed a stinging left, but Angulo's determination remained strong.
The fight appeared dead even after six, as Angulo belted Julio on the ropes, flinched through a sensational exchange of combinations, then ended the round with two hard blows to Julio's body and two more to the head.
The pair swapped rounds again in the seventh and eighth, but Angulo's power edge defined the action, as he rocked Julio early in the eighth.
Julio sustained a cut over his right eye in the ninth, and started to look less energized after a nice left by Angulo and more scoring combinations. Julio's fresher 10th was muted by the deciding blow.
Earlier, Covina lightweight John Molina knocked out Mexico's Jose Antonio Izquierdo in the second round to improve to 20-1 with 16 KOs, saying "the internship is over, now I want to get to the top."
lance.pugmire@latimes.com
Copyright © 2010, The Los Angeles Times
Source: latimes.com
Tampilkan postingan dengan label Chris Arreola. Tampilkan semua postingan
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Minggu, 25 April 2010
Sabtu, 24 April 2010
Tomasz Adamek Out-Boxes Chris Arreola For Majority Decision -- FanHouse
By Lem Satterfield, FanHouse
Polish-born former light heavyweight (175 pounds) and cruiserweight (200 pounds) champion, Tomasz Adamek, of Jersey City, earned his 10th consecutive victory, and only his third as a heavyweight by majority decision in defense of his IBF International crown against Chris Arreola in Saturday night's HBO-televised main event at Citizen's Business Bank Arena in Ontario, Calif.
The 33-year-old, 6-foot-2, Adamek improved to 41-1, with 27 KOs against the 6-4, 29-year-old Arreola (28-2, 25 KOs), of Riverside, Calif, who represented Adamek's most difficult challenge to date.
Joe Pasquale and Barry Druxman had it for Adamek, 117-111, and, 115-113, while judge Tony Crebs had it even at 114-114.
FanHouse had it for Adamek, 116-112.
"It was a tough fight. Chris Arreola prepared very good. He had good conditioning, but I was smarter, and I was faster, and that's how I won," said Adamek, who was out-weighed, 217-to-250, by Arreola, a man who tipped the scales at a career-high, 263-pounds for his last bout. "I was never hurt. I'm too quick. I have a tough chin."
Adamek had dedicated Saturday's bout to the 96 passengers and crew who died in last Saturday's plane crash in Russia near Smolensk, including Polish President, Lech Kaczynski, and several political, military and religious leaders.
Arreola was coming off of December's fourth-round knockout of Brian Minto (34-3, 21 KOs), whom he stopped for the first time in the latter's career. In September, Arreola, himself, was KO'd in the 10th-round by WBC champion, Vitali Klitschko (39-2, 37 KOs).
Arreola was gracious in defeat, agreeing that the judges scored the fight correctly.
"First of all, I want to thank all of the Polish fans who came out to see the fight. You guys are great fans, and you have a great fighter in Tomasz Adamek," said Arreola. "And all of my Mexican fans, you have to give it up for Tomasz Adamek. He's a great [fighter.] But I came out and I blew my opportunity."
Adamek suffered his only loss in February 2007, when he was dethroned as WBC light heavyweight (175 pounds) champion by Chad Dawson.
"I didn't plan for this guy to beat my a**, but he beat me, man, he beat me," said Arreola. "He did what he wanted to do in the ring, and you know, everybody's got to be proud of him, and my hat's off to him."
Arreola said that he fought with an injured leftt hand in the fifth round, but fought on. He showed no signs of pain, however, until the 10th round, when his straight right hand landed on the crown of Adamek's head.
"It started earlier in the fifth round, but I kept going and going. But then, finally, in the 10th round, I hurt it really bad," said Arreola. "But in all honesty, man, he was the better fighter tonight, and he fought his gameplan to perfection."
Adamek debuted in boxing's largest division with October's fifth-round knockout of former world heavyweight title contender, Andrew Golota (41-8-1, 33 KOs), whom Adamek dropped in the first, and, fifth rounds, despite being out-weighed, 214-to-256.
"My dream is to win a championship in a third weight category, and I know that I will," said Adamek, who was a career-high 220 for his last fight, a Feb. 6, 12-round, unanimous decision over over former U.S. Olympian, Jason Estrada.
"My boss will enter into negotiations for a title fight, so, tomorrow, I'll think about that. But tonight, I won," said Adamek, who was out-weighed, 237-to-220.5, by Estrada. "I'm happy. And I want to thank all of the people who came to watch my fight. Thank you to everybody."
Adamek's 10-bout run includes six knockouts.
Arreola vs. Adamek
Round 1: The 6-foot-2 Adamek weighed in at 217 pounds -- 33 pounds less than the 250-pound, 6-4 Arreola. Adamek comes forward, jabbing lightly to the body. Arreola reaches with a jab and lands. Adamek tags Arreola twice to the body. Arreola backs up, which is not what he should be doing. Arreola reaches and misses with a right. Adamek clinches. Adamek jabs to the body. Tentative round by both fighters. Arreola misses with a right. Arreola fires three times to the body. Arreola moves in behind his jab. Adamek lands a right as does Arreola. A left lifts Adamek. Adamek jabs nicely. Adamek closes with a nice combination. Adamek's round, 10-9.
Round 2: Arreola still gives ground as Adamek paws with his jab. Arreola steps forward with his jab but they fall short. A left hook counters Adamek, and they trade right hands. Adamek's speed is apparent. Arreola tries and misses an overhand right over the jab. Arreola lands a nice right to the head, but Adamek comes back with his own. Adamek doubles on the jab. A nice, long right lands for Arreola, and another. Arreola's hard jab moves Adamek. The power of Arreola is apparent. Adamek lands a three-punch combination and moves away. A left hand by Arreola snaps back Adamek's head. Arreola's round, 10-9; Even, 19-19.
Round 3: Adamek stands his ground and lands three jabs. Adamek continues to out-speed Arreola, ending with a nice right to the body. Arreola lands one of two attempted jabs but takes a right. Arreola takes a one-two over his jab. Two jabs land for Arreola but Adamek moves away. Adamek's jab and a followup right land. Adamek clinches. A left lands for Adamek. Arreola is following. Arreola lands a left hook that moves Adamek, but Adamek gets off more. Arreola lands a nice left hook to the body, but Adamek, yet again, closes by out-working him with a three-punch combination. Adamek's round, 10-9; Adamek, 29-28.
Round 4: Adamek continues to get in and out, getting off and moving away. Arreola comes on with a nice right that may have hurt Adamek. Adamek takes another right hand. Adamek jabs and come with a three-punch combination. A nice right hand swivel's Arreola's head. A doluble-left hook lands for Adamek. Adamek is without his mouth piece, yet remains elusive. Adamek beats Arreola with a four-punch combination, but he takes three right hands before the bell, moving backward. Adamek may be shaken, even as he won the round. Adamek's round, 10-9; Adamek, 39-37.
Round 5: Adamek may be tempting fate by dropping his hands, even as Arreola's right eye is red and may be bleeding. Adamek continues to double and triple jab to the head and also to reach Arreola's body. Adamek wins an exchange against the slower Arreola. Adamek jabes twice but takes a right that forces him to clinch. Arreola clubs with two right hands that appear to hurt Adamek and have him trying to clinch. Adamek drives home a right cross but takes a left. Adamek clinches. Arreola's round, 10-9; Adamek 48-47.
Round 6: Adamek gets a respit as his corner is allowed about an extra minute to repair the sole of his apparently dislodged left shoe. Arreola presses, but Adamek moves away, jabbing as he goes. Adamek lands a one-two and escapes harm. A left hand lands for Arreola, who then, takes a three-punch combination. A right hand over the top lands for Adamek. There is a low blow warning given to Adamek. Adamek lands a left to the body and moves away. Referee says Arreola's left eye was cut by a head butt. Arreola steps up the pressure and lands through Adamek's combination, driving a right uppercut home in a neutral corner. Arreola's round, 10-9; Even, 57-57.
Round 7: Arreola's pressure is starting to pay off. Adamek peppers three shots to the body, but Arreola jabs and loads up and misses the right. A short left lands for Adamek, but he takes a right. Arreola's jab finds it's mark, as does a left over Adamek's left. A lull in the action. Arreola takes a left uppercut. Arreola may have given the round away based on inactivity, as Adamek closes strong. Adamek's round, 10-9; Adamek, 67-66.
Round 8: Adamek out-landed Arreola, 15-7, in round No. 7. Another clash of heads. Adamek fires a four-punch combination to the body and clinches. Adamek is out-landing Arreola, but not hurting him. He's simply out-working the larger man. A nice left-right jiggles Arreola's midsection. Arreola isn't getting off in close. Arreola jabs three times, missing twice, and also, failing to follow up with a right. Adamek is content to jab from a distance. A left hook lands for Adamek, as does a jab to the body. Inactivity, yet again, has allowed Adamek to pocket another round. Adamek's round, 10-9; Adamek, 77-75.
Round 9: Flurries and movement have given Adamek the edge over the larger man. Adamek takes a hard right early. He looks shaken, but he bravely continues to out-land Arreola, even though the blows are light but crisp. Another three-punch combination to the body by Adamek. Adamek clinches. Adamek jabs and moves away, then, lands an overhand right to the eye of Arreola. a nice jab to the body by Adamek, who then clinches. Adamek is simply out-boxing Arreola. Adamek's jab splits Arreola's guard. Arreola stops and stands in the final seconds, frustrated that Adamek won't stand and fight. Adamek's round, 10-9; Adamek, 87-84.
Round 10: Adamek has out-landed Arreola, 22-5, in power shots over the last three rounds. Arreola lands a solid hand that hurts Adamek. Another right hand shakes Adamek again. Referee warns for head butts. Adamek clinches. Still another right hand lands, forcing Adamek to clinch. Arreola winces as if he hurts his right hand and he backs off. arreola jabs and moves forward, landing a left-right combination. Arreola has stopped throwing the right hand,having hurt it on the top of Adamek's head. A jab lands for Arreola, but no right hand follow up is there. Adamek steps in and lands a right hand. Adamek fires a left and a right, but Arreola finally throws a left-right combination. Arreola's round, 10-9; Adamek, 96-94.
Round 11: Arreola shakes Adamek early with his right hand, pushing, apparently through the pain. Arreola has indicated to his corner that it is his right bicep, not his fist, that is hurting. Arreola catches Adamek with a right-left combination. A left hook lands for Arreola, who then backs off apparently in pain. Adamek steps in and lands to the body, but later, takes a left uppercut from Arreola. Adamek lands a three-punch combination. Arreola's right eye is cut, as is his left. Adamek surges late with a number of shots, and, enthusiastically raises his right hand skyward triumphantly. Adamek's round, 10-9; Adamek, 106-103.
Round 12: Adamek is on his bicycle to start the round and circles and jabs. Arreola lands a left, but Adamek fires a one-two over the top. Adamek digs three times to the body and clinches. Arreola can't catch the smaller man. A right hand over the top lands for Adamek, who then clinches. Adamek ducks under a right hand and clinches. Adamek fireds a right over the top and moves away. They clinch. Adamek will not engage over the final 28 seconds, even as Arreola beckons him forward. Bell sounds, both fighters raise their hands as if in victory. Adamek's round, 10-9; Adamek, 116-112.
ADAMEK WINS A MAJORITY DECISION, 117-111, 115-113, AND, 1114-114, RESPECTIVELY, ON THE CARDS OF JOE PASQUALE, BARRY DRUXMAN, AND, TONY CREBS.
FanHouse has it for Adamek, 116-112.
Source: boxing.fanhouse.com
Polish-born former light heavyweight (175 pounds) and cruiserweight (200 pounds) champion, Tomasz Adamek, of Jersey City, earned his 10th consecutive victory, and only his third as a heavyweight by majority decision in defense of his IBF International crown against Chris Arreola in Saturday night's HBO-televised main event at Citizen's Business Bank Arena in Ontario, Calif.
The 33-year-old, 6-foot-2, Adamek improved to 41-1, with 27 KOs against the 6-4, 29-year-old Arreola (28-2, 25 KOs), of Riverside, Calif, who represented Adamek's most difficult challenge to date.
Joe Pasquale and Barry Druxman had it for Adamek, 117-111, and, 115-113, while judge Tony Crebs had it even at 114-114.
FanHouse had it for Adamek, 116-112.
"It was a tough fight. Chris Arreola prepared very good. He had good conditioning, but I was smarter, and I was faster, and that's how I won," said Adamek, who was out-weighed, 217-to-250, by Arreola, a man who tipped the scales at a career-high, 263-pounds for his last bout. "I was never hurt. I'm too quick. I have a tough chin."
Adamek had dedicated Saturday's bout to the 96 passengers and crew who died in last Saturday's plane crash in Russia near Smolensk, including Polish President, Lech Kaczynski, and several political, military and religious leaders.
Arreola was coming off of December's fourth-round knockout of Brian Minto (34-3, 21 KOs), whom he stopped for the first time in the latter's career. In September, Arreola, himself, was KO'd in the 10th-round by WBC champion, Vitali Klitschko (39-2, 37 KOs).
Arreola was gracious in defeat, agreeing that the judges scored the fight correctly.
"First of all, I want to thank all of the Polish fans who came out to see the fight. You guys are great fans, and you have a great fighter in Tomasz Adamek," said Arreola. "And all of my Mexican fans, you have to give it up for Tomasz Adamek. He's a great [fighter.] But I came out and I blew my opportunity."
Adamek suffered his only loss in February 2007, when he was dethroned as WBC light heavyweight (175 pounds) champion by Chad Dawson.
"I didn't plan for this guy to beat my a**, but he beat me, man, he beat me," said Arreola. "He did what he wanted to do in the ring, and you know, everybody's got to be proud of him, and my hat's off to him."
Arreola said that he fought with an injured leftt hand in the fifth round, but fought on. He showed no signs of pain, however, until the 10th round, when his straight right hand landed on the crown of Adamek's head.
"It started earlier in the fifth round, but I kept going and going. But then, finally, in the 10th round, I hurt it really bad," said Arreola. "But in all honesty, man, he was the better fighter tonight, and he fought his gameplan to perfection."
Adamek debuted in boxing's largest division with October's fifth-round knockout of former world heavyweight title contender, Andrew Golota (41-8-1, 33 KOs), whom Adamek dropped in the first, and, fifth rounds, despite being out-weighed, 214-to-256.
"My dream is to win a championship in a third weight category, and I know that I will," said Adamek, who was a career-high 220 for his last fight, a Feb. 6, 12-round, unanimous decision over over former U.S. Olympian, Jason Estrada.
"My boss will enter into negotiations for a title fight, so, tomorrow, I'll think about that. But tonight, I won," said Adamek, who was out-weighed, 237-to-220.5, by Estrada. "I'm happy. And I want to thank all of the people who came to watch my fight. Thank you to everybody."
Adamek's 10-bout run includes six knockouts.
Arreola vs. Adamek
Round 1: The 6-foot-2 Adamek weighed in at 217 pounds -- 33 pounds less than the 250-pound, 6-4 Arreola. Adamek comes forward, jabbing lightly to the body. Arreola reaches with a jab and lands. Adamek tags Arreola twice to the body. Arreola backs up, which is not what he should be doing. Arreola reaches and misses with a right. Adamek clinches. Adamek jabs to the body. Tentative round by both fighters. Arreola misses with a right. Arreola fires three times to the body. Arreola moves in behind his jab. Adamek lands a right as does Arreola. A left lifts Adamek. Adamek jabs nicely. Adamek closes with a nice combination. Adamek's round, 10-9.
Round 2: Arreola still gives ground as Adamek paws with his jab. Arreola steps forward with his jab but they fall short. A left hook counters Adamek, and they trade right hands. Adamek's speed is apparent. Arreola tries and misses an overhand right over the jab. Arreola lands a nice right to the head, but Adamek comes back with his own. Adamek doubles on the jab. A nice, long right lands for Arreola, and another. Arreola's hard jab moves Adamek. The power of Arreola is apparent. Adamek lands a three-punch combination and moves away. A left hand by Arreola snaps back Adamek's head. Arreola's round, 10-9; Even, 19-19.
Round 3: Adamek stands his ground and lands three jabs. Adamek continues to out-speed Arreola, ending with a nice right to the body. Arreola lands one of two attempted jabs but takes a right. Arreola takes a one-two over his jab. Two jabs land for Arreola but Adamek moves away. Adamek's jab and a followup right land. Adamek clinches. A left lands for Adamek. Arreola is following. Arreola lands a left hook that moves Adamek, but Adamek gets off more. Arreola lands a nice left hook to the body, but Adamek, yet again, closes by out-working him with a three-punch combination. Adamek's round, 10-9; Adamek, 29-28.
Round 4: Adamek continues to get in and out, getting off and moving away. Arreola comes on with a nice right that may have hurt Adamek. Adamek takes another right hand. Adamek jabs and come with a three-punch combination. A nice right hand swivel's Arreola's head. A doluble-left hook lands for Adamek. Adamek is without his mouth piece, yet remains elusive. Adamek beats Arreola with a four-punch combination, but he takes three right hands before the bell, moving backward. Adamek may be shaken, even as he won the round. Adamek's round, 10-9; Adamek, 39-37.
Round 5: Adamek may be tempting fate by dropping his hands, even as Arreola's right eye is red and may be bleeding. Adamek continues to double and triple jab to the head and also to reach Arreola's body. Adamek wins an exchange against the slower Arreola. Adamek jabes twice but takes a right that forces him to clinch. Arreola clubs with two right hands that appear to hurt Adamek and have him trying to clinch. Adamek drives home a right cross but takes a left. Adamek clinches. Arreola's round, 10-9; Adamek 48-47.
Round 6: Adamek gets a respit as his corner is allowed about an extra minute to repair the sole of his apparently dislodged left shoe. Arreola presses, but Adamek moves away, jabbing as he goes. Adamek lands a one-two and escapes harm. A left hand lands for Arreola, who then, takes a three-punch combination. A right hand over the top lands for Adamek. There is a low blow warning given to Adamek. Adamek lands a left to the body and moves away. Referee says Arreola's left eye was cut by a head butt. Arreola steps up the pressure and lands through Adamek's combination, driving a right uppercut home in a neutral corner. Arreola's round, 10-9; Even, 57-57.
Round 7: Arreola's pressure is starting to pay off. Adamek peppers three shots to the body, but Arreola jabs and loads up and misses the right. A short left lands for Adamek, but he takes a right. Arreola's jab finds it's mark, as does a left over Adamek's left. A lull in the action. Arreola takes a left uppercut. Arreola may have given the round away based on inactivity, as Adamek closes strong. Adamek's round, 10-9; Adamek, 67-66.
Round 8: Adamek out-landed Arreola, 15-7, in round No. 7. Another clash of heads. Adamek fires a four-punch combination to the body and clinches. Adamek is out-landing Arreola, but not hurting him. He's simply out-working the larger man. A nice left-right jiggles Arreola's midsection. Arreola isn't getting off in close. Arreola jabs three times, missing twice, and also, failing to follow up with a right. Adamek is content to jab from a distance. A left hook lands for Adamek, as does a jab to the body. Inactivity, yet again, has allowed Adamek to pocket another round. Adamek's round, 10-9; Adamek, 77-75.
Round 9: Flurries and movement have given Adamek the edge over the larger man. Adamek takes a hard right early. He looks shaken, but he bravely continues to out-land Arreola, even though the blows are light but crisp. Another three-punch combination to the body by Adamek. Adamek clinches. Adamek jabs and moves away, then, lands an overhand right to the eye of Arreola. a nice jab to the body by Adamek, who then clinches. Adamek is simply out-boxing Arreola. Adamek's jab splits Arreola's guard. Arreola stops and stands in the final seconds, frustrated that Adamek won't stand and fight. Adamek's round, 10-9; Adamek, 87-84.
Round 10: Adamek has out-landed Arreola, 22-5, in power shots over the last three rounds. Arreola lands a solid hand that hurts Adamek. Another right hand shakes Adamek again. Referee warns for head butts. Adamek clinches. Still another right hand lands, forcing Adamek to clinch. Arreola winces as if he hurts his right hand and he backs off. arreola jabs and moves forward, landing a left-right combination. Arreola has stopped throwing the right hand,having hurt it on the top of Adamek's head. A jab lands for Arreola, but no right hand follow up is there. Adamek steps in and lands a right hand. Adamek fires a left and a right, but Arreola finally throws a left-right combination. Arreola's round, 10-9; Adamek, 96-94.
Round 11: Arreola shakes Adamek early with his right hand, pushing, apparently through the pain. Arreola has indicated to his corner that it is his right bicep, not his fist, that is hurting. Arreola catches Adamek with a right-left combination. A left hook lands for Arreola, who then backs off apparently in pain. Adamek steps in and lands to the body, but later, takes a left uppercut from Arreola. Adamek lands a three-punch combination. Arreola's right eye is cut, as is his left. Adamek surges late with a number of shots, and, enthusiastically raises his right hand skyward triumphantly. Adamek's round, 10-9; Adamek, 106-103.
Round 12: Adamek is on his bicycle to start the round and circles and jabs. Arreola lands a left, but Adamek fires a one-two over the top. Adamek digs three times to the body and clinches. Arreola can't catch the smaller man. A right hand over the top lands for Adamek, who then clinches. Adamek ducks under a right hand and clinches. Adamek fireds a right over the top and moves away. They clinch. Adamek will not engage over the final 28 seconds, even as Arreola beckons him forward. Bell sounds, both fighters raise their hands as if in victory. Adamek's round, 10-9; Adamek, 116-112.
ADAMEK WINS A MAJORITY DECISION, 117-111, 115-113, AND, 1114-114, RESPECTIVELY, ON THE CARDS OF JOE PASQUALE, BARRY DRUXMAN, AND, TONY CREBS.
FanHouse has it for Adamek, 116-112.
Source: boxing.fanhouse.com
Adamek beats Arreola by majority decision in Ontario -- Los Angeles Daily News
By Robert Morales, Los Angeles Daily News
ONTARIO - Dan Goossen and Kathy Duva, the respective promoters of Chris Arreola and Tomasz Adamek, agreed this week that the loser of Saturday's showdown between the heavyweight contenders would not be out of the title picture.
But a victory was probably more necessary for Arreola than for Adamek because Arreola already lost one bid for a championship when he was stopped after 10 rounds by Vitali Klitschko last September.
Adamek could afford a loss more because the former light heavyweight and cruiserweight champion only had two heavyweight fights going in.
Well, after 12 thrilling rounds, Adamek won a majority decision, much to the chagrin of thousands of Arreola fans at Citizens Business Bank Arena who roundly booed the decision. Tony Crebbs scored it even, 114-114; Barry Druxman gave it to Adamek, 115-113; and Joseph Pasquale had Adamek winning, 117-111.
Arreola's face did appear more battered than Adamek's. He was also cut over the left eye with an accidental head-butt.
There were no knockdowns.
"I agree with the decision," Arreola said. "Adamek did what he wanted, I did what I wanted. I thought I had him in the fifth round (when he sent Adamek reeling with a stiff jab).
"He head-butted me a lot. I got buzzed by his head-butts. He beat me. I hurt my hand in the fifth round, my left hand. But I kept going. After the ninth or 10 th, I hurt it real bad again."
Adamek dedicated this fight to Polish president Lech Kaczynski, his wife Maria and several other of the country's high-ranking politicians who lost their lives in a plane crach April 10.
"This was for me the toughest fight I ever fight," said Adamek, who had hundreds of Polish fans in the stands. "This is why I believe I can be world champion."
Through nine rounds, the fight appeared very close, although Arreola had twice sent Adamek reeling with tremendous jabs.
Adamek (41-1) had fought plenty through six rounds, but he spent much of rounds 7, 8 and 9 running quite a bit. He landed punches, but his antics caused Arreola to stop and shake his head as if to say, 'Come on."
Arreola (28-2) came charging at Adamek in the 10 th and landed several hard punches to the head. An uppercut seemed to make Adamek's eyes go funny, but he stayed on his feet. Adamek fought back gallantly, but it was Arreola's round.
Arreola stunned Adamek again in the 11 th round, but Adamek - showing uncanny mettle - definitely won the second half of the round over an Arreola that appeared very tired.
At round's end, the hundreds of Polish fans and thousands of Arreola's fans cheered wildly as they were being treated to a rare spectacular fight in what used to be boxing's bread-and-butter division.
The first two rounds appeared very close, but Adamek seemed to be the clear winner in the third round. He would land a clean right cross, then quickly get out of harm's way. Adamek landed a couple of crisp jabs and a short left hook. Arreola countered with a right-left combination, but it was not enough to steal the round.
Arreola came back and seemed to win the fourth round, although it was close. He landed a couple of hard punches early in the round, but Adamek came back and landed three shots to the face of Arreola. Arreola was not fazed, but Adamek was boxing well.
Arreola sent Adamek reeling across the ring and into the ropes with a Larry Holmes-type left jab midway through the fifth round. Arreola went after Adamek, but wasn't able to do much more damage. Adamek, showing significant courage, came back in the tail end of the round to land a couple of solid blows.
Arreola again hurt Adamek with two telephone-pole jabs in the sixth, sending Adamek stumbling in reverse and Arreola's fans into a frenzy. Adamek, however, retailiated with a nice combination to the head.
Adamek was warned for hitting low in the round, and Arreola sustained a cut near his left eye as the result of an acccidental head-butt.
Arreola wasn't able to get much going in the seventh round and Adamek landed a clean left hook to the head. It didn't bother Arreola, but it scored.
robert.morales@presstelegram.com
Source: dailynews.com
ONTARIO - Dan Goossen and Kathy Duva, the respective promoters of Chris Arreola and Tomasz Adamek, agreed this week that the loser of Saturday's showdown between the heavyweight contenders would not be out of the title picture.
But a victory was probably more necessary for Arreola than for Adamek because Arreola already lost one bid for a championship when he was stopped after 10 rounds by Vitali Klitschko last September.
Adamek could afford a loss more because the former light heavyweight and cruiserweight champion only had two heavyweight fights going in.
Well, after 12 thrilling rounds, Adamek won a majority decision, much to the chagrin of thousands of Arreola fans at Citizens Business Bank Arena who roundly booed the decision. Tony Crebbs scored it even, 114-114; Barry Druxman gave it to Adamek, 115-113; and Joseph Pasquale had Adamek winning, 117-111.
Arreola's face did appear more battered than Adamek's. He was also cut over the left eye with an accidental head-butt.
There were no knockdowns.
"I agree with the decision," Arreola said. "Adamek did what he wanted, I did what I wanted. I thought I had him in the fifth round (when he sent Adamek reeling with a stiff jab).
"He head-butted me a lot. I got buzzed by his head-butts. He beat me. I hurt my hand in the fifth round, my left hand. But I kept going. After the ninth or 10 th, I hurt it real bad again."
Adamek dedicated this fight to Polish president Lech Kaczynski, his wife Maria and several other of the country's high-ranking politicians who lost their lives in a plane crach April 10.
"This was for me the toughest fight I ever fight," said Adamek, who had hundreds of Polish fans in the stands. "This is why I believe I can be world champion."
Through nine rounds, the fight appeared very close, although Arreola had twice sent Adamek reeling with tremendous jabs.
Adamek (41-1) had fought plenty through six rounds, but he spent much of rounds 7, 8 and 9 running quite a bit. He landed punches, but his antics caused Arreola to stop and shake his head as if to say, 'Come on."
Arreola (28-2) came charging at Adamek in the 10 th and landed several hard punches to the head. An uppercut seemed to make Adamek's eyes go funny, but he stayed on his feet. Adamek fought back gallantly, but it was Arreola's round.
Arreola stunned Adamek again in the 11 th round, but Adamek - showing uncanny mettle - definitely won the second half of the round over an Arreola that appeared very tired.
At round's end, the hundreds of Polish fans and thousands of Arreola's fans cheered wildly as they were being treated to a rare spectacular fight in what used to be boxing's bread-and-butter division.
The first two rounds appeared very close, but Adamek seemed to be the clear winner in the third round. He would land a clean right cross, then quickly get out of harm's way. Adamek landed a couple of crisp jabs and a short left hook. Arreola countered with a right-left combination, but it was not enough to steal the round.
Arreola came back and seemed to win the fourth round, although it was close. He landed a couple of hard punches early in the round, but Adamek came back and landed three shots to the face of Arreola. Arreola was not fazed, but Adamek was boxing well.
Arreola sent Adamek reeling across the ring and into the ropes with a Larry Holmes-type left jab midway through the fifth round. Arreola went after Adamek, but wasn't able to do much more damage. Adamek, showing significant courage, came back in the tail end of the round to land a couple of solid blows.
Arreola again hurt Adamek with two telephone-pole jabs in the sixth, sending Adamek stumbling in reverse and Arreola's fans into a frenzy. Adamek, however, retailiated with a nice combination to the head.
Adamek was warned for hitting low in the round, and Arreola sustained a cut near his left eye as the result of an acccidental head-butt.
Arreola wasn't able to get much going in the seventh round and Adamek landed a clean left hook to the head. It didn't bother Arreola, but it scored.
robert.morales@presstelegram.com
Source: dailynews.com
Adamek Gets Majority Win Over Arreola -- The Sweet Science
By Michael Woods, The Sweet Science
Another week, another reason to laud the judges. What a stunning streak they're on, seven days after they got it right in the Sergio Martinez-Kelly Pavlik rumble. After a tight main event between Cris Arreola and Tomasz Adamek at the Citizens Bank Arena in Ontario, Californa on Saturday night, the judges turned in cards of 114-114, 115-113, 117-111, and declared Adamek, decisively not the hometowner, the winner.
The Pole used a brain-based strategy, as he strafed Arreola, and hustled out of range as much as possible, enroute to the win. Adamek got buzzed sveral times, and the Arreola fans thought an edge in power shots would give their guy the nod.
Arreola (age 29; from Riverside, CA; 28-1 with 25 Kos entering) weighed 250 1/2 pounds, while Adamek (age 33; from Poland, living in New Jersey; ex light heavy and cruiserweight champion; 40-1 with 27 KOs entering) was 217.
Tony Crebs, Barry Druxman and Jerry Pasquale were the judges, and Jack Reiss was the referee in this HBO Boxing After Dark feature attraction.
In the first, we saw Adamek would be throwing jabs and following with rights to the soft midsection. A left hook touched Arreola, and then Arreola did the same. Adamek had Arreola looking a little tentative and backing up more than some would've expected. In the second, Adamek landed a combo and an Arreola counter scored. Movement worked for Adamek; he popped a jab, stepped left, rinse and repeat. In the third, Adamek's gameplan, get off, and get out, was on target. Adamek was buzzed early in the fourth, but he won the last three quarters. In the fifth, Adamek got wobbled with a minute left. Was being the smaller man getting to him? FYI The rubber sole on the bottom of Adamek's right boot was coming off, and was taped on after the round. Adamek's lack of bigtime pop in this weigh class hurt him by now, as Arreola just didn't fear the Pole's launches. Adamek got back in it in the seventh and eighth. Arreola showed frustration when the Pole scooted out of range, instead of tracking him down and bullying him. Harold Lederman saw it even through eight, while TSS-EM had Adamek ahead a few points. Side note: people think Arreola comes in too heavy, his people say yes he's big, but physique is overrated. I think he carries too much weight up top, that he's top heavy, and I think it affects his balance.
In the ninth, once again the absence of an Arreola effective jab stood out. At the end of the round, he pouted because Adamek wasn't standing and trading. Useless, and immature. The game is boxing, not fighting, and Adamek was outboxing Arreola, and he pouted, instead of tweaking his strategy, and upping his aggression. In the 10th, Arreola, his left eye swollen, hurt the Pole with a right. But then he threw it again, and winced. The ref asked him if he was OK, and he nodded yes. "We need these last two rounds," Arreola's corner told him. A right tickled the Pole to start the 11th. Adamek came back in the last two thirds, probably stealing it. Arreola's face looked a mess, as a cut dripped on the bridge of his nose. His corner asked him how his hand was, if he could go one more round, and he said yes. In the 12th, Adamek scored some combos, Arreola wanted that home run ball. No dice. We'd rely on the cards. Both men raised their hands, indicating a belief that they'd won. Lederman saw it 116-112, same card as mine.
The stats: 197-631 for Adamek, 127-532 for Arreola. "I'm faster, I'm smarter, and I win," he said in English. He said Arreola never hurt him. He said he wanted a title crack next, but didn't name a target. Arreola said the judges got it right, and admitted the Pole got the better of him. He said he hurt his left hand around the fifth. "He was the better fighter tonight and he fought his gameplan to perfection," the loser said.
In the TV opener, Alfredo "Perro: Angulo (17-1 entering; from Mexicali, Mexico, living in LA; age 27; 153 3/4, 167 tonight; ) met Colombian Joe Julio (age 25; 153 1/4, 166 tonight; ) in a defense of his WBO interim junior welterweight crown. Word was rampant coming in that Angulo was having waaay too much trouble making weight. He was almost two hours late for the weigh in, and blamed traffic for the tardiness. We would see how much energy he had in his tank, or if he wasn't fibbing when he said making weight was no large feat for him.
In the first, Perro came out warm, and winging it. Julio stayed in motion, moving to his left. He looked to drop a hook on the Mexican. Julio's jab didn't have much pop, so Angulo didn't fear stalking the challenger. Angulo clanged with a right cross at the 50 second mark, his best blow to that point. In the third, Julio boxed better. He was first more, and made Angulo back up some. The Colombian's confidence was soaring. The middle rounds unfolded much the same way. We wondered if Angulo could or would do a better job cutting off the ring, if Julio's energy would lag. Angulo was a step behind much of the time, but it's not as if Julio's ring generalship was so stellar that he'd necessarily be impressing the judges. Neither man impressed in the accuracy department, so who knows what the judges were seeing.
In the seventh, Julio kept the feet moving for the better part of the round. He ate the occasional right, but nothing he couldn't shrug off. In the ninth, a cut formed over Angulo's right eye. It came from a punch, for the record. Julio had a slice underneath his right eyebrow, but neither slice looked to be too worrisome. Angulo hustled more in the tenth, advancing quickly at Julio. A right hand in the 11th dropped Julio, and he stood up, but he was wobbly. Ref Raul Caiz waved the bout to a halt. The time of the stoppage was 1:39.
The finishing sequence: Angulo feinted a jab, Julio threw his own slow jab, and Angulo came over the top with a crackerjack right. It landed on the nose, mouth and chin.
Angulo went 167-880, a sad percentage, to Julio's 175-762, almost as bad.
Source: thesweetscience.com
Another week, another reason to laud the judges. What a stunning streak they're on, seven days after they got it right in the Sergio Martinez-Kelly Pavlik rumble. After a tight main event between Cris Arreola and Tomasz Adamek at the Citizens Bank Arena in Ontario, Californa on Saturday night, the judges turned in cards of 114-114, 115-113, 117-111, and declared Adamek, decisively not the hometowner, the winner.
The Pole used a brain-based strategy, as he strafed Arreola, and hustled out of range as much as possible, enroute to the win. Adamek got buzzed sveral times, and the Arreola fans thought an edge in power shots would give their guy the nod.
Arreola (age 29; from Riverside, CA; 28-1 with 25 Kos entering) weighed 250 1/2 pounds, while Adamek (age 33; from Poland, living in New Jersey; ex light heavy and cruiserweight champion; 40-1 with 27 KOs entering) was 217.
Tony Crebs, Barry Druxman and Jerry Pasquale were the judges, and Jack Reiss was the referee in this HBO Boxing After Dark feature attraction.
In the first, we saw Adamek would be throwing jabs and following with rights to the soft midsection. A left hook touched Arreola, and then Arreola did the same. Adamek had Arreola looking a little tentative and backing up more than some would've expected. In the second, Adamek landed a combo and an Arreola counter scored. Movement worked for Adamek; he popped a jab, stepped left, rinse and repeat. In the third, Adamek's gameplan, get off, and get out, was on target. Adamek was buzzed early in the fourth, but he won the last three quarters. In the fifth, Adamek got wobbled with a minute left. Was being the smaller man getting to him? FYI The rubber sole on the bottom of Adamek's right boot was coming off, and was taped on after the round. Adamek's lack of bigtime pop in this weigh class hurt him by now, as Arreola just didn't fear the Pole's launches. Adamek got back in it in the seventh and eighth. Arreola showed frustration when the Pole scooted out of range, instead of tracking him down and bullying him. Harold Lederman saw it even through eight, while TSS-EM had Adamek ahead a few points. Side note: people think Arreola comes in too heavy, his people say yes he's big, but physique is overrated. I think he carries too much weight up top, that he's top heavy, and I think it affects his balance.
In the ninth, once again the absence of an Arreola effective jab stood out. At the end of the round, he pouted because Adamek wasn't standing and trading. Useless, and immature. The game is boxing, not fighting, and Adamek was outboxing Arreola, and he pouted, instead of tweaking his strategy, and upping his aggression. In the 10th, Arreola, his left eye swollen, hurt the Pole with a right. But then he threw it again, and winced. The ref asked him if he was OK, and he nodded yes. "We need these last two rounds," Arreola's corner told him. A right tickled the Pole to start the 11th. Adamek came back in the last two thirds, probably stealing it. Arreola's face looked a mess, as a cut dripped on the bridge of his nose. His corner asked him how his hand was, if he could go one more round, and he said yes. In the 12th, Adamek scored some combos, Arreola wanted that home run ball. No dice. We'd rely on the cards. Both men raised their hands, indicating a belief that they'd won. Lederman saw it 116-112, same card as mine.
The stats: 197-631 for Adamek, 127-532 for Arreola. "I'm faster, I'm smarter, and I win," he said in English. He said Arreola never hurt him. He said he wanted a title crack next, but didn't name a target. Arreola said the judges got it right, and admitted the Pole got the better of him. He said he hurt his left hand around the fifth. "He was the better fighter tonight and he fought his gameplan to perfection," the loser said.
In the TV opener, Alfredo "Perro: Angulo (17-1 entering; from Mexicali, Mexico, living in LA; age 27; 153 3/4, 167 tonight; ) met Colombian Joe Julio (age 25; 153 1/4, 166 tonight; ) in a defense of his WBO interim junior welterweight crown. Word was rampant coming in that Angulo was having waaay too much trouble making weight. He was almost two hours late for the weigh in, and blamed traffic for the tardiness. We would see how much energy he had in his tank, or if he wasn't fibbing when he said making weight was no large feat for him.
In the first, Perro came out warm, and winging it. Julio stayed in motion, moving to his left. He looked to drop a hook on the Mexican. Julio's jab didn't have much pop, so Angulo didn't fear stalking the challenger. Angulo clanged with a right cross at the 50 second mark, his best blow to that point. In the third, Julio boxed better. He was first more, and made Angulo back up some. The Colombian's confidence was soaring. The middle rounds unfolded much the same way. We wondered if Angulo could or would do a better job cutting off the ring, if Julio's energy would lag. Angulo was a step behind much of the time, but it's not as if Julio's ring generalship was so stellar that he'd necessarily be impressing the judges. Neither man impressed in the accuracy department, so who knows what the judges were seeing.
In the seventh, Julio kept the feet moving for the better part of the round. He ate the occasional right, but nothing he couldn't shrug off. In the ninth, a cut formed over Angulo's right eye. It came from a punch, for the record. Julio had a slice underneath his right eyebrow, but neither slice looked to be too worrisome. Angulo hustled more in the tenth, advancing quickly at Julio. A right hand in the 11th dropped Julio, and he stood up, but he was wobbly. Ref Raul Caiz waved the bout to a halt. The time of the stoppage was 1:39.
The finishing sequence: Angulo feinted a jab, Julio threw his own slow jab, and Angulo came over the top with a crackerjack right. It landed on the nose, mouth and chin.
Angulo went 167-880, a sad percentage, to Julio's 175-762, almost as bad.
Source: thesweetscience.com
Adamek earns majority decision over Arreola -- Associated Press
By GREG BEACHAM, The Associated Press
ONTARIO, Calif. — Not even 12 rounds of bone-crunching punches from Chris Arreola could knock Tomasz Adamek off his path to a heavyweight title shot.
And along the way, Adamek and Arreola might have punched a little life back into the heavyweight division.
Adamek overcame Arreola's power and size advantage to win his 10th straight fight Saturday night, earning a majority decision in Arreola's backyard.
Although Adamek (41-1, 27 KOs) repeatedly was staggered by Arreola, who weighed 33 1/2 pounds more than the former light heavyweight and cruiserweight, Adamek rallied with smarter strategy and punching flurries that left Arreola's eyes and face swollen and discolored by the final bell. Hundreds of fans from Adamek's native Poland cheered the decision, while Arreola's fans booed — even while Arreola said he agreed with the judges.
"This was for me the toughest fight I ever fought," said Adamek, who reluctantly crossed the nation from New Jersey for this high-risk showdown. "This is why I believe I can be world champion."
Adamek lost his WBC light heavyweight title to Chad Dawson in 2007 before moving to cruiserweight and then to heavyweight, where he hopes to earn a date with one of the Klitschko brothers.
A rematch with Arreola could be an easy sell to the fans who filled Citizens Bank Business Arena with raucous cheers amid flags of Poland and Mexico. Competitive heavyweight bouts have become a rarity, yet these fighters showcased the thrill of an even matchup in boxing's erstwhile glamour division.
Arreola (28-2), from nearby Riverside, appeared to be close to stopping Adamek in the middle rounds, but hurt his left hand twice. Adamek, who scoffed at the notion he was in trouble, was more aggressive and accurate in the final rounds.
Judge Barry Druxman scored the fight 115-113 for Adamek, while Joseph Pasquale favored him 117-111. Judge Tony Crebs and The Associated Press scored it a 114-114 draw.
Adamek threw 99 more punches than Arreola and connected with a larger percentage, also throwing more power shots. Although Arreola's power seemed more damaging, Arreola's swollen face indicated Adamek had done plenty of damage himself.
Despite repeatedly bringing his home fans to their feet, Arreola lost in his second bout since getting stopped by Vitali Klitschko in his first world title shot last September.
"Adamek did what he wanted, and I did what I wanted," Arreola said. "I thought I had him in the fifth round. He head-butted me a lot. I got buzzed by his head butts. He beat me. He did what he wanted to do in the ring. I hurt my hand in the fifth round, but I kept going."
Although Adamek weighed in at 217 next to the 251 1/2-pound Arreola on Thursday, he claimed the size discrepancy would make no difference. He pointed out that if he hopes to win a heavyweight title, he must fight bigger men — even if he has to do it on the other side of the country from Newark, N.J., where he draws thousands of fans to his bouts at the Prudential Center.
Yet Arreola's power clearly impressed Adamek in the first two rounds, and Adamek replied with speed and counterpunching. Arreola kept pressing forward and eventually rocked Adamek with a series of blows in the fifth round, starting with a nasty jab. Arreola hurt Adamek with a big left hand in the sixth, but Arreola also appeared to get cut in a clash of heads.
With both of his eyes swelling, Arreola finally caught up to Adamek in the 10th, repeatedly staggering Adamek backward with combinations. But Arreola got out of trouble and did impressive work in the final two rounds to earn the win.
Although Adamek's camp heard tales of fans stuck in Europe by Iceland's volcanic eruption, several hundred Polish fans followed Adamek to suburban Los Angeles, most dressed in red-and-white shirts and scarves. Arreola's fans booed whenever the Polish fans sang their national anthem or began an organized cheer, and Adamek's supporters responded similarly.
Yet the arena observed a ceremonial 10-count in honor of Polish president Lech Kaczynski, who died along with his wife and 94 others in a plane crash two weeks ago. Adamek had dedicated the fight to their memory.
Copyright © 2010 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
Source: google.com
ONTARIO, Calif. — Not even 12 rounds of bone-crunching punches from Chris Arreola could knock Tomasz Adamek off his path to a heavyweight title shot.
And along the way, Adamek and Arreola might have punched a little life back into the heavyweight division.
Adamek overcame Arreola's power and size advantage to win his 10th straight fight Saturday night, earning a majority decision in Arreola's backyard.
Although Adamek (41-1, 27 KOs) repeatedly was staggered by Arreola, who weighed 33 1/2 pounds more than the former light heavyweight and cruiserweight, Adamek rallied with smarter strategy and punching flurries that left Arreola's eyes and face swollen and discolored by the final bell. Hundreds of fans from Adamek's native Poland cheered the decision, while Arreola's fans booed — even while Arreola said he agreed with the judges.
"This was for me the toughest fight I ever fought," said Adamek, who reluctantly crossed the nation from New Jersey for this high-risk showdown. "This is why I believe I can be world champion."
Adamek lost his WBC light heavyweight title to Chad Dawson in 2007 before moving to cruiserweight and then to heavyweight, where he hopes to earn a date with one of the Klitschko brothers.
A rematch with Arreola could be an easy sell to the fans who filled Citizens Bank Business Arena with raucous cheers amid flags of Poland and Mexico. Competitive heavyweight bouts have become a rarity, yet these fighters showcased the thrill of an even matchup in boxing's erstwhile glamour division.
Arreola (28-2), from nearby Riverside, appeared to be close to stopping Adamek in the middle rounds, but hurt his left hand twice. Adamek, who scoffed at the notion he was in trouble, was more aggressive and accurate in the final rounds.
Judge Barry Druxman scored the fight 115-113 for Adamek, while Joseph Pasquale favored him 117-111. Judge Tony Crebs and The Associated Press scored it a 114-114 draw.
Adamek threw 99 more punches than Arreola and connected with a larger percentage, also throwing more power shots. Although Arreola's power seemed more damaging, Arreola's swollen face indicated Adamek had done plenty of damage himself.
Despite repeatedly bringing his home fans to their feet, Arreola lost in his second bout since getting stopped by Vitali Klitschko in his first world title shot last September.
"Adamek did what he wanted, and I did what I wanted," Arreola said. "I thought I had him in the fifth round. He head-butted me a lot. I got buzzed by his head butts. He beat me. He did what he wanted to do in the ring. I hurt my hand in the fifth round, but I kept going."
Although Adamek weighed in at 217 next to the 251 1/2-pound Arreola on Thursday, he claimed the size discrepancy would make no difference. He pointed out that if he hopes to win a heavyweight title, he must fight bigger men — even if he has to do it on the other side of the country from Newark, N.J., where he draws thousands of fans to his bouts at the Prudential Center.
Yet Arreola's power clearly impressed Adamek in the first two rounds, and Adamek replied with speed and counterpunching. Arreola kept pressing forward and eventually rocked Adamek with a series of blows in the fifth round, starting with a nasty jab. Arreola hurt Adamek with a big left hand in the sixth, but Arreola also appeared to get cut in a clash of heads.
With both of his eyes swelling, Arreola finally caught up to Adamek in the 10th, repeatedly staggering Adamek backward with combinations. But Arreola got out of trouble and did impressive work in the final two rounds to earn the win.
Although Adamek's camp heard tales of fans stuck in Europe by Iceland's volcanic eruption, several hundred Polish fans followed Adamek to suburban Los Angeles, most dressed in red-and-white shirts and scarves. Arreola's fans booed whenever the Polish fans sang their national anthem or began an organized cheer, and Adamek's supporters responded similarly.
Yet the arena observed a ceremonial 10-count in honor of Polish president Lech Kaczynski, who died along with his wife and 94 others in a plane crash two weeks ago. Adamek had dedicated the fight to their memory.
Copyright © 2010 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
Source: google.com
Adamek unshakable in ring, faith -- Los Angeles Daily News
By Robert Morales, Los Angeles Daily News
Sometimes people get turned off when athletes talk about religion.
It's looked upon as boring. But according to promoter Kathy Duva, a very strong faith is what has made heavyweight Tomasz Adamek the exciting fighter he is today.
If Adamek were not a strong believer, he would be having a much more difficult time these days. The Poland native has been mourning Polish president Lech Kaczynski, his wife Maria and several other of the country's high-ranking politicians who lost their lives in a plane crash April 10.
Unfortunately, there's more. About two months before that, there was another catastrophe that took several people close to Adamek, who tonight will take on Chris Arreola at Citizens Business Bank Arena in Ontario (on HBO).
"A few weeks before he started camp, he lost several close friends in a plane crash," said Duva, president of New Jersey-based Main Events Inc. "And he knew people on this (presidential) plane, too. He doesn't even talk about it ...
"He is an incredibly religious man. That's who he is. We know him well and we understand that. Then you understand that he accepts fate, he accepts things that happen. They happen for a reason. He has complete and total unshakable faith."
As Adamek sat at a table in the San Manuel Casino in Highland following Monday's final news conference, it was easy to see just by looking into his eyes he was everything Duva said he is.
Adamek came off not only as a man with a strong belief in divinity but someone to take advice from during times of struggles.
"This is my motto in life: Without God, there is nothing," said Adamek, 33. "In everyday life, this is how I raise my children. I let them know that God is No. 1 and without him nothing makes sense.
"So it helps me in this situation and it helps me in every other aspect of life."
And, as Duva said, Adamek accepts fate. The way he explains it, it's the only way.
"Unfortunately, there is nothing we can do to help those people who perished, first my friends and now the president, because you have to believe there is some higher power which is guiding us," Adamek said. "They were unfortunate deaths of people who I know, but we shouldn't get into despair because it will not help you in life. You cannot go through life in despair. I was raised this way and I believe this is where my strength comes from is God."
Unshakable faith, indeed. It's who Adamek is and, as Duva claimed, what has helped him become a terrific fighter.
"That will carry anyone through any kind of adversity," Duva said when asked if she was concerned Adamek's sorrow will create a lack of concentration on tonight's task. "He's a guy who will stay focused on what he has to do.
"It's part of why he's gotten to where he is."
Adamek has won world titles in the light heavyweight and cruiserweight divisions. He was 3-1 in light heavyweight world title bouts, moved up in weight and went 3-0 in cruiserweight world championship fights.
With a thirst to become heavyweight champion, Adamek again moved up and is 2-0 in what used to be boxing's bread and butter division.
He brings a fine record of 40-1 with 27 knockouts into tonight's fight.
Regardless of his inner strength, he seemingly is in over his head physically against Arreola. The two heavyweights Adamek defeated over the past six months are fellow Pole Andrew Golota and Jason Estrada. Estrada is a very light hitter and Arreola refers to Golota as "an aged Andrew Golota." Golota was 41 when he was stopped in the fifth round by Adamek last October.
Arreola has a large size advantage. He is 6-foot-4 and Thursday weighed 250 1/2 pounds. Adamek is 6-1 1/2 and weighed in at 217.
"I do believe it will be competitive for a while," Arreola said. "But the thing is my job in there is to wear him down and show him what it's like to be in the heavyweight division."
No problem, said Adamek, who moved from Poland to New Jersey in 2008.
"The size of Chris Arreola really makes no difference," he said. "He's 6-8, 6-9, 260, 220, it doesn't really matter. It is what is in your head that matters, not your size.
"I don't plan to go down after three, four or five punches from Chris."
Rather, Adamek said he plans to be "quick and smart."
Arreola doesn't want to hear it.
"I don't care about this David and Goliath crap," he said. "I'm not here to preach the Bible."
Adamek is, and if he's victorious tonight against the likes of Arreola, those who yawn during religious speak might listen a little more closely in the future.
Mosley is still fighting with old PED issues
"Sugar" Shane Mosley is basically a mild-mannered sort. He usually is smiling and rarely frowning.
But Mosley was hot when a reporter asked him a question during a conference call this week regarding his use of steroids and the blood-doping agent EPO before his second fight with Oscar De La Hoya in 2003.
Mosley, who next Saturday will take on Floyd Mayweather Jr. at MGM Grand in Las Vegas, never tested positive for the performance-enhancing drugs, but he later admitted during grand jury testimony to unknowingly ingesting them.
The reporter asked this of Mosley: "Two thousand three is a long time ago, but can you say since then how you have felt differently in fights? Can you tell a difference from that night to how you fight now or recent fights from when you didn't take that stuff? I mean, what did it do to you as a fighter to come off it and then try to get back to just 100 percent of yourself and how you feel now when you're in the ring compared to then?"
Mosley reacted strongly.
"That's just a stupid question that you asked me because I never did that stuff," he said. "I never was on it really like that. I've always been a clean fighter."
He wasn't clean that night against De La Hoya, even if he thought he was. And now, seven years later, he's still dealing with the issue because he has a defamation suit against BALCO founder Victor Conte, who claims Mosley knew he was cheating.
Mosley, whose grand jury testimony was part of an investigation of BALCO, is sick of hearing about his connection to PEDs.
"It's ridiculous now that the media wants to make me the poster boy of steroids when I don't even ... whatever. If you guys want to continue to put that out there, so be it. So be it. You guys know the truth."
Conte recently released a video on YouTube showing some of the deposition Mosley gave in his suit against him. Mosley basically said he knew he was taking EPO, but he didn't know what EPO was until federal investigators clued him in.
Judd Burstein, Mosley's attorney, didn't want to talk much about the video and said Conte edited it to his advantage and, "Shane will be victorious in court and that will answer all the questions."
Etc.
Carl Froch (26-0, 20 KOs) of England will square off with Mikkel Kessler (42-2, 32 KOs) tonight in Kessler's native Denmark. Froch's super middleweight title will be on the line, and the fight will be televised by Showtime as part of the network's Super Six tournament. ... Robert "The Ghost" Guerrero recently gave up the junior lightweight world title he won last August so he could be with his wife, Casey, who in January 2009 was declared in remission from leukemia, only to see the disease return. Guerrero (25-1-1, 17 KOs) will be back in the ring Friday when he takes on Roberto Arrieta (35-15-4, 17 KOs) of Argentina in the main event at Tropicana Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas. Guerrero said his wife is doing well. "Casey is coming along great," said Guerrero of Gilroy. "She's still undergoing some procedures, but she's right where she's supposed to be." The fight will be televised by the Spanish-language station Telefutura.
Source: dailynews.com
Sometimes people get turned off when athletes talk about religion.
It's looked upon as boring. But according to promoter Kathy Duva, a very strong faith is what has made heavyweight Tomasz Adamek the exciting fighter he is today.
If Adamek were not a strong believer, he would be having a much more difficult time these days. The Poland native has been mourning Polish president Lech Kaczynski, his wife Maria and several other of the country's high-ranking politicians who lost their lives in a plane crash April 10.
Unfortunately, there's more. About two months before that, there was another catastrophe that took several people close to Adamek, who tonight will take on Chris Arreola at Citizens Business Bank Arena in Ontario (on HBO).
"A few weeks before he started camp, he lost several close friends in a plane crash," said Duva, president of New Jersey-based Main Events Inc. "And he knew people on this (presidential) plane, too. He doesn't even talk about it ...
"He is an incredibly religious man. That's who he is. We know him well and we understand that. Then you understand that he accepts fate, he accepts things that happen. They happen for a reason. He has complete and total unshakable faith."
As Adamek sat at a table in the San Manuel Casino in Highland following Monday's final news conference, it was easy to see just by looking into his eyes he was everything Duva said he is.
Adamek came off not only as a man with a strong belief in divinity but someone to take advice from during times of struggles.
"This is my motto in life: Without God, there is nothing," said Adamek, 33. "In everyday life, this is how I raise my children. I let them know that God is No. 1 and without him nothing makes sense.
"So it helps me in this situation and it helps me in every other aspect of life."
And, as Duva said, Adamek accepts fate. The way he explains it, it's the only way.
"Unfortunately, there is nothing we can do to help those people who perished, first my friends and now the president, because you have to believe there is some higher power which is guiding us," Adamek said. "They were unfortunate deaths of people who I know, but we shouldn't get into despair because it will not help you in life. You cannot go through life in despair. I was raised this way and I believe this is where my strength comes from is God."
Unshakable faith, indeed. It's who Adamek is and, as Duva claimed, what has helped him become a terrific fighter.
"That will carry anyone through any kind of adversity," Duva said when asked if she was concerned Adamek's sorrow will create a lack of concentration on tonight's task. "He's a guy who will stay focused on what he has to do.
"It's part of why he's gotten to where he is."
Adamek has won world titles in the light heavyweight and cruiserweight divisions. He was 3-1 in light heavyweight world title bouts, moved up in weight and went 3-0 in cruiserweight world championship fights.
With a thirst to become heavyweight champion, Adamek again moved up and is 2-0 in what used to be boxing's bread and butter division.
He brings a fine record of 40-1 with 27 knockouts into tonight's fight.
Regardless of his inner strength, he seemingly is in over his head physically against Arreola. The two heavyweights Adamek defeated over the past six months are fellow Pole Andrew Golota and Jason Estrada. Estrada is a very light hitter and Arreola refers to Golota as "an aged Andrew Golota." Golota was 41 when he was stopped in the fifth round by Adamek last October.
Arreola has a large size advantage. He is 6-foot-4 and Thursday weighed 250 1/2 pounds. Adamek is 6-1 1/2 and weighed in at 217.
"I do believe it will be competitive for a while," Arreola said. "But the thing is my job in there is to wear him down and show him what it's like to be in the heavyweight division."
No problem, said Adamek, who moved from Poland to New Jersey in 2008.
"The size of Chris Arreola really makes no difference," he said. "He's 6-8, 6-9, 260, 220, it doesn't really matter. It is what is in your head that matters, not your size.
"I don't plan to go down after three, four or five punches from Chris."
Rather, Adamek said he plans to be "quick and smart."
Arreola doesn't want to hear it.
"I don't care about this David and Goliath crap," he said. "I'm not here to preach the Bible."
Adamek is, and if he's victorious tonight against the likes of Arreola, those who yawn during religious speak might listen a little more closely in the future.
Mosley is still fighting with old PED issues
"Sugar" Shane Mosley is basically a mild-mannered sort. He usually is smiling and rarely frowning.
But Mosley was hot when a reporter asked him a question during a conference call this week regarding his use of steroids and the blood-doping agent EPO before his second fight with Oscar De La Hoya in 2003.
Mosley, who next Saturday will take on Floyd Mayweather Jr. at MGM Grand in Las Vegas, never tested positive for the performance-enhancing drugs, but he later admitted during grand jury testimony to unknowingly ingesting them.
The reporter asked this of Mosley: "Two thousand three is a long time ago, but can you say since then how you have felt differently in fights? Can you tell a difference from that night to how you fight now or recent fights from when you didn't take that stuff? I mean, what did it do to you as a fighter to come off it and then try to get back to just 100 percent of yourself and how you feel now when you're in the ring compared to then?"
Mosley reacted strongly.
"That's just a stupid question that you asked me because I never did that stuff," he said. "I never was on it really like that. I've always been a clean fighter."
He wasn't clean that night against De La Hoya, even if he thought he was. And now, seven years later, he's still dealing with the issue because he has a defamation suit against BALCO founder Victor Conte, who claims Mosley knew he was cheating.
Mosley, whose grand jury testimony was part of an investigation of BALCO, is sick of hearing about his connection to PEDs.
"It's ridiculous now that the media wants to make me the poster boy of steroids when I don't even ... whatever. If you guys want to continue to put that out there, so be it. So be it. You guys know the truth."
Conte recently released a video on YouTube showing some of the deposition Mosley gave in his suit against him. Mosley basically said he knew he was taking EPO, but he didn't know what EPO was until federal investigators clued him in.
Judd Burstein, Mosley's attorney, didn't want to talk much about the video and said Conte edited it to his advantage and, "Shane will be victorious in court and that will answer all the questions."
Etc.
Carl Froch (26-0, 20 KOs) of England will square off with Mikkel Kessler (42-2, 32 KOs) tonight in Kessler's native Denmark. Froch's super middleweight title will be on the line, and the fight will be televised by Showtime as part of the network's Super Six tournament. ... Robert "The Ghost" Guerrero recently gave up the junior lightweight world title he won last August so he could be with his wife, Casey, who in January 2009 was declared in remission from leukemia, only to see the disease return. Guerrero (25-1-1, 17 KOs) will be back in the ring Friday when he takes on Roberto Arrieta (35-15-4, 17 KOs) of Argentina in the main event at Tropicana Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas. Guerrero said his wife is doing well. "Casey is coming along great," said Guerrero of Gilroy. "She's still undergoing some procedures, but she's right where she's supposed to be." The fight will be televised by the Spanish-language station Telefutura.
Source: dailynews.com
Jumat, 23 April 2010
It’s ‘make-or-break time’ for Cris Arreola -- Los Angeles Times
By Lance Pugmire, Los Angeles Times
Cris Arreola still tells the jokes — "I want to thank Corona for building a heavyweight," he said recently — but he's aware the flab has lost its humor.
"It's very important that I start showcasing my skills," Arreola, 29, said as he wrapped up preparation for Saturday's heavyweight bout against former world light-heavyweight and cruiserweight champion Tomasz Adamek (40-1, 27 knockouts) at Citizens Business Bank Arena in Ontario. "I want to solidify the work of the people around me, show that [my promoter] isn't blowing smoke. I still have a lot to prove to myself."
Riverside's Arreola (28-1, 25 KOs) is seven months removed from his one-sided loss to world heavyweight champion Vitali Klitschko at Staples Center, when Arreola's trainer Henry Ramirez threw in the towel after 10 rounds.
Arreola has since confessed that he started training for that bout at 295 pounds, and Ramirez has scolded his fighter for disappearing during past training camps.
"When I disappear, I stay at home and play video games," Arreola said, denying that he's used the down time to drink beer and eat fatty foods. But he had a taste of a heavyweight title opportunity, and now says he aches for another.
"Once I lost to Klitschko, I realized it's make-or-break time for me," Arreola said. "My first question to [promoter] Dan [Goossen] after I lost was, ‘When can I fight again?' I hate losing. I don't want to be labeled a loser."
Arreola retained a new conditioning trainer, Darryl Hudson, who formerly worked with Shane Mosley and consults Winky Wright and super-middleweight Andre Dirrell.
"Cris' transformation is a process, mentally and physically, getting him to understand it takes a new lifestyle to become a world champion," Hudson said. "He sees progress now, and it spurs him to do better."
Hudson says Arreola will call him from a restaurant and ask, "Is this OK to eat?" They have spent weeks running up and down college stadium stairs, along the track, throwing medicine balls.
Still, for all that training Arreola weighed in this week at 250 1/2 pounds for the Adamek fight, only half a pound lighter than for the Klitschko bout.
"He knows he's got to show he's not just a come-forward, hit-me-in-the-chin kind of guy. You'll see a quicker, lighter, more nimble Cris Arreola," Hudson said.
Nimble? A description for Cris Arreola?
Now that's funny.
lance.pugmire@latimes.com
Copyright © 2010, The Los Angeles Times
Source: latimes.com
Cris Arreola still tells the jokes — "I want to thank Corona for building a heavyweight," he said recently — but he's aware the flab has lost its humor.
"It's very important that I start showcasing my skills," Arreola, 29, said as he wrapped up preparation for Saturday's heavyweight bout against former world light-heavyweight and cruiserweight champion Tomasz Adamek (40-1, 27 knockouts) at Citizens Business Bank Arena in Ontario. "I want to solidify the work of the people around me, show that [my promoter] isn't blowing smoke. I still have a lot to prove to myself."
Riverside's Arreola (28-1, 25 KOs) is seven months removed from his one-sided loss to world heavyweight champion Vitali Klitschko at Staples Center, when Arreola's trainer Henry Ramirez threw in the towel after 10 rounds.
Arreola has since confessed that he started training for that bout at 295 pounds, and Ramirez has scolded his fighter for disappearing during past training camps.
"When I disappear, I stay at home and play video games," Arreola said, denying that he's used the down time to drink beer and eat fatty foods. But he had a taste of a heavyweight title opportunity, and now says he aches for another.
"Once I lost to Klitschko, I realized it's make-or-break time for me," Arreola said. "My first question to [promoter] Dan [Goossen] after I lost was, ‘When can I fight again?' I hate losing. I don't want to be labeled a loser."
Arreola retained a new conditioning trainer, Darryl Hudson, who formerly worked with Shane Mosley and consults Winky Wright and super-middleweight Andre Dirrell.
"Cris' transformation is a process, mentally and physically, getting him to understand it takes a new lifestyle to become a world champion," Hudson said. "He sees progress now, and it spurs him to do better."
Hudson says Arreola will call him from a restaurant and ask, "Is this OK to eat?" They have spent weeks running up and down college stadium stairs, along the track, throwing medicine balls.
Still, for all that training Arreola weighed in this week at 250 1/2 pounds for the Adamek fight, only half a pound lighter than for the Klitschko bout.
"He knows he's got to show he's not just a come-forward, hit-me-in-the-chin kind of guy. You'll see a quicker, lighter, more nimble Cris Arreola," Hudson said.
Nimble? A description for Cris Arreola?
Now that's funny.
lance.pugmire@latimes.com
Copyright © 2010, The Los Angeles Times
Source: latimes.com
Adamek welcomes challenge against bigger Arreola -- USA Today
By Greg Beacham, AP Sports Writer
LOS ANGELES — Tomasz Adamek has risen through boxing's highest weight classes with impressive speed for three years now, steadily knocking off bigger and bigger opponents.
Title contenders don't come much bigger than Chris Arreola, and the fighters' 33-pound weight difference is just one reason their meeting in Ontario, Calif., is so intriguing.
No major titles or unbeaten records are on the line Saturday night at Citizens Business Bank Arena, just a short drive from Arreola's native Riverside. Arreola's meeting with Adamek merely is a competitive, tough-to-predict meeting of two top heavyweights and the type of bout that should occur much more often at boxing's elite levels, both fighters believe.
"It's great to get out there and see what happens against the best fighters," Arreola said. "He's not scared of me, and I know I'm not scared of anybody."
Both boxers could have taken simpler routes to title shots, but Arreola (28-1, 25 KOs) took just one tuneup fight after losing to WBC champion Vitali Klitschko in Los Angeles seven months ago before accepting a meeting with Adamek (40-1, 27 KOs), the former light heavyweight and cruiserweight champion who has won nine straight bouts.
"I'm glad I lost," Arreola said this week while getting his hands taped for a public workout across the street from Staples Center. "It humbles people. You gain a lot from losing. I lost for the heavyweight championship. I got my shot, and I'm going to get it again. I was ready last time, and it made me more prepared for fights like this, against guys like Adamek."
The Polish star also is taking a major risk against Arreola by fighting a bigger opponent in his own backyard. Although Arreola has significantly improved his conditioning in the past year, the hard-hitting brawler weighed in Thursday at 250 pounds, while the disciplined, speedy Adamek was a trim 217.
Adamek scoffs at the notion of a size advantage for Arreola.
"I don't know if you've noticed, but I am a little taller," Adamek said. "He is bigger by 25 or 30 pounds, but I don't pay attention to size too much. I'm trying to prepare myself to fight whatever the other guy brings to the ring. If he wants to brawl with me, I will do everything to discourage him to do it."
Adamek fights out of New Jersey, but trained for this bout in Houston after partnering with new trainer Ronnie Shields. He has developed a strong fan following both in his native country and the tri-state area, where he considers the Prudential Center in Newark the site of four of his last five fights to be his home arena.
Many of his European fans won't make it to his first fight on the West Coast and even more were forced to stay home after their flights were canceled by Iceland's volcanic eruption.
"I never had that easy career or easy life," Adamek said. "I don't like easy things. If you know how I can be a world champion fighting easy guys, please let me know. If you want to be a world champion, you have to beat the guys they are putting in front of you. For sure I can make easier money fighting in Poland or New Jersey, but it's not me. It makes no point. The fans know I'm a warrior. I'm not fighting for an easy paycheck."
And though many European athletes have fallen in love with Los Angeles including the Klitschko brothers, who live part-time in Southern California don't count Adamek among them.
"I'll be back in Jersey on Sunday, so you'll have my answer how I like here," Adamek said. "I'm just doing my job here, and on Sunday, it's Jersey, here I come."
Adamek has dedicated the fight to the victims of the plane crash that killed Poland's president, his wife and 94 other people two weeks earlier.
Arreola claims his newfound dedication to conditioning under coach Darryl Hudson has turned him into a fitter, more durable fighter, even if the results haven't showed on the scales. He weighed in at 251 pounds before meeting Klitschko.
"Everything is coming along so much easier, and it's all translating perfectly in the ring," Arreola said. "If I would have been smart enough to hire a strength-and-conditioning coach three or four fights earlier, I know I would have beaten Klitschko. I know I'd already be champion. You know me, being hardheaded, I didn't listen, but that's how much difference it has made."
Before the main event in Ontario, Alfredo "Perro" Angulo will face Joel Julio in a 154-pound bout. Although the meeting of two big punchers is more intriguing than anything on the undercard of Floyd Mayweather Jr.'s meeting with Sugar Shane Mosley next weekend, Angulo claims he felt marginalized in the promotion of his high-stakes fight against Colombia's Julio.
Angulo (17-1, 14 KOs), a Los Angeles resident and likely crowd favorite, has won two straight since a narrow decision loss to Kermit Cintron last May. Julio (35-3, 31 KOs) has fought just once since getting stopped by James Kirkland in San Jose last year for his second straight loss.
Copyright 2010 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Source: usatoday.com
LOS ANGELES — Tomasz Adamek has risen through boxing's highest weight classes with impressive speed for three years now, steadily knocking off bigger and bigger opponents.
Title contenders don't come much bigger than Chris Arreola, and the fighters' 33-pound weight difference is just one reason their meeting in Ontario, Calif., is so intriguing.
No major titles or unbeaten records are on the line Saturday night at Citizens Business Bank Arena, just a short drive from Arreola's native Riverside. Arreola's meeting with Adamek merely is a competitive, tough-to-predict meeting of two top heavyweights and the type of bout that should occur much more often at boxing's elite levels, both fighters believe.
"It's great to get out there and see what happens against the best fighters," Arreola said. "He's not scared of me, and I know I'm not scared of anybody."
Both boxers could have taken simpler routes to title shots, but Arreola (28-1, 25 KOs) took just one tuneup fight after losing to WBC champion Vitali Klitschko in Los Angeles seven months ago before accepting a meeting with Adamek (40-1, 27 KOs), the former light heavyweight and cruiserweight champion who has won nine straight bouts.
"I'm glad I lost," Arreola said this week while getting his hands taped for a public workout across the street from Staples Center. "It humbles people. You gain a lot from losing. I lost for the heavyweight championship. I got my shot, and I'm going to get it again. I was ready last time, and it made me more prepared for fights like this, against guys like Adamek."
The Polish star also is taking a major risk against Arreola by fighting a bigger opponent in his own backyard. Although Arreola has significantly improved his conditioning in the past year, the hard-hitting brawler weighed in Thursday at 250 pounds, while the disciplined, speedy Adamek was a trim 217.
Adamek scoffs at the notion of a size advantage for Arreola.
"I don't know if you've noticed, but I am a little taller," Adamek said. "He is bigger by 25 or 30 pounds, but I don't pay attention to size too much. I'm trying to prepare myself to fight whatever the other guy brings to the ring. If he wants to brawl with me, I will do everything to discourage him to do it."
Adamek fights out of New Jersey, but trained for this bout in Houston after partnering with new trainer Ronnie Shields. He has developed a strong fan following both in his native country and the tri-state area, where he considers the Prudential Center in Newark the site of four of his last five fights to be his home arena.
Many of his European fans won't make it to his first fight on the West Coast and even more were forced to stay home after their flights were canceled by Iceland's volcanic eruption.
"I never had that easy career or easy life," Adamek said. "I don't like easy things. If you know how I can be a world champion fighting easy guys, please let me know. If you want to be a world champion, you have to beat the guys they are putting in front of you. For sure I can make easier money fighting in Poland or New Jersey, but it's not me. It makes no point. The fans know I'm a warrior. I'm not fighting for an easy paycheck."
And though many European athletes have fallen in love with Los Angeles including the Klitschko brothers, who live part-time in Southern California don't count Adamek among them.
"I'll be back in Jersey on Sunday, so you'll have my answer how I like here," Adamek said. "I'm just doing my job here, and on Sunday, it's Jersey, here I come."
Adamek has dedicated the fight to the victims of the plane crash that killed Poland's president, his wife and 94 other people two weeks earlier.
Arreola claims his newfound dedication to conditioning under coach Darryl Hudson has turned him into a fitter, more durable fighter, even if the results haven't showed on the scales. He weighed in at 251 pounds before meeting Klitschko.
"Everything is coming along so much easier, and it's all translating perfectly in the ring," Arreola said. "If I would have been smart enough to hire a strength-and-conditioning coach three or four fights earlier, I know I would have beaten Klitschko. I know I'd already be champion. You know me, being hardheaded, I didn't listen, but that's how much difference it has made."
Before the main event in Ontario, Alfredo "Perro" Angulo will face Joel Julio in a 154-pound bout. Although the meeting of two big punchers is more intriguing than anything on the undercard of Floyd Mayweather Jr.'s meeting with Sugar Shane Mosley next weekend, Angulo claims he felt marginalized in the promotion of his high-stakes fight against Colombia's Julio.
Angulo (17-1, 14 KOs), a Los Angeles resident and likely crowd favorite, has won two straight since a narrow decision loss to Kermit Cintron last May. Julio (35-3, 31 KOs) has fought just once since getting stopped by James Kirkland in San Jose last year for his second straight loss.
Copyright 2010 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Source: usatoday.com
Rabu, 21 April 2010
Kessler faces crossroads fight in second group stage of Super Six -- Sports Illustrated
By Chris Mannix, SI.com
Here is the unspoken beauty of Showtime's Super Six tournament: a world-class champion can have an off night, get absolutely pounded and in his next fight get a shot at another title -- and a chance for redemption.
Meet Mikkel Kessler. When the tournament was first announced, Kessler was quickly tabbed as the favorite. For the better part of the last decade the muscular Dane was boxing's No. 2 super middleweight, ranked just behind Joe Calzaghe in the division. He won the WBA version of the title in 2004 and picked up the WBC belt two years later. He held the titles until 2007, when Calzaghe took them in an entertaining unification bout. When Calzaghe moved up to light heavyweight in 2008, Kessler regained the WBA title and defended it twice before entering the tournament.
Kessler's reign was interrupted again, however, last November when he faced Andre Ward in the opening stage. With a hostile crowd as the backdrop and a fighter with blinding speed in front of him, Kessler wilted, losing a technical decision after the ringside doctor ruled that a cut caused by a clash of heads was too deep for the fight to continue.
"I had to go back to boxing school," Kessler said in a conference call. "I'm so happy to be in this tournament with another chance to show all my boxing fans that I am the best."
Indeed, the Super Six's modified round-robin format gives Kessler an opportunity he otherwise may have had to wait months, if not years for. On Saturday night Kessler will challenge Carl Froch (9 p.m. ET, Showtime) for Froch's WBC title. While he faces a stiff test in Froch (26-0, 20 KOs), a loudmouth Brit with a Floyd Mayweather-ian view of his undefeated record, Kessler will have a home-ring advantage with the fight taking place in his backyard.
"This will be the biggest fight ever in Denmark," said Kessler's promoter, Kalle Sauerland. "We had 26,000 tickets and we were completely sold out of our allocation of tickets in about three hours. We think we may get about 1,000 back to be put on sale so there may actually still be a chance for people to see this fight live. It's beyond anything we've ever seen. It's beyond the [Mike] Tyson-[Brian] Nielsen fight that was here (in 2001). I think it may go down as one of the top five moments in sports history in Denmark."
None of that is relevant to Kessler (42-2, 32 KOs), who is at a career crossroads. A win elevates him back among the division's elite. A loss would likely knock him out of the tournament. Understanding this, Kessler has re-tooled his game plan -- I have changed a lot of tactics," Kessler said, "but I can't reveal [them] right now" -- and claims he's in his "best shape ever" for this fight.
"I learned from my mistakes after the Ward fight," Kessler said. "I learned I made mistakes outside the ring. I had to pick my sparring partners better three or four weeks out of the fight. I just feel I'm better than ever now. I'm ready to fight this fight. I really can't wait. I hope Carl is ready because I've trained very hard the last three months."
Shifting roles from favorite to underdog, Kessler says, is a good thing. Kessler admits he didn't respond well to the pressure of being No. 1.
"It's nice not to be the favorite in this tournament," Kessler said. "I'm like a young warrior again. And I'm super hungry again. I'm back and I'm very sharp at this time. I made my mistake and I just want to get back up and show all my boxing fans from around the world that I am the best super middleweight in the world."
No doubt, the tournament needs a competitive Kessler. Injuries, postponements and Jermain Taylor's withdrawal have taken some of the steam out of the Super Six. Tack on the meteoric rise of Lucian Bute -- whose presence threatens to make the winner of the tournament as irrelevant as the NIT champion -- and Showtime needs a big-time fight. Drawing a large American audience, however, will be difficult: not only will this be the first all-European matchup in Showtime's made-for-TV tournament, but Kessler-Froch will be going up against the NBA playoffs and HBO's Chris Arreola-Tomasz Adamek heavyweight tilt.
The tournament needs an entertaining fight to regain some of the public spotlight. And Kessler needs a win to step back into the light with it.
Source: sportsillustrated.cnn.com
Here is the unspoken beauty of Showtime's Super Six tournament: a world-class champion can have an off night, get absolutely pounded and in his next fight get a shot at another title -- and a chance for redemption.
Meet Mikkel Kessler. When the tournament was first announced, Kessler was quickly tabbed as the favorite. For the better part of the last decade the muscular Dane was boxing's No. 2 super middleweight, ranked just behind Joe Calzaghe in the division. He won the WBA version of the title in 2004 and picked up the WBC belt two years later. He held the titles until 2007, when Calzaghe took them in an entertaining unification bout. When Calzaghe moved up to light heavyweight in 2008, Kessler regained the WBA title and defended it twice before entering the tournament.
Kessler's reign was interrupted again, however, last November when he faced Andre Ward in the opening stage. With a hostile crowd as the backdrop and a fighter with blinding speed in front of him, Kessler wilted, losing a technical decision after the ringside doctor ruled that a cut caused by a clash of heads was too deep for the fight to continue.
"I had to go back to boxing school," Kessler said in a conference call. "I'm so happy to be in this tournament with another chance to show all my boxing fans that I am the best."
Indeed, the Super Six's modified round-robin format gives Kessler an opportunity he otherwise may have had to wait months, if not years for. On Saturday night Kessler will challenge Carl Froch (9 p.m. ET, Showtime) for Froch's WBC title. While he faces a stiff test in Froch (26-0, 20 KOs), a loudmouth Brit with a Floyd Mayweather-ian view of his undefeated record, Kessler will have a home-ring advantage with the fight taking place in his backyard.
"This will be the biggest fight ever in Denmark," said Kessler's promoter, Kalle Sauerland. "We had 26,000 tickets and we were completely sold out of our allocation of tickets in about three hours. We think we may get about 1,000 back to be put on sale so there may actually still be a chance for people to see this fight live. It's beyond anything we've ever seen. It's beyond the [Mike] Tyson-[Brian] Nielsen fight that was here (in 2001). I think it may go down as one of the top five moments in sports history in Denmark."
None of that is relevant to Kessler (42-2, 32 KOs), who is at a career crossroads. A win elevates him back among the division's elite. A loss would likely knock him out of the tournament. Understanding this, Kessler has re-tooled his game plan -- I have changed a lot of tactics," Kessler said, "but I can't reveal [them] right now" -- and claims he's in his "best shape ever" for this fight.
"I learned from my mistakes after the Ward fight," Kessler said. "I learned I made mistakes outside the ring. I had to pick my sparring partners better three or four weeks out of the fight. I just feel I'm better than ever now. I'm ready to fight this fight. I really can't wait. I hope Carl is ready because I've trained very hard the last three months."
Shifting roles from favorite to underdog, Kessler says, is a good thing. Kessler admits he didn't respond well to the pressure of being No. 1.
"It's nice not to be the favorite in this tournament," Kessler said. "I'm like a young warrior again. And I'm super hungry again. I'm back and I'm very sharp at this time. I made my mistake and I just want to get back up and show all my boxing fans from around the world that I am the best super middleweight in the world."
No doubt, the tournament needs a competitive Kessler. Injuries, postponements and Jermain Taylor's withdrawal have taken some of the steam out of the Super Six. Tack on the meteoric rise of Lucian Bute -- whose presence threatens to make the winner of the tournament as irrelevant as the NIT champion -- and Showtime needs a big-time fight. Drawing a large American audience, however, will be difficult: not only will this be the first all-European matchup in Showtime's made-for-TV tournament, but Kessler-Froch will be going up against the NBA playoffs and HBO's Chris Arreola-Tomasz Adamek heavyweight tilt.
The tournament needs an entertaining fight to regain some of the public spotlight. And Kessler needs a win to step back into the light with it.
Source: sportsillustrated.cnn.com
Selasa, 20 April 2010
Slimmer Minto Ready for Huck -- FightNews
By Brady Crytzer, FightNews.com
Over the last two years heavyweight prospect Brian Minto has filled a void. In a sport where “the good old days” seem farther than ever, the undersized heavyweight brawler has satisfied pundits who clamored for the time of Rocky Marciano and Jack Dempsey. After suffering a TKO loss to prospect Chris Arreola in December, the refocused Minto has dropped down in weight to make a run in the cruiserweight division. His first fight? WBO world champion Marco Huck. With his first career title shot looming in a brand new weight class, the rejuvenated Minto is ready for anything.
“I can see my stomach muscles now,” Minto joked. “I made a commitment to myself to lose this weight. Everything is faster now. My conditioning is the best it’s ever been and training just feels easier.”
Minto, who is training for this fight at Freddie Roach’s legendary Wild Card Gym, is not treading lightly in his new, trimmer frame. Joking that he hasn’t weighed under 200 pounds since his days at Butler High School, Minto is utilizing his new found gifts to their fullest extent. While he has weighed in less than 220 pounds for nearly every fight since 2005, Minto finally feels at home in the cruiserweight division.
“Speed is velocity and power,” Minto said. “I was afraid of losing some of my punching power, but Freddie (Roach) thinks that I hit harder than ever right now. This is a great weight for me. People think that I will be too drained come fight time, but the truth is that I’m on weight right now. I’m using the same program that Pacquiao trains with and I feel great.”
In his latest in ring appearance, Minto battled rising heavyweight star Chris Arreola. Nearly four inches shorter and outweighed by almost forty pounds, Minto was struck down in the fourth round by the highly-touted punching power of “The Nightmare.” Like any professional, Minto has taken the loss in stride, and considers the fight as a learning experience.
“Physics takes over,” Minto admitted. “When you are fight a world class heavyweight that can bang, being small is a disadvantage. He (Arreola) would just bump me and I would slide. Look at Jameel McCline. He laid down for his paycheck when he fought Chris. I gave him a good run.”
“When it comes down to it, I’ve got balls and heart. I’ll fight with everything I’ve got.”
Dropping down in weight has its advantages for a lifelong heavyweight. Where most would see Minto looking forward to capitalizing on his new found edge in power, the Butler, PA holds his in-ring experience as supreme in future cruiserweight match ups.
“My advantage is that I’ve been in with a world class puncher,” Minto explained. “It’s not to say that these cruiserweights can’t punch, but they aren’t heavyweights. I bring excitement and I hope to help cruiserweight get the recognition that it deserves.”
“Most Americans don’t know what the cruiserweight division is. You have great fighters like Steve Cunningham and BJ Flores fighting and they are hardly ever televised.”
Minto had envisioned himself in a world title fight from the beginning, but he never pictured it taking place in Germany. Fighting in his opponent’s backyard is an unfortunate experience that Minto has already been privy to. In 2006 Minto played the spoiler to German fans by stopping former world champion Axel Schultz. Now, on May 1st, he looks to do it again.
“I go into these situations as an underdog,” Minto admitted. “I’ve got everything to gain in the world here. I know that the judges’ will probably score close rounds in his favor, but I’m not worried. I’ve noticed that a lot of times he (Huck) will throw a lot of punches to try and steal rounds.”
“I’m bringing my own judges, and they’re my right and left hands.”
Awaiting Minto is WBO world cruiserweight champion Marco Huck. Born of Serbian descent and defending his title for a third time, Huck has established himself as one of the best in the world at 200 pounds. In his last in ring appearance just over six weeks ago, Huck wasted little time knocking out challenger Adam Richards. On May 1st, he looks to repeat his performance, this time against Minto.
“Huck is a strong guy,” Minto said. “I’m going to use my power advantage, but I’m not going to be stupid about it. From what I have been hearing he is going to try and knock me out. If he wants to, that’s great. He’ll be in for a hard night. I’m prepared for a dogfight.”
“Everything happens for a reason. God put this opportunity in front of me and I am taking it.”
Source: fightnews.com
Over the last two years heavyweight prospect Brian Minto has filled a void. In a sport where “the good old days” seem farther than ever, the undersized heavyweight brawler has satisfied pundits who clamored for the time of Rocky Marciano and Jack Dempsey. After suffering a TKO loss to prospect Chris Arreola in December, the refocused Minto has dropped down in weight to make a run in the cruiserweight division. His first fight? WBO world champion Marco Huck. With his first career title shot looming in a brand new weight class, the rejuvenated Minto is ready for anything.
“I can see my stomach muscles now,” Minto joked. “I made a commitment to myself to lose this weight. Everything is faster now. My conditioning is the best it’s ever been and training just feels easier.”
Minto, who is training for this fight at Freddie Roach’s legendary Wild Card Gym, is not treading lightly in his new, trimmer frame. Joking that he hasn’t weighed under 200 pounds since his days at Butler High School, Minto is utilizing his new found gifts to their fullest extent. While he has weighed in less than 220 pounds for nearly every fight since 2005, Minto finally feels at home in the cruiserweight division.
“Speed is velocity and power,” Minto said. “I was afraid of losing some of my punching power, but Freddie (Roach) thinks that I hit harder than ever right now. This is a great weight for me. People think that I will be too drained come fight time, but the truth is that I’m on weight right now. I’m using the same program that Pacquiao trains with and I feel great.”
In his latest in ring appearance, Minto battled rising heavyweight star Chris Arreola. Nearly four inches shorter and outweighed by almost forty pounds, Minto was struck down in the fourth round by the highly-touted punching power of “The Nightmare.” Like any professional, Minto has taken the loss in stride, and considers the fight as a learning experience.
“Physics takes over,” Minto admitted. “When you are fight a world class heavyweight that can bang, being small is a disadvantage. He (Arreola) would just bump me and I would slide. Look at Jameel McCline. He laid down for his paycheck when he fought Chris. I gave him a good run.”
“When it comes down to it, I’ve got balls and heart. I’ll fight with everything I’ve got.”
Dropping down in weight has its advantages for a lifelong heavyweight. Where most would see Minto looking forward to capitalizing on his new found edge in power, the Butler, PA holds his in-ring experience as supreme in future cruiserweight match ups.
“My advantage is that I’ve been in with a world class puncher,” Minto explained. “It’s not to say that these cruiserweights can’t punch, but they aren’t heavyweights. I bring excitement and I hope to help cruiserweight get the recognition that it deserves.”
“Most Americans don’t know what the cruiserweight division is. You have great fighters like Steve Cunningham and BJ Flores fighting and they are hardly ever televised.”
Minto had envisioned himself in a world title fight from the beginning, but he never pictured it taking place in Germany. Fighting in his opponent’s backyard is an unfortunate experience that Minto has already been privy to. In 2006 Minto played the spoiler to German fans by stopping former world champion Axel Schultz. Now, on May 1st, he looks to do it again.
“I go into these situations as an underdog,” Minto admitted. “I’ve got everything to gain in the world here. I know that the judges’ will probably score close rounds in his favor, but I’m not worried. I’ve noticed that a lot of times he (Huck) will throw a lot of punches to try and steal rounds.”
“I’m bringing my own judges, and they’re my right and left hands.”
Awaiting Minto is WBO world cruiserweight champion Marco Huck. Born of Serbian descent and defending his title for a third time, Huck has established himself as one of the best in the world at 200 pounds. In his last in ring appearance just over six weeks ago, Huck wasted little time knocking out challenger Adam Richards. On May 1st, he looks to repeat his performance, this time against Minto.
“Huck is a strong guy,” Minto said. “I’m going to use my power advantage, but I’m not going to be stupid about it. From what I have been hearing he is going to try and knock me out. If he wants to, that’s great. He’ll be in for a hard night. I’m prepared for a dogfight.”
“Everything happens for a reason. God put this opportunity in front of me and I am taking it.”
Source: fightnews.com
Senin, 19 April 2010
Arreola Hopes for a Fight to Break Out with Adamek -- SecondsOut
By Steve Kim, SecondsOut.com
On Saturday night at the Citizens Business Bank Arena in Ontario, California, the main event featured on HBO will be a heavyweight tussle between Chris Arreola and Tomasz Adamek. Based on track record, this battle looks to be among the most fan-friendly fights that can be made in the often dreary heavyweight division.
Arreola is a straight ahead banger who relies more on brawn than finesse in the ring, while Adamek, from his days as a light heavyweight and cruiserweight champion, has a history of being involved in slugfests. But Arreola, who will hold a sizable weight advantage on the Polish star, doesn’t believe that Adamek will sit and trade with him, at least not initially.
"No, I don’t expect him to bang with me at all. If he didn’t bang with Jason Estrada, who’s not a banger, can’t pop a grape, you expect him to bang with me? Exactly," reasoned Arreola. "So I don’t forsee that at all. But you can’t teach an old dog new tricks. He’s going to resort to his old stuff eventually. After a couple of rounds, four or five rounds, he’s going to have to go and bang."
While it’s true that eventually you’ll most likely revert to what you do best- which, in Adamek’s case, is stalking his prey and punching them out- it’s a whole different ballgame when you’re going up against much bigger men. Against Estrada in February, Adamek fought in a calculated manner. Arreola says he saw a boxer who cannot deal with a legitimate, 21st century heavyweight." No, not at all. Like I said, I wouldn’t be afraid of Estrada, I’d be in there banging with him. Estrada is not a puncher. Nothing about him says, ’Hey, I’m a puncher.’ It’s hit-and-go. And that’s what he was doing. You know I wouldn’t fear Estrada."
If that’s the case, then can Arreola lure Adamek into a firefight?
"I’m hoping for it, but y’ know what? Honestly, I’m going to make it that fight. Not him- I am, because he’s not that kind of fighter. He’s really going to try to run from me. I guarantee you from the bell, he’s going to jab and run, jab and run. That’s exactly what he’s going to do. And y’ know what? I’m going to come and bring the fight to him and make him fight and eventually, he’s going to have no choice but to fight me," said Arreola, who has a record of 28-1 with 25 knockouts. To prepare for the expected movement, his main sparring partner was Fres Oquendo.
His strength and conditioning coach, Daryl Hudson says, "The things that we’re focused on, is for Chris to be more agile, quicker. We really emphasized quickness and agility, to the level of effectiveness, that the level of sparring that we’re bringing in, he has to exercise those things, as well." A constant storyline with Arreola will always be his weight. It wasn’t that long ago he was fighting at 235 pounds (when he faced Malcolm Tann in 2007), to weighing in over 260, like he did for his last outing versus Brian Minto in December. But his team swears that he is a changed man after his loss to Vitali Klitschko last September. "Since then, he has mentioned to me that he finally watched the Klitschko fight,” Hudson continued. “I don’t know what prompted him to watch it; you know how fighters are after a devastating loss like that- because it was devastating to him- but the work we had been doing, was the work we just mentioned, agility, quickness, things of that nature. We were out working and warming up on the track one day, and he mentioned that he watched the fight and I think he now realizes that he can’t just run over people, plow them over and expect someone to step to him. He’s going to have to be a boxer, as well."
His often-times frustrated trainer, Henry Ramirez, insists that they have had a productive stretch out in Riverside, where they both hail from.
"Yes, very much so. An average training camp is eight weeks and so I tried to make this one a ten-week camp, with certain things in mind about Chris...let’s just leave it at that," said Ramirez, laughing. Those “certain things” are no small secret throughout boxing circles. The man likes his beer; he likes to eat large portions of food and has been known to simply disappear for a day or three during the lead-up to a fight.
Is he really a changed man after the loss to Klitschko?
"I would think so," said Ramirez, "I would certainly hope so. The Minto fight obviously wasn’t an example of that but, no matter what, people are going to judge him on what he weighs. That’s the reality. They’re going to assume that if he’s a certain weight, he’s in great shape or not in great shape. I’ll tell you this; he’s going to be under 245. So I guess in some people’s mind, they’re going to see him as being in superb shape."
But yes, there are still those…ahem…”certain things” with Arreola.
"There are moments; it’s just Chris," said Hudson, with a laugh. "It’s just his nature. Y’ know, with fighters, nothing should surprise you with them. They are who they are. They go through where they question themselves and it’s like a moment of truth. Every fighter- I don’t care who the opponent is- they tend to question themselves. But one thing about Chris is, when it’s time to step in-between the squared circle, he’s ready to fight and he’s gonna fight." Hudson believes that the indiscretions will lesson with time. "Yes, I think it will. What he’s doing now is, you see him execute the drills, the agility and the movement, the quickness, the double-jab, the triple-jab, things that we work on. Stepping, pushing off and you see him execute in sparring. That’s a beautiful thing when you see a fighter take what he learned into the ring."
For Arreola, less is more. When asked how much better his client is closer to 240 than 260, Hudson says, "On a level of one-to-ten, 260 being one, ten is 240. Even in the ’50s now, he’s moving like he’s in the ’40s. Just imagine when we get nine, ten pounds off of him within the next two weeks."
Regarding alcohol consumption, the big fella says, "I cut that off, now going on four weeks." Not even one beer? "No beer, no nothing." That had to be the most difficult vice for him to give up, right? "No," he clarified, "that’s not difficult. The most difficult thing is cutting out..." Uh, let’s just say it’s that thing that supposedly kills a fighter’s legs. "Yeah, exactly," said Arreola, chuckling.
So when it’s all said and done, will the leather fly on Saturday night?
"I would hope so, I mean, that’s what people are looking towards this fight," said Ramirez. "The fight that people want to see, and that gets this fight some of the press and people excited, is the assumption that Adamek is going to be Adamek. Chris is going to be Chris. Is Adamek going to be himself? I know that they’re going to try to box, initially. But like I told you before, I just think he’s a fighter at heart and at some point in this dog fight, he’ll resort to being the old Tomasz Adamek, exciting and a brawler, basically."
We hope so.
GHOST BUSTED
At the end of eight rounds on Saturday night at the Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, New Jersey, it seemed that Kelly Pavlik had things where he wanted them against Sergio Martinez. After getting out-boxed and out-quicked during the early rounds, he had seemingly figured out the riddle that was Martinez, who suffered a mid-round knockdown and seem to be fading a bit. It was at this point, you figured that the naturally bigger and stronger Pavlik would come on and wear down “Maravilla.” All the momentum was with Pavlik, at this point.
But in an interesting fight that played out in three stages, the last portion of the fight was taken by Martinez, who just seemed to grit his teeth and was determined not to be the recipient of another close, questionable call in the States. He got his second wind and started darting in and out and around Pavlik, then peppered him with sharp punches that cut Pavlik around both eyes and left him with a mask of crimson, by night’s end. The only thing that could save Pavlik this night was judges from Nevada, but being that they were about 3,000 miles away, he would get no such aid. Ultimately, Martinez won a well-deserved unanimous decision and distinction as the middleweight champion of the world.
Martinez was every bit the stylistic problem most had envisioned for Pavlik. But what was really striking to me was the lack of snap and torque in Pavlik’s punches and his inability to pull the trigger with any quickness or velocity. He’s still a heavy-handed guy, but I haven’t seen his offensive arsenal that made him so dangerous since 2007. Pavlik’s never been fleet of foot or a speed merchant, but he just looks like a fighter who’s movement looks so labored and forced. I know some will, of course, blame his trainer, Jack Loew, but to me, this is really about the thoroughbred and not the jockey. Pavlik has gone backwards physically at a time in his career when you think he should be in his prime.
I’m left wondering if the Pavlik who first captured the title from Jermain Taylor was the best version of him we’ll ever see. The future is certainly murky for the pride of Youngstown, Ohio, whose support in his hometown had waned before this latest setback. He has a rematch clause, but Martinez will simply present the same problems all over again and, next time around, armed with the confidence that he can defeat Pavlik.
But this was also a loss for the business of boxing, which needs all the ticket sellers it can get. Atlantic City has been looking for the next Arturo Gatti to be its flagship fighter and it was hoped that Pavlik would fill that void. But on Saturday night, Pavlik was unable to pull out a dramatic victory under the same circumstance that Gatti did on a regular basis.
And because of that, the search is still on.
VALERO
Like everyone else that follows boxing, I was hit with the disturbing news on Sunday morning that WBC lightweight champion Edwin Valero had allegedly stabbed his wife to death in his home country of Venezuela. I’m shocked but, then again, I’m not all that shocked. Valero’s life was turbulent, to say the least, and you just had a feeling it wasn’t going to end well. But I didn’t think the downfall would be to this extreme.
I remember getting introduced to a young Valero in the summer of 2004 by Joe Hernandez, who believed this young, dynamic, raw puncher had a chance to be a champion. I certainly didn’t follow him to the degree that my then-Max-colleague Doug Fischer did, but I enjoyed a friendly and cordial relationship with him, since that point. To him, I was that Asian guy who worked with the pony-tailed fellow who always interviewed him.
My last real interaction came with Valero the night before Manny Pacquiao faced Oscar De La Hoya on December 5th, 2008, at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas. He was with my friend Ray Alcorta of Top Rank, who had actually promoted some shows in Maywood, California, where Valero made his American debut, and was still pretty close with him. I was invited by them to have dinner at the Studio Cafe at the MGM Grand. We were with a group of about six or seven people, with Valero, Alcorta and me at the very end of the table. Valero speaks very little English, but I asked him through Alcorta, who he thought was going to win the next night. Very few pundits believed that the “Pac-Man” could topple De La Hoya going into that contest.
Valero calmly explained- to the shock of Alcorta- that this was an easy fight for Pacquiao and that he would be wagering big on him. He said during his time in camp as a sparring partner for Oscar in Big Bear, he could not miss him with his left-hand. And that, while he felt his left had more jolt than Pacquiao’s, the Filipino was much faster and quicker with his. He believed that Pacquiao would not be able to miss with that weapon. He also clarified something that was brought up in that “24/7” for that promotion, it was he, not Victor Ortiz, that blackened De La Hoya’s eyes during sparring. But because he was not a Golden Boy fighter, he wasn’t given credit for it and he was soon jettisoned from that camp. Something he had harsh feelings about.
He turned out to be a prophet, as Pacquiao- based largely on the utilization of his left hand- was able to dominate De La Hoya and stopped him after eight one-sided innings. I believe that was also the night when he was busted for a DUI on the strip.
Unfortunately for Valero, it seemed to be just the beginning of his problems.
STICKS AND STONES
I read that Shane Mosley’s attorney, Judd Burstein, isn’t too thrilled with the coverage given by the New York Daily News over the YouTube video released by Victor Conte, of his client admitting to his knowledge of EPO before his rematch with De La Hoya in 2003. He reportedly sent out this email to one of the stories co-authors, Nathaniel Vinton: "Nate, there will come a day when I have an opportunity to do serious harm to your career. You may not know it, at the time, that it was me, but when you end up with your job lost, reputation destroyed, I will call you to tell you it was me."
And this was perhaps one of the more tame things Burstein said about Vinton.
OK, but one question- just how does stuff like this aid Mosley, right about now?
SO CAL SCHEDULE
On Thursday night at the Club Nokia at L.A. Live, another edition of the “Fight Night Club” will be staged by Golden Boy Promotions. On Friday night, Thompson Boxing Promotions returns to the Doubletree Hotel in Ontario, California, followed by the big show the next evening at the CBBA.
I plan on pulling a trifecta. Hey, it’s my job; it’s what I do.
FINAL FLURRIES
Arreola-Adamek will take place after Alfredo Angulo and Joel Julio slug it out to begin the HBO telecast. “Ring of Fire” is what they are calling this show. Tickets are priced at $250, $100, $70 and $35. They can be purchased on www.Ticketmaster.com or the Citizens Business Bank Arena box-office (for more info, log onto CBBankArena.com)...There is an incredibly sad irony to this being the 25th anniversary of the classic battle between Marvin Hagler and Thomas Hearns and Hearns now being broke and having to auction off his belongings...Mosley’s trainer Naazim Richardson is the best thing to happen to this edition of “24/7”...Seriously, did HBO refer to Danny Jacobs and Fernando Guerrero as “top middleweights”? That’s a tad premature, in my opinion. But they are with Al Haymon, which it seems is their main qualification...I know Lucian Bute doesn’t have all that many options at 168, but please tell me that Bernard Hopkins isn’t one of them. Haven’t we had enough of him?...When did Kevin Garnett turn into such a phony tough guy? Geez, I used to be a big fan of KG...So Kanye West is the reason why Reggie Bush ran out on Kim Kardashian? (All the juicy details are on Mediatakeout.com). In the long run, Reg may have gotten lucky. Hey, you ain’t gonna tie him down...This week’s edition of “The Main Event” featured Golden Boy CEO Richard Schaefer and Yahoo! Sports’ Kevin Iole...Any questions or comments can be directed to k9kim@yahoo.com and you can follow me at www.twitter.com.stevemaxboxing. You can also become a Facebook fan of Maxboxing at www.facebook.com/MaxBoxing
Source: secondsout.com
On Saturday night at the Citizens Business Bank Arena in Ontario, California, the main event featured on HBO will be a heavyweight tussle between Chris Arreola and Tomasz Adamek. Based on track record, this battle looks to be among the most fan-friendly fights that can be made in the often dreary heavyweight division.
Arreola is a straight ahead banger who relies more on brawn than finesse in the ring, while Adamek, from his days as a light heavyweight and cruiserweight champion, has a history of being involved in slugfests. But Arreola, who will hold a sizable weight advantage on the Polish star, doesn’t believe that Adamek will sit and trade with him, at least not initially.
"No, I don’t expect him to bang with me at all. If he didn’t bang with Jason Estrada, who’s not a banger, can’t pop a grape, you expect him to bang with me? Exactly," reasoned Arreola. "So I don’t forsee that at all. But you can’t teach an old dog new tricks. He’s going to resort to his old stuff eventually. After a couple of rounds, four or five rounds, he’s going to have to go and bang."
While it’s true that eventually you’ll most likely revert to what you do best- which, in Adamek’s case, is stalking his prey and punching them out- it’s a whole different ballgame when you’re going up against much bigger men. Against Estrada in February, Adamek fought in a calculated manner. Arreola says he saw a boxer who cannot deal with a legitimate, 21st century heavyweight." No, not at all. Like I said, I wouldn’t be afraid of Estrada, I’d be in there banging with him. Estrada is not a puncher. Nothing about him says, ’Hey, I’m a puncher.’ It’s hit-and-go. And that’s what he was doing. You know I wouldn’t fear Estrada."
If that’s the case, then can Arreola lure Adamek into a firefight?
"I’m hoping for it, but y’ know what? Honestly, I’m going to make it that fight. Not him- I am, because he’s not that kind of fighter. He’s really going to try to run from me. I guarantee you from the bell, he’s going to jab and run, jab and run. That’s exactly what he’s going to do. And y’ know what? I’m going to come and bring the fight to him and make him fight and eventually, he’s going to have no choice but to fight me," said Arreola, who has a record of 28-1 with 25 knockouts. To prepare for the expected movement, his main sparring partner was Fres Oquendo.
His strength and conditioning coach, Daryl Hudson says, "The things that we’re focused on, is for Chris to be more agile, quicker. We really emphasized quickness and agility, to the level of effectiveness, that the level of sparring that we’re bringing in, he has to exercise those things, as well." A constant storyline with Arreola will always be his weight. It wasn’t that long ago he was fighting at 235 pounds (when he faced Malcolm Tann in 2007), to weighing in over 260, like he did for his last outing versus Brian Minto in December. But his team swears that he is a changed man after his loss to Vitali Klitschko last September. "Since then, he has mentioned to me that he finally watched the Klitschko fight,” Hudson continued. “I don’t know what prompted him to watch it; you know how fighters are after a devastating loss like that- because it was devastating to him- but the work we had been doing, was the work we just mentioned, agility, quickness, things of that nature. We were out working and warming up on the track one day, and he mentioned that he watched the fight and I think he now realizes that he can’t just run over people, plow them over and expect someone to step to him. He’s going to have to be a boxer, as well."
His often-times frustrated trainer, Henry Ramirez, insists that they have had a productive stretch out in Riverside, where they both hail from.
"Yes, very much so. An average training camp is eight weeks and so I tried to make this one a ten-week camp, with certain things in mind about Chris...let’s just leave it at that," said Ramirez, laughing. Those “certain things” are no small secret throughout boxing circles. The man likes his beer; he likes to eat large portions of food and has been known to simply disappear for a day or three during the lead-up to a fight.
Is he really a changed man after the loss to Klitschko?
"I would think so," said Ramirez, "I would certainly hope so. The Minto fight obviously wasn’t an example of that but, no matter what, people are going to judge him on what he weighs. That’s the reality. They’re going to assume that if he’s a certain weight, he’s in great shape or not in great shape. I’ll tell you this; he’s going to be under 245. So I guess in some people’s mind, they’re going to see him as being in superb shape."
But yes, there are still those…ahem…”certain things” with Arreola.
"There are moments; it’s just Chris," said Hudson, with a laugh. "It’s just his nature. Y’ know, with fighters, nothing should surprise you with them. They are who they are. They go through where they question themselves and it’s like a moment of truth. Every fighter- I don’t care who the opponent is- they tend to question themselves. But one thing about Chris is, when it’s time to step in-between the squared circle, he’s ready to fight and he’s gonna fight." Hudson believes that the indiscretions will lesson with time. "Yes, I think it will. What he’s doing now is, you see him execute the drills, the agility and the movement, the quickness, the double-jab, the triple-jab, things that we work on. Stepping, pushing off and you see him execute in sparring. That’s a beautiful thing when you see a fighter take what he learned into the ring."
For Arreola, less is more. When asked how much better his client is closer to 240 than 260, Hudson says, "On a level of one-to-ten, 260 being one, ten is 240. Even in the ’50s now, he’s moving like he’s in the ’40s. Just imagine when we get nine, ten pounds off of him within the next two weeks."
Regarding alcohol consumption, the big fella says, "I cut that off, now going on four weeks." Not even one beer? "No beer, no nothing." That had to be the most difficult vice for him to give up, right? "No," he clarified, "that’s not difficult. The most difficult thing is cutting out..." Uh, let’s just say it’s that thing that supposedly kills a fighter’s legs. "Yeah, exactly," said Arreola, chuckling.
So when it’s all said and done, will the leather fly on Saturday night?
"I would hope so, I mean, that’s what people are looking towards this fight," said Ramirez. "The fight that people want to see, and that gets this fight some of the press and people excited, is the assumption that Adamek is going to be Adamek. Chris is going to be Chris. Is Adamek going to be himself? I know that they’re going to try to box, initially. But like I told you before, I just think he’s a fighter at heart and at some point in this dog fight, he’ll resort to being the old Tomasz Adamek, exciting and a brawler, basically."
We hope so.
GHOST BUSTED
At the end of eight rounds on Saturday night at the Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, New Jersey, it seemed that Kelly Pavlik had things where he wanted them against Sergio Martinez. After getting out-boxed and out-quicked during the early rounds, he had seemingly figured out the riddle that was Martinez, who suffered a mid-round knockdown and seem to be fading a bit. It was at this point, you figured that the naturally bigger and stronger Pavlik would come on and wear down “Maravilla.” All the momentum was with Pavlik, at this point.
But in an interesting fight that played out in three stages, the last portion of the fight was taken by Martinez, who just seemed to grit his teeth and was determined not to be the recipient of another close, questionable call in the States. He got his second wind and started darting in and out and around Pavlik, then peppered him with sharp punches that cut Pavlik around both eyes and left him with a mask of crimson, by night’s end. The only thing that could save Pavlik this night was judges from Nevada, but being that they were about 3,000 miles away, he would get no such aid. Ultimately, Martinez won a well-deserved unanimous decision and distinction as the middleweight champion of the world.
Martinez was every bit the stylistic problem most had envisioned for Pavlik. But what was really striking to me was the lack of snap and torque in Pavlik’s punches and his inability to pull the trigger with any quickness or velocity. He’s still a heavy-handed guy, but I haven’t seen his offensive arsenal that made him so dangerous since 2007. Pavlik’s never been fleet of foot or a speed merchant, but he just looks like a fighter who’s movement looks so labored and forced. I know some will, of course, blame his trainer, Jack Loew, but to me, this is really about the thoroughbred and not the jockey. Pavlik has gone backwards physically at a time in his career when you think he should be in his prime.
I’m left wondering if the Pavlik who first captured the title from Jermain Taylor was the best version of him we’ll ever see. The future is certainly murky for the pride of Youngstown, Ohio, whose support in his hometown had waned before this latest setback. He has a rematch clause, but Martinez will simply present the same problems all over again and, next time around, armed with the confidence that he can defeat Pavlik.
But this was also a loss for the business of boxing, which needs all the ticket sellers it can get. Atlantic City has been looking for the next Arturo Gatti to be its flagship fighter and it was hoped that Pavlik would fill that void. But on Saturday night, Pavlik was unable to pull out a dramatic victory under the same circumstance that Gatti did on a regular basis.
And because of that, the search is still on.
VALERO
Like everyone else that follows boxing, I was hit with the disturbing news on Sunday morning that WBC lightweight champion Edwin Valero had allegedly stabbed his wife to death in his home country of Venezuela. I’m shocked but, then again, I’m not all that shocked. Valero’s life was turbulent, to say the least, and you just had a feeling it wasn’t going to end well. But I didn’t think the downfall would be to this extreme.
I remember getting introduced to a young Valero in the summer of 2004 by Joe Hernandez, who believed this young, dynamic, raw puncher had a chance to be a champion. I certainly didn’t follow him to the degree that my then-Max-colleague Doug Fischer did, but I enjoyed a friendly and cordial relationship with him, since that point. To him, I was that Asian guy who worked with the pony-tailed fellow who always interviewed him.
My last real interaction came with Valero the night before Manny Pacquiao faced Oscar De La Hoya on December 5th, 2008, at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas. He was with my friend Ray Alcorta of Top Rank, who had actually promoted some shows in Maywood, California, where Valero made his American debut, and was still pretty close with him. I was invited by them to have dinner at the Studio Cafe at the MGM Grand. We were with a group of about six or seven people, with Valero, Alcorta and me at the very end of the table. Valero speaks very little English, but I asked him through Alcorta, who he thought was going to win the next night. Very few pundits believed that the “Pac-Man” could topple De La Hoya going into that contest.
Valero calmly explained- to the shock of Alcorta- that this was an easy fight for Pacquiao and that he would be wagering big on him. He said during his time in camp as a sparring partner for Oscar in Big Bear, he could not miss him with his left-hand. And that, while he felt his left had more jolt than Pacquiao’s, the Filipino was much faster and quicker with his. He believed that Pacquiao would not be able to miss with that weapon. He also clarified something that was brought up in that “24/7” for that promotion, it was he, not Victor Ortiz, that blackened De La Hoya’s eyes during sparring. But because he was not a Golden Boy fighter, he wasn’t given credit for it and he was soon jettisoned from that camp. Something he had harsh feelings about.
He turned out to be a prophet, as Pacquiao- based largely on the utilization of his left hand- was able to dominate De La Hoya and stopped him after eight one-sided innings. I believe that was also the night when he was busted for a DUI on the strip.
Unfortunately for Valero, it seemed to be just the beginning of his problems.
STICKS AND STONES
I read that Shane Mosley’s attorney, Judd Burstein, isn’t too thrilled with the coverage given by the New York Daily News over the YouTube video released by Victor Conte, of his client admitting to his knowledge of EPO before his rematch with De La Hoya in 2003. He reportedly sent out this email to one of the stories co-authors, Nathaniel Vinton: "Nate, there will come a day when I have an opportunity to do serious harm to your career. You may not know it, at the time, that it was me, but when you end up with your job lost, reputation destroyed, I will call you to tell you it was me."
And this was perhaps one of the more tame things Burstein said about Vinton.
OK, but one question- just how does stuff like this aid Mosley, right about now?
SO CAL SCHEDULE
On Thursday night at the Club Nokia at L.A. Live, another edition of the “Fight Night Club” will be staged by Golden Boy Promotions. On Friday night, Thompson Boxing Promotions returns to the Doubletree Hotel in Ontario, California, followed by the big show the next evening at the CBBA.
I plan on pulling a trifecta. Hey, it’s my job; it’s what I do.
FINAL FLURRIES
Arreola-Adamek will take place after Alfredo Angulo and Joel Julio slug it out to begin the HBO telecast. “Ring of Fire” is what they are calling this show. Tickets are priced at $250, $100, $70 and $35. They can be purchased on www.Ticketmaster.com or the Citizens Business Bank Arena box-office (for more info, log onto CBBankArena.com)...There is an incredibly sad irony to this being the 25th anniversary of the classic battle between Marvin Hagler and Thomas Hearns and Hearns now being broke and having to auction off his belongings...Mosley’s trainer Naazim Richardson is the best thing to happen to this edition of “24/7”...Seriously, did HBO refer to Danny Jacobs and Fernando Guerrero as “top middleweights”? That’s a tad premature, in my opinion. But they are with Al Haymon, which it seems is their main qualification...I know Lucian Bute doesn’t have all that many options at 168, but please tell me that Bernard Hopkins isn’t one of them. Haven’t we had enough of him?...When did Kevin Garnett turn into such a phony tough guy? Geez, I used to be a big fan of KG...So Kanye West is the reason why Reggie Bush ran out on Kim Kardashian? (All the juicy details are on Mediatakeout.com). In the long run, Reg may have gotten lucky. Hey, you ain’t gonna tie him down...This week’s edition of “The Main Event” featured Golden Boy CEO Richard Schaefer and Yahoo! Sports’ Kevin Iole...Any questions or comments can be directed to k9kim@yahoo.com and you can follow me at www.twitter.com.stevemaxboxing. You can also become a Facebook fan of Maxboxing at www.facebook.com/MaxBoxing
Source: secondsout.com
Rabu, 14 April 2010
Tomasz Adamek Mulls 'Tragedy' Against Chris Arreola -- FanHouse
By Lem Satterfield, FanHouse
A week prior to November's 12th-round, knockout of former three-time world champion, Miguel Cotto, WBO welterweight (147 pounds) king,Manny Pacquiao, delivered food as part of disaster relief in his native Manila, Philippines during a murderous typhoon.
Last Saturday, Haitian-American, WBC welterweight titlist, Andre Berto, of Winter Haven, Fla., scored an eighth-round knockout of southpaw former world champion, Carlos Quintana, of Puerto Rico.
Berto did so with a heavy heart in a clash that ended an 11-month ring absence during which eight of Berto's family members were killed in the mid-January earthquake that rocked Haiti, and during which Berto made several trips to provide everything from financial support to burying the dead.
On Saturday, April 24, at Citizens Business Bank Arena, Ontario, Calif., the nearly 6-foot-2, Polish-born former light heavyweight (175 pounds) and cruiser weight (200 pounds) champion, Tomasz Adamek, of Jersey City, will be facing similar adversity when he takes on 6-foot-4, heavyweight contender, Chris Arreola, who, weighed 263 pounds for his last fight and represents the largest man the 33-year-old Adamek has ever fought.
And Adamek (40-1, 27 knockouts) will be doing so while thinking about the 96 passengers and crew who died in Saturday's plane crash in Russia near Smolensk, including Polish President, Lech Kaczynski, and several political, military and religious leaders.
"Team Adamek is dedicating this fight to all of the people who died there and to their families. This was a tragedy which has never, ever happened in the history of the world. We basically lost the president, the First Lady. There's nobody there. It's a big void. How those people will be replaced, I have no idea. Just the outpouring of grief and sympathy," said Adamek, during a conference call that included Arreola on Wednesday.
"Today, just to see the coffin of the president, you have to stay in a line which is about five miles long. This is what is happening right now in Poland," said Adamek, who has won nine straight fights with six knockouts during the run. "This is a great tragedy on a personal and political level. Every Pole is feeling the grief, and every Pole is touched, because we don't know how we're going to rebuild it."
Adamek debuted in boxing's largest division with October's fifth-round knockout of former world heavyweight title contender, Andrew Golota (41-8-1, 33 KOs), whom Adamek dropped in the first, and, fifth rounds, despite being out-weighed, 214-to-256.
In his second heavyweight bout in February, Adamek earned a 12-round, unanimous decision over former U.S. Olympian, Jason Estrada, who out-weighted Adamek, 237-to-220.5.
But the 28-year-old Arreola (28-1, 25 knockouts) weighed a career-high, 263-pounds for his last bout, which was which was December's fourth-round knockout of Brian Minto (34-3, 21 KOs), who was stopped for the first time in his career by Arreola.
Nicknamed, "The Nightmare," Arreola's victory helped him to bounce back from September's 10th-round knockout loss to WBC king, Vitali Klitschko (39-2, 37 KOs) heading into the clash with Adamek, who is dedicating the fight to those who died in the airplane crash.
"I was invited to have breakfast with President Kaczynski [to happen in May,] who died in the accident, and it was supposed to happen just after the fight with Chris," said Adamek, whose match with Golota, a native of Warsaw, Poland, who lives in Chicago, took place in Atlas Arena in Lodz, Poland, before a large crowd there.
"I know that the president was as big fan of boxing. A bigger fan than he was of soccer. So this is the one person that I will never ever get to see. I have a very deep faith, and I am strong because of this faith," said Adamek. "I understood what happened, and I am grieving, but I can seperate my personal feelings and draw from my religious experiences and strength to not be distracted before this fight. I am very motivated."
Adamek has not lost a fight since February of 2007, when he was dethroned as WBC, light heavyweight champion via unanimous decision against Chad Dawson.
"The light heavyweight championship was a nightmare, no pun intended. Being that I had to lose 15-and-20 pounds every time, I was basically exhausted all of the time," said Adamek.
"So I couldn't wait to get out of the light heavyweight division and start doing something as a cruiser weight," said Adamek. "And I decided to fight the best at that weight from the beginning. I fought Steve Cunningham, who was the No. 1 boxer and I beat him in my first really tough cruiser weight fight."
Adamek won the IBF cruiser weight belt by split-decision over Steve Cunningham in December of 2008, and defending it twice before facing Golota.
"The Bible said that David won versus Goliath. So the size in the ring will not matter. It never mattered to me. I draw my inspiration from God. I won two titles in two different divisions. Nobody thought I could win those, and I want a third one," said Adamek.
"So in this case, the size of Chris Arreola, whether he's 6-8, 6-9, 6-5, it really makes no difference," said Adamek. "Because you're winning the fight, and this is what I strongly believe, with what's in your heart, and not the size of your body. This is a natural progression for me to be a heavyweight, and I've believed that from the beginning. I realize how tough Chris Arreola is, but the tougher it is, the better I am."
Arreola, however, believes that his size and experience will be too much for Adamek.
"Honestly, I don't think that Adamek's going to come and try to fight me the way that he's fought in the light heavyweight division and in the cruiser weight division. If he didn't come to fight against Estrada, then there's no way that he's going to come and try to fight me, because Estrada can't pop a grape," said Arreola.
"If he comes to fight me, then he's going to get knocked out. Personally, I'm hoping that he comes to fight, but you know I don't expect him to fight the way that he used to fight," said Arreola.
"Do I hope that it's going to be an exciting fight? Yes, on my part, I'm going to give my all to make it an exciting fight," said Arreola. "As far as quickness, I don't care about his quickness. People don't think that I'm quick, so there are some stuff that I might have to show people in this fight."
Arreola caused a stir by saying that he considered Adamek to be a "medicated heavyweight" until later clarifying that he did not mean that Adamek had used steroids to increase his strength and weight.
"I consider Adamek to be a cruiser weight who doesn't have to cut down. To me, he's a medicated heavyweight. As far as him being a full-blown heavyweight, I don't believe that he is. I believe that he's a blown up cruiser weight. After this, he's going to have to go back to cruiser weight. My job in this fight is to show him that he doesn't belong in the heavyweight division," said Arreola.
"Tomasz Adamek was saying that David versus Goliath type of crap, but I just don't care about that. I'm there to fight," said Arreola. "I'm not there to preach the Bible. I don't care. I'm there to fight, and I'm a fighter, and that's what I do. The main thing about this camp is that everything's moving along and everything is a lot easier than it used to be."
Arreola said that he believes that he will have to chase Adamek before cornering him and finishing him.
"Tomasz Adamek is a proven champion, and my respect goes out to him in that sense. But one thing is that I know that he's going to run away from me, and I know that I'm going to have to try to cut the ring off," said Arreola.
"And once I get him against the ropes, I'm going to have to bang away -- bang his arms, bang his body, and do whatever I have to do," said Arreola. "I just think that losing to Vitali Klitschko, that fight should have been mine. I feel like I have a lot to prove. But Tomasz is no Vitali Klitschko. Vitali was big and rangy and he knew how to run, but eventually, I'm going to catch up to him, and then, it's going to be over."
But Adamek said that he will out box Arreola.
"My strategy in a fight is to move around and not get hit," said Adamek. "But believe me, Chris Arreola will get hit."
Source: boxing.fanhouse.com
A week prior to November's 12th-round, knockout of former three-time world champion, Miguel Cotto, WBO welterweight (147 pounds) king,Manny Pacquiao, delivered food as part of disaster relief in his native Manila, Philippines during a murderous typhoon.
Last Saturday, Haitian-American, WBC welterweight titlist, Andre Berto, of Winter Haven, Fla., scored an eighth-round knockout of southpaw former world champion, Carlos Quintana, of Puerto Rico.
Berto did so with a heavy heart in a clash that ended an 11-month ring absence during which eight of Berto's family members were killed in the mid-January earthquake that rocked Haiti, and during which Berto made several trips to provide everything from financial support to burying the dead.
On Saturday, April 24, at Citizens Business Bank Arena, Ontario, Calif., the nearly 6-foot-2, Polish-born former light heavyweight (175 pounds) and cruiser weight (200 pounds) champion, Tomasz Adamek, of Jersey City, will be facing similar adversity when he takes on 6-foot-4, heavyweight contender, Chris Arreola, who, weighed 263 pounds for his last fight and represents the largest man the 33-year-old Adamek has ever fought.
And Adamek (40-1, 27 knockouts) will be doing so while thinking about the 96 passengers and crew who died in Saturday's plane crash in Russia near Smolensk, including Polish President, Lech Kaczynski, and several political, military and religious leaders.
"Team Adamek is dedicating this fight to all of the people who died there and to their families. This was a tragedy which has never, ever happened in the history of the world. We basically lost the president, the First Lady. There's nobody there. It's a big void. How those people will be replaced, I have no idea. Just the outpouring of grief and sympathy," said Adamek, during a conference call that included Arreola on Wednesday.
"Today, just to see the coffin of the president, you have to stay in a line which is about five miles long. This is what is happening right now in Poland," said Adamek, who has won nine straight fights with six knockouts during the run. "This is a great tragedy on a personal and political level. Every Pole is feeling the grief, and every Pole is touched, because we don't know how we're going to rebuild it."
Adamek debuted in boxing's largest division with October's fifth-round knockout of former world heavyweight title contender, Andrew Golota (41-8-1, 33 KOs), whom Adamek dropped in the first, and, fifth rounds, despite being out-weighed, 214-to-256.
In his second heavyweight bout in February, Adamek earned a 12-round, unanimous decision over former U.S. Olympian, Jason Estrada, who out-weighted Adamek, 237-to-220.5.
But the 28-year-old Arreola (28-1, 25 knockouts) weighed a career-high, 263-pounds for his last bout, which was which was December's fourth-round knockout of Brian Minto (34-3, 21 KOs), who was stopped for the first time in his career by Arreola.
Nicknamed, "The Nightmare," Arreola's victory helped him to bounce back from September's 10th-round knockout loss to WBC king, Vitali Klitschko (39-2, 37 KOs) heading into the clash with Adamek, who is dedicating the fight to those who died in the airplane crash.
"I was invited to have breakfast with President Kaczynski [to happen in May,] who died in the accident, and it was supposed to happen just after the fight with Chris," said Adamek, whose match with Golota, a native of Warsaw, Poland, who lives in Chicago, took place in Atlas Arena in Lodz, Poland, before a large crowd there.
"I know that the president was as big fan of boxing. A bigger fan than he was of soccer. So this is the one person that I will never ever get to see. I have a very deep faith, and I am strong because of this faith," said Adamek. "I understood what happened, and I am grieving, but I can seperate my personal feelings and draw from my religious experiences and strength to not be distracted before this fight. I am very motivated."
Adamek has not lost a fight since February of 2007, when he was dethroned as WBC, light heavyweight champion via unanimous decision against Chad Dawson.
"The light heavyweight championship was a nightmare, no pun intended. Being that I had to lose 15-and-20 pounds every time, I was basically exhausted all of the time," said Adamek.
"So I couldn't wait to get out of the light heavyweight division and start doing something as a cruiser weight," said Adamek. "And I decided to fight the best at that weight from the beginning. I fought Steve Cunningham, who was the No. 1 boxer and I beat him in my first really tough cruiser weight fight."
Adamek won the IBF cruiser weight belt by split-decision over Steve Cunningham in December of 2008, and defending it twice before facing Golota.
"The Bible said that David won versus Goliath. So the size in the ring will not matter. It never mattered to me. I draw my inspiration from God. I won two titles in two different divisions. Nobody thought I could win those, and I want a third one," said Adamek.
"So in this case, the size of Chris Arreola, whether he's 6-8, 6-9, 6-5, it really makes no difference," said Adamek. "Because you're winning the fight, and this is what I strongly believe, with what's in your heart, and not the size of your body. This is a natural progression for me to be a heavyweight, and I've believed that from the beginning. I realize how tough Chris Arreola is, but the tougher it is, the better I am."
Arreola, however, believes that his size and experience will be too much for Adamek.
"Honestly, I don't think that Adamek's going to come and try to fight me the way that he's fought in the light heavyweight division and in the cruiser weight division. If he didn't come to fight against Estrada, then there's no way that he's going to come and try to fight me, because Estrada can't pop a grape," said Arreola.
"If he comes to fight me, then he's going to get knocked out. Personally, I'm hoping that he comes to fight, but you know I don't expect him to fight the way that he used to fight," said Arreola.
"Do I hope that it's going to be an exciting fight? Yes, on my part, I'm going to give my all to make it an exciting fight," said Arreola. "As far as quickness, I don't care about his quickness. People don't think that I'm quick, so there are some stuff that I might have to show people in this fight."
Arreola caused a stir by saying that he considered Adamek to be a "medicated heavyweight" until later clarifying that he did not mean that Adamek had used steroids to increase his strength and weight.
"I consider Adamek to be a cruiser weight who doesn't have to cut down. To me, he's a medicated heavyweight. As far as him being a full-blown heavyweight, I don't believe that he is. I believe that he's a blown up cruiser weight. After this, he's going to have to go back to cruiser weight. My job in this fight is to show him that he doesn't belong in the heavyweight division," said Arreola.
"Tomasz Adamek was saying that David versus Goliath type of crap, but I just don't care about that. I'm there to fight," said Arreola. "I'm not there to preach the Bible. I don't care. I'm there to fight, and I'm a fighter, and that's what I do. The main thing about this camp is that everything's moving along and everything is a lot easier than it used to be."
Arreola said that he believes that he will have to chase Adamek before cornering him and finishing him.
"Tomasz Adamek is a proven champion, and my respect goes out to him in that sense. But one thing is that I know that he's going to run away from me, and I know that I'm going to have to try to cut the ring off," said Arreola.
"And once I get him against the ropes, I'm going to have to bang away -- bang his arms, bang his body, and do whatever I have to do," said Arreola. "I just think that losing to Vitali Klitschko, that fight should have been mine. I feel like I have a lot to prove. But Tomasz is no Vitali Klitschko. Vitali was big and rangy and he knew how to run, but eventually, I'm going to catch up to him, and then, it's going to be over."
But Adamek said that he will out box Arreola.
"My strategy in a fight is to move around and not get hit," said Adamek. "But believe me, Chris Arreola will get hit."
Source: boxing.fanhouse.com
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