The heavily pro Adamek crowd saw Klitschko retain his WBC heavyweight title and improve to 43-2. The TKO was the 40th knockout of his career and eighth straight win since returning from retirement in 2008.
The 40-year-old Klitschko dominated throughout the fight and he put to good use his six inch height advantage. The 34-year-old Adamek who was fighting in his home town was never able to penetrate effectively. Adamek currently lives and trains in New Jersey. He is now 44-2. Adamek was staggered four times. Klitschko had an overwhelming 2-1 punch ratio.
Italian referee Massimo Barrovecchio stopped the fight at 2 minutes, 20 seconds into the 10th round. Klitschko’s younger brother Wladimir said after the fight, “I think the referee made the right decision. He probably could have stopped it a minute earlier.”
The elder Klitschko known as Dr. Ironfist and at 6-foot-7 just had too much size. Adamek had the speed but could not get close enough to make any sustained damage. Klitschko kept Adamek at bay with effective jabs.
The sixth round was the most exciting as Klitschko stunned Adamek against the ropes for a standing eight count. Adamek shook it off and finished the round by bloodying Klitschko’s nose.
In a prepared statement Vitali said, “He’s a very good boxer. He was a cruiserweight champion, he was a light heavyweight champion, but he’s not good enough to be a heavyweight champion because it’s a whole other league.”
Later in the evening Klitschko’s trainer Fritz Sdunek said that the Ukrainian would probably fight David Haye in December. Adamek’s trainer, Roger Bloodworth, was not immediately available after the fight.
Adamek was disappointed but gracious after the bout, saying, “He was simply the better fighter and he won. That’s sport. You win some and you lose some. This time I lost.”
Adamek was excited to return to Poland. He hadn’t fought there since his first fight as a heavyweight in October of 2009. He knocked out countryman and faded contender Andrew Golota in the fifth round.
Adamek will probably move back down to crusierweight and choose his opponent. There is a host of challengers available and he should have no problem making weight.
This was the first event for the new stadium in Wroclaw and the large crowd gave good reviews. It was also the first heavyweight boxing title to take place in Poland. The new venue was built especially for next years Euro-2012 football (soccer) championship.
Photo by Mike Gradysz