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Adamek Fight Will Be on Primetime PPV in Poland

Published

12 years ago

August 2, 2012

Main-Events Tomasz Adamek, 46-2, 28 KO's, will defend his IBF North American Heavyweight title on Saturday afternoon, September 8th at Prudential Center in Newark, NJ when he takes on Travis Walker, 39-7-1, 31 KO's.

Here are some quotes from a Wednesday press conference.

Kathy Duva, Main Events CEO: “We are calling this fight “The Ironbound Throwdown”. This will actually be Tomasz's 10^th fight at Prudential Center in Newark. This is one of the great runs in the history of the sport, to have a local fighter who is so dominant, who has such a beautiful, big fan following. We are pleased here at Main Events to bring him back to Prudential Center, the best venue in the world. This fight will be for the IBF North American Heavyweight title which Tomasz won in his last fight against Eddie Chambers.”

Kathy Duva: “This event is going to pit Tomasz, who has a 46-2 record with 28 knockouts, the former Light Heavyweight Champion of the world, the former Cruiserweight Champion of the world and the #4 contender in the IBF against Travis “Freight Train” Walker. He has a 39-7-1 record with 31 big knockouts. Travis comes here from Houston, Texas. He is rated #12 in the IBF and he is coming off of a great big win over Kali Meehan in Australia. And like Tomasz, Travis began his career in the amateurs. He is the 2003 National United States Super Heavyweight Golden Gloves champion. By all accounts this is going to be a fun fight. We have two guys who are not afraid of anything, most especially each other. They are going to get in the ring and entertain the fans as they both always do.”

Ziggy Rozalski, Adamek Advisor: “I've been working with Tomasz since the first day he came to America. Shortly after that we hooked up with Kathy (Duva). Kathy has been a great partner. She does all the work because I am busy with other things. She does a great job. We keep on going. We keep beating everybody. We want to get to the top and get another shot at the title.”

Roger Bloodworth, Tomasz Adamek and Ziggy Rozalski –

Photo credits to Mike Gladysz

Dwight Pratchett, Travis Walker Trainer: “We are excited to be here and looking forward to the fight on the 8^th. It's going to be a real throw down. Travis is ready and we are going to be ready for this fight. We are in extremely good shape. It's going to be a real exciting fight. I am just getting him ready for the fight, but he's the man that's going to be doing it.

Roger Bloodworth, Tomasz Adamek Trainer: “We know he's (Walker) strong, we know he can throw punches. He (Walker) is sure he's gonna catch Tomasz, I'm not sure he is! But I do know this, it'll be an exciting fight. It's going to be a good card. It'll be well worth watching because it'll be good fireworks.

Travis Walker: “I'm here to put on a good show, I came to camp in better shape to deal with Tomasz's speed and movement. I'm going to bring a different kind of a fight for myself as well because I know he is going to throw a lot of punches so I have to be ready to throw a lot of punches as well. The best thing about me is that I have power of mind, so it's going to be a real good fight. They run as much as they want, they're going to get caught. I've got a great show for y'all.”

I want to make this fight a showcase of my skills. I'm already in a very good form, but this is just a beginning. I'm expecting Adamek to throw a lot of punches, but I also want to be busy in the ring. Maybe busier than usual. I will have special tactics for this fight. I have nothing personal against Adamek, I want to thank him for the opportunity, but I will also hit him with a purpose”

Tomasz and Travis –

Photo Credits to Mike Gladysz

Tomasz Adamek: “I don't run, I just have great foot work, I love combinations. I love making big fights for my fans. I will fight Travis, no worries. I like to hit my opponents with quick combinations, you could see this in my Nagy Aguilera fight. Travis likes to throw the leather, I'm known to do the same, so it will be a fan friendly event.”

“I'm expecting Travis to be an aggressive fighter, because he believes than he can overwhelm me with just his size and his jab. I heard this before. For the last three weeks I'm training hard, I have five more weeks of hard training with Roger Bloodworth in front of me. It should answer Travis' question of have I overlooked him. Don't count on it, Travis”.

“Nobody can tell me that I'm choosing easy fighters to fight. First of all – I don't choose them, I just say OK when my people tell me the name of the next guy. Second, after fighting possibly one of the most skilled heavyweights in the world, Eddie Chambers, in my next fight, I battled a hard hitting, big guy like Travis Walker. Not an easy thing to do, but boxing is a sport for fans, and I try to deliver every time I step into the ring.”

“This (Walker fight) will be also an important bout for my countryman in Poland – they will be able to see me in primetime, without the necessity of waking up in the middle of the night on September 8. And celebrate afterwards, of course”.

Adamek and Walker –

Photo credits to Wojciech Kubik

Kathy Duva: “This fight is going to be telecast on Pay Per View in Poland. We have already begun negotiations and have already begun to finalize deals with UPC, N Platform, Vectra and Canal Plus and we expect the others will be coming along shortly, we are already beginning discussions with all of them. So this will be a great opportunity for all the people to gather together in their homes, restaurants, bars and watch another great performance by their hero, Tomasz Adamek. To accommodate the Pay per view audience in Poland in particular, this fight is going to take place in the afternoon in the United States, that's during prime time in Poland. The event is going to be starting at 9PM Polish time in Poland. It should be a fun evening for everybody overseas who's watching. For our fans in the United States the doors will open at 1:30PM, this is going to be an afternoon event here. Plans for US television are still being made, it will be televised in some manner and we will have that information shortly. Tickets are on sale now at Prudential Center Box Office, Ticketmaster and prices begin at $54.”

Kathy Duva: “The undercard of this show has not been announced yet, it will be announced in the coming week or so. At this point we know for sure that Bryant Jennings who appeared on Tomasz's last show will on this card. We will announce his opponent and several other heavyweight matches that will be on this card, so for fans of boxing there will be a lot more action and a lot more to get excited about. Most of that will be televised, as well as the undercard leading up to the main event will be televised in Poland.”

Tickets priced at $180 ringside, $105, and $55 are available through Ticketmaster: online at www.ticketmaster.com; Charge-by-phone: 1-800-745-3000; Ticketmaster Express 866-448-7849; and Ticketmaster ticket centers. Tickets are also available at Prudential Center's Box Office beginning Saturday 7/28 and www.prucenter.com.

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The Sweet Science

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2015 Fight of the Year – Francisco Vargas vs Takashi Miura

Published

8 years ago

January 4, 2016

The Sweet Science

The WBC World Super Featherweight title bout between Francisco Vargas and Takashi Miura came on one of the biggest boxing stages of 2015, as the bout served as the HBO pay-per-view’s co-main event on November 21st, in support of Miguel Cotto vs Saul Alvarez.

Miura entered the fight with a (29-2-2) record and he was making the fifth defense of his world title, while Vargas entered the fight with an undefeated mark of (22-0-1) in what was his first world title fight. Both men had a reputation for all-out fighting, with Miura especially earning high praise for his title defense in Mexico where he defeated Sergio Thompson in a fiercely contested battle.

The fight started out hotly contested, and the intensity never let up. Vargas seemed to win the first two rounds, but by the fourth round, Miura seemed to pull ahead, scoring a knock-down and fighting with a lot of confidence. After brawling the first four rounds, Miura appeared to settle into a more technical approach. Rounds 5 and 6 saw the pendulum swing back towards Vargas, as he withstood Miura’s rush to open the fifth round and the sixth round saw both men exchanging hard punches.

The big swinging continued, and though Vargas likely edged Miura in rounds 5 and 6, Vargas’ face was cut in at least two spots and Miura started to assert himself again in rounds 7 and 8. Miura was beginning to grow in confidence while it appeared that Vargas was beginning to slow down, and Miura appeared to hurt Vargas at the end of the 8th round.

Vargas turned the tide again at the start of the ninth round, scoring a knock down with an uppercut and a straight right hand that took Miura’s legs and sent him to the canvas. Purely on instinct, Miura got back up and continued to fight, but Vargas was landing frequently and with force. Referee Tony Weeks stepped in to stop the fight at the halfway point of round 9 as Miura was sustaining a barrage of punches.

Miura still had a minute and a half to survive if he was going to get out of the round, and it was clear that he was not going to stop fighting.

A back and forth battle of wills between two world championship level fighters, Takashi Miura versus “El Bandido” Vargas wins the 2015 Fight of the Year.

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Articles

Jan 9 in Germany – Feigenbutz and De Carolis To Settle Score

Published

8 years ago

January 4, 2016

The Sweet Science

This coming Saturday, January 9th, the stage is set at the Baden Arena in Offenburg, Germany for a re-match between Vincent Feigenbutz and Giovanni De Carolis. The highly anticipated re-match is set to air on SAT.1 in Germany, and Feigenbutz will once again be defending his GBU and interim WBA World titles at Super Middleweight.

The first meeting between the two was less than three months ago, on October 17th and that meeting saw Feigenbutz controversially edge De Carolis on the judge’s cards by scores of (115-113, 114-113 and 115-113). De Carolis scored a flash knock down in the opening round, and he appeared to outbox Feigenbutz in the early going, but the 20 year old German champion came on in the later rounds.

The first bout is described as one of the most crowd-pleasing bouts of the year in Germany, and De Carolis and many observers felt that the Italian had done enough to win.

De Carolis told German language website RAN.DE that he was more prepared for the re-match, and that due to the arrogance Feigenbutz displayed in the aftermath of the first fight, he was confident that he had won over some of the audience. Though De Carolis fell short of predicting victory, he promised a re-vamped strategy tailored to what he has learned about Feigenbutz, whom he termed immature and inexperienced.

The stage is set for Feigenbutz vs De Carolis 2, this Saturday January 9th in Offenburg, Germany. If you can get to the live event do it, if not you have SAT.1 in Germany airing the fights, and The Boxing Channel right back here for full results.

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Articles

2015 Knock Out of the Year – Saul Alvarez KO’s James Kirkland

Published

8 years ago

December 29, 2015

The Sweet Science

On May 9th of 2015, Saul “Canelo” Alvarez delivered a resonant knock-out of James Kirkland on HBO that wins the 2015 KO of the Year.

The knock-out itself came in the third round, after slightly more than two minutes of action. The end came when Alvarez delivered a single, big right hand that caught Kirkland on the jaw and left him flat on his back after spinning to the canvas.Alvarez was clearly the big star heading into the fight. The fight was telecast by HBO for free just one week after the controversial and disappointing Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Manny Pacquiao fight, and Alvarez was under pressure to deliver the type of finish that people were going to talk about. Kirkland was happy to oblige Alvarez, taking it right to Alvarez from the start. Kirkland’s aggression saw him appear to land blows that troubled the young Mexican in the early going. Alvarez played good defense, and he floored Kirkland in the first round, displaying his power and his technique in knocking down an aggressive opponent.

However, Kirkland kept coming at Alvarez and the fight entered the third round with both men working hard and the feeling that the fight would not go the distance. Kirkland continued to move forward, keeping “Canelo” against the ropes and scoring points with a barrage of punches while looking for an opening.

At around the two minute mark, Alvarez landed an uppercut that sent Kirkland to the canvas again. Kirkland got up, but it was clear that he did not have his legs under him. Kirkland was going to try to survive the round, but Alvarez had an opportunity to close out the fight. The question was would he take it?

Alvarez closed in on Kirkland, putting his opponent’s back to the ropes. Kirkland was hurt, but he was still dangerous, pawing with punches and loading up for one big shot.

But it was the big shot “Canelo” threw that ended the night. Kirkland never saw it coming, as he was loading up with a huge right hand of his own. The right Alvarez threw cracked Kirkland in the jaw, and his eyes went blank. His big right hand whizzed harmlessly over the head of a ducking Alvarez, providing the momentum for the spin that left Kirkland prone on the canvas.

Saul “Canelo” Alvarez went on to defeat Miguel Cotto in his second fight of 2015 and he is clearly one of boxing’s biggest stars heading into 2016. On May 9th Alvarez added another reel to his highlight film when he knocked out James Kirkland with the 2015 “Knock Out of the Year”.

Photo by naoki fukuda

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