Adamek To Take On Estrada In NJ

Tomasz Adamek takes on Jason Estrada on Feb. 6th,  and will put his IBF Heavyweight International Championship up for grabs. Tickets priced at $38, $53, $78, $103 and $253 (ringside), can be purchased at Prudential Center Box Office, by calling TicketMaster at 800-745-3000 or Prucenter.com.

A press conference for the event ran on Thursday. Here are some quotes from the principals.

Kathy Duva, Main Events: “Tomasz participated in the “Polish Fight of the Century” in Poland, demolishing Andrew Golota. He pretty much made a statement with the heavyweight division. He is now going forward with plans to move up in the division and challenge for the heavyweight title eventually. After facing a very, very big, very slow, very big puncher, Tomasz is now going to come after another guy who is a lot bigger, a lot faster, a lot more mobile than Golota. He get used to another style, get himself acclimated to the heavyweight division where he certainly hopes to continue.”

“This is our 5th fight at Prudential Center, as a matter of fact today is the anniversary of our first fight, when Tomasz won the IBF Cruiserweight title. A good omen!’

Will Carafello, Prudential Center: “Tickets go on sale tomorrow at the Prudential Center box office and at Ticketmaster and we would also like to tell everyone that boxing tickets make a great holiday gift! So don’t just give a sweater or a tie this year – everyone wants boxing tickets! It should be noted that Tomasz’s last two fights at Prudential Center were sold out so get your tickets early because they might not be there.”

Jimmy Burchfield, CES: “I want to congratulate Prudential Center because as Kathy would remember we did the same thing at the Providence Civic Center when we brought Vinny Paz there to fight Joe Frazier Jr. We couldn’t get Vinny on television at the time and we rolled the dice and everybody told us we were crazy, but we put 15, 185 people in the arena and a thousand people outside who couldn’t get in.”

“I was at the Prudential Center to watch the champion (Adamek) fight. I saw this great facility and saw the kind of fights the people want to see. They want to see real fights. This is a real fight. I watched the charisma of Tomasz Adamek going into the ring. Everyone said to us “My God you are going to go into his arena, it’s a hostile place. Your fighter is going to get petrified in that place. I said no he’s not; he’s fought in bigger places.”

“It’s appreciated Mr. Adamek, that you gave Jason this opportunity, but you might have made a mistake in your choice of opponent because this young man is coming to win. This is a victory that puts him back on the top of the map and where he belongs.”

Jason Estrada: “I really honestly think that Tomasz made a big, big mistake. As far as the Golota fight goes, Golota was a big heavyweight in his day, a big puncher, a big strong guy, but that is not the same Golota (that Tomasz fought). To me that’s not really a fight that I would take as a justification to fight me in the heavyweight division. Maybe he should have fought someone else.”

“And then I hear stories that people say he can put me on my ass. It’s not gonna happen. Even in amateur boxing…it’s never happened. In the gym…it’s never happened. In the street…it’s never happened. When I sleep, in my bed…it’s never happened. As a matter of fact I stand up sleeping! So it’s not gonna happen.”

“I work too hard in the gym; I’m just too fast for him. Basically his whole thing about how much faster he is going to be… I’ve seen fast, I’ve worked with Eddie Chambers, I worked with Matt Godfrey, you know these guys are fast. You know I’ve watched his fights; I’ve studied him back and forth, forth and back. Honestly I have to put the DVD on fast forward to make him faster! That’s about equal; put the DVD on fast forward. So honestly he’s a good fighter at light heavy, a good fighter at cruiser, but at heavyweight I think he made a mistake.”

“I want to thank everyone who helped to put this fight together. I appreciate it, I appreciate the opportunity. This is something I have been looking forward to my whole life. I finally got a chance to get a real title, not a toy belt. It’s the real thing so I’m very happy about that.”

Tomasz Adamek: “I am preparing for my Feb 6th fight in my home, Prudential Center, Newark. I think Jason Estrada and I will make a tough fight.”

In response to Estrada saying Adamek made a mistake in taking this fight – “Anyone can talk before a fight, but inside the ring, that’s what you get paid for that’s when you have to work. I think I will win this fight.”

“Once I catch somebody I am going to put them down, so wait until February.”