Tomasz Adamek Fights On, Bryant Jennings Demands Respect
Photos by Gautham Nagesh and Trey Pollard for StiffJab.com
by Gautham Nagesh
NEWARK, N.J.—As I have frequently opined, boxing can be a painful sport to follow and even more confounding to cover. The most-hyped fights are often the biggest disappointments, and sometimes innocuous undercard matchups turn into the sport’s finest moments.
I had low expectations when I drove up from Washington to cover Saturday’s heavyweight card at the Prudential Center here. I wasn’t alone, judging by the sparse, mostly pro-Adamek crowd that showed up for the 2 p.m. matinee aimed at Polish PPV subscribers. But Main Events and Peltz Boxing have repeatedly defied expectations with their low-budget shows, and they managed to do so again on this September afternoon.
Those fans that did brave the intermittent thunderstorms were rewarded with an stellar six-fight show featuring four knockouts, including impressive performances by headliner Tomasz Adamek and rising Philly prospect Bryant Jennings (below). Adamek was sensational, recovering from early knockdown to stop Travis Walker in the fifth round of an absolute barnburner. Meanwhile, Jennings needed only four punches to finish the overwhelmed Chris Koval. Former cruiserweight champ Steve Cunningham won his heavyweight debut over Jason Gavern, and Jerry Belmontes of Texas won a tough fight against fellow 130-lb prospect Joselito Collado of Queens.
But the night belonged to Adamek, whose star appeared to have dimmed since his loss to Vitali Klitschko last year. The Pole’s recent bouts at The Rock haven’t drawn as well as in the past; his previous decision win against the one-armed Eddie Chambers in June didn’t win him any new fans, as Adamek admitted after this fight. But his latest performance against a heavyweight with power confirmed why Adamek is one of the sport’s most respected fighters.
After a slow first round, Walker woke Adamek up in the second with a straight right hand that sent the Pole down for a count. This was no flash knockdown, either. Adamek was clearly hurt and looked in serious trouble, as Walker attempted close the show while the crowd anxiously looked on.
But the Floridian looked overeager, and later admitted his punches weren’t crisp. The initial punch that floored Adamek had come from a relaxed Walker, in the natural course of the fight. Once it landed, out went the game plan.
“I’m known for getting excited after I hurt somebody and I definitely got too excited,” Walker said afterward. “I’m known for getting excited…because I’m right there. I’ve been waiting for that moment my whole career.”
Walker’s lack of composure allowed Adamek to recover, which he did quickly and to great effect. When Walker went back to the right hand, Adamek was ready, countering with a straighter blow. The punch found home and sent Walker to mat. The few thousand fans that had bought tickets sprang to their feet and found their voices. They screamed in rapturous bloodlust as Adamek backed Walker into the corner and pummeled him with both hands. Not even the bell could stop the onslaught, as both referee and Adamek were deafened by the screams of the crowd. Walker took a full ten seconds of further punishment before the round was finally stopped.
Those of us on press row finally sat back and smiled at each other, having been unable to turn our eyes away from the ring for the previous three minutes. It was obvious we had just seen a candidate for round of the year, with both men touching the mat within three minutes. I scored it for Adamek, a distinction that would become academic shortly. Walker was bigger and appeared to have the stronger punch, but he was being overcome by the sheer will of the Polish champion. Adamek said the knockdown had only served to wake him up.
“I’m warrior, not chicken,” Adamek said with a smile. “I’m tough boy, mountain boy.”
Adamek’s corner told him to avoid slugging and box with the larger man, especially given Walker’s considerable power. Adamek did his best to comply, but both men managed to stagger each other again in round 3 as the fight threatened to reach epic proportions. By the fourth, Adamek sensed his opponent weakening and began to pounce. A trio of right hands sent Walker reeling back, with the second sending a stream of saliva streaming from his lip. Adamek had literally knocked the slobber out of Walker’s mouth.
The fifth started off slowly, with both men jabbing outside, but Adamek again looked sharper. Walker managed to land a solid left hook off his jab, but Adamek responded soon after with a hard right hand that found home. Sensing his opponent’s impending demise, Adamek pounced again, and unleashed another extended flurry of power punches. Several of the right hands found home cleanly, and exacted a heavy toll on Walker. The referee was forced to step in just as Walker finally threw a shot in response. The Florida man was understandably put out by the stoppage, but it appeared to be inevitable from where I sat.
“I didn’t punch myself out, I knew Adamek was in great shape,” Walker insisted. “Even though I’ve been in the game a long time. There’s still a lot to learn in boxing. A lot of things I should have learned by now.”
“My wife said, ‘that was a tough fight,’” Adamek joked afterward. “I said yes, but people love this kind of fight. My last fight, I fight 12 rounds, it was a boring fight.”
He isn’t wrong, and the insight might shed a little light on why Philly native “U.S.S. Cunningham” is moving up to heavyweight at 36 years of age. Despite campaigning for years as a top cruiserweight, Cunningham was never able to gain traction with U.S. fans enough to garner a big money fight. Now, having lost back-to-back bouts against Cuban cruiserweight champ Yoan Pablo Hernandez, Cunningham is taking one final run in boxing’s big money division.
But Cunningham as a heavyweight is much like Cunningham as a cruiserweight, plus an additional seven pounds. The Philly fighter looked to be in excellent physical shape, and said he doesn’t plan on gaining much more weight. The hope is to keep the attributes that made him a top fighter at 200 lbs., namely his speed and boxing ability. Not a bad plan, but something tells me this show may not sell any better at heavyweight than it did at cruiser.
That’s because even against an overmatched foe like Gavern, Cunningham was content to control the fight with his jab and boxing ability rather than going for the stoppage. He appeared to have Gavern seriously hurt at several points during the ten rounds, but never seemed interested in closing the show. Cunningham is a gifted boxer, but he simply doesn’t have the search-and-destroy temperament that fans expect from the heavier weight classes. His failure to turn up the pressure indicates he won’t become a fan favorite any time soon.
Still, Steve is now signed with Main Events and believes he can beat the likes of Alexander Povetkin right now. He also said he would take a Klitschko fight if can get it, though he has no illusions about the towering brothers’ ability. Mostly, Cunningham seems to be looking for one final payday after returning from a stint overseas. He would probably love for that fight to take place in the U.S., though there are no guarantees. Personally, I wouldn’t mind seeing a rematch of his epic split decision loss to Adamek in 2008. Both men are, after all, puffed-up cruiserweights, as talented as they may be.
Jennings is a heavyweight whose best days appear firmly in front of him. The Philly fighter has come out of nowhere in recent months thanks to Main Events and NBC Sports, which have featured him regularly on recent shows. Now Jennings is often mentioned as one of the top big men prospects in the U.S., among the likes of Seth Mitchell and Deontay Wilder. He may not punch like either of those men, but Jennings has already developed considerably skill despite limited experience in the ring. On Saturday, he showed that he’s also developing heavyweight power ahead of schedule.
I was stationed on the mat, trying to get an action shot of Jennings for this site. As such, I had an up-close view as Jennings scored an immediate knockdown with a flush left hook on the doughy Koval. Koval rose, but another flurry was all it took to end the fight after 35 seconds of the first round. I barely time to snap a photo of both men squaring off.
“I’ve had easier paydays. People just give me money when I’m at work. I’ve slept all day and still got paid. Don’t tell my boss, I still have my job,” said Jennings, who is quickly becoming one of the best personalities in the sport. A couple more wins like this one and he will be able to quit that day job.
The night’s most even matchup came in the televised opener for Wealth TV between junior lightweights Belmontes and Collado. Belmontes looked slightly quicker throughout, while Collado showed great determination despite his lower skill level. Belmontes smartly countered as his opponent advanced, then managed to get out before Collado could respond. Joselito never stopped advancing, despite blood pouring from a cut on his forehead, but he took plenty of damage for his efforts. He rallied in the sixth round, but still only won three of eight rounds on two of the cards, and two on the other.
Main Events junior weltweight prospect Jose “Mangu” Peralta improved to 10-1 (6 KOs) with a 3rd-round TKO of Pittsburgh’s Christian Steele on the untelevised portion of the card. Steele landed a nice overhand right early, but Peralta responded with a concentrated body attack and floored Steele in the 2nd with a hard left hook to the cheek. Another knockdown in the 3rd drew a stoppage from the ref and some protest from Steele, who appeared to have a case.
Philly lightweight prospect Karl Dargan (below, left) opened the afternoon with a 4th-round stoppage of Cincinnati prospect Jesse Carradine that looked similarly premature. Dargan scored a knockdown in the first and another in the 4th with a big right hand. A final flurry against the ropes forced the ref’s hand, but Dargan showed a nice downstairs attack throughout the bout.
