A Shocker in Brooklyn as Adam Kownacki Suffers a Nordic Nightmare

Poland-born Brooklynite Adam Kownacki had developed quite a following at Brooklyn’s Barclays Center. Tonight, he made his 10^th appearance in his hometown arena. And when he left the ring, he was humbled and many in the crowd were despondent. In a shocker, Finland’s Robert Helenius, the self-styled Nordic Nightmare, scored a fourth-round stoppage, knocking Kownacki (20-1) from the ranks of the unbeaten.

Kownacki, as was his custom, came out slinging leather, forcing the 36-year-old Helenius to fight off his back foot. It was a Pier Six brawl with the swarming Kownacki ahead on the cards after three frames. But in the fourth, the Finn caught Kownacki with a short right hand, scoring a flash knockdown that referee David Fields erroneously ruled a slip. A legitimate knockdown followed from a right-left combination and when Kownacki made it to his feet, Helenius stormed after him, landing several hard punches without retaliation as Kownacki was too discombobulated to retaliate. Fields stepped in and properly stopped the fight. The official time was 1:04.

This was a big upset. In his previous appearance on U.S. soil, Helenius, now 30-3 (19), ran out of gas and was stopped in the eighth round by Gerald Washington. It was a career-defining win for the Big Finn – he stands six-foot-six-and-a-half – who was ranked in the Top 10 by only the WBA which had him #7.

Other Bouts

Efe Ajagba (13-0, 11 KOs) systemically dismantled Razvan Cojanu (17-7) en route to a ninth-round stoppage. Ajagba, a 2016 Olympian for Nigeria who turned pro in Houston under the tutelage of prominent trainer Ronnie Shields, scored a knockdown in round eight when Cojanu took a knee after absorbing a hard right hand and scored a similar-type, delayed-reaction knockdown in round nine that led referee Ron Lipton to waive it off. The official time was 2:46. Despite the knees, it was a game effort by Romania’s Cojanu who had lost four of his previous five heading in.

In a bout devoid of fireworks, Frank Sanchez (15-0, 11 KOs) won a lopsided 10-round decision over rugged Philadelphia journeyman Joey Dawejko (20-8-4). Sanchez, who purportedly was 214-6 as an amateur in Cuba, had a five-inch height advantage at six-foot-four and was far more athletic than Dawejko, a plodder who kept coming forward but was ineffective. The scores were 98-92 and 100-90 twice.

In an off-TV fight between 33-year-old heavyweights, Puerto Rico’s Carlos Negron (21-3, 17 KOs) scored a mild upset with a first round stoppage of Cuban defector Robert Alfonso (19-1-1). It was a redemptive win for Negron who was KOed in 66 seconds by unheralded 39-year-old Louisville scrapper Brian Howard in his last appearance in this ring. Alfonso came in undefeated, but was best known for being Deontay Wilder’s regular sparring partner.

Photo credit: Stephanie Trapp / TGB Promotions

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