Haye Dodges Klitschkos, Adamek Weaves Into Picture

No reason for this man not to smile. He'll make multi millions to fight a Klitschko TBD in his homeland in September. (Hogan Photos)The best laid plans of mice, and men, and most all associated with this red light district of sports oft go awry. So it was with a bit of surprise, and we must admit, some satisfaction when we received word from Main Events head Kathy Duva that her guy,  Tomasz Adamek, the Pole now making his home in New Jersey, will get a crack at a Klitschko. Which one hasn't been determined, but terms are in place for the ex light heavy and cruiserweight champion, who has been patiently and skillfully guided to a multimillion dollar opportunity at taking down one of the Brothers K, to get a shot.

Kathy Duva, who is the odds-on favorite to win BWAA nonexistent promanager of the year award in 2011 if this gets to the goal line, told TSS, “The fight is done.  Everyone has signed.  The fight will take place in Poland in September.  K2 will release more information tomorrow.  We are delighted.  Our plan with Adamek was to prepare him to fight for and win the heavyweight title and also to make sure that when he did so he would be well compensated.  We are extremely happy with the deal and look forward to working with the Klitschko team to make this event as big, exciting and successful as it can possibly be.”

Adamek does have one more hurdle to climb before the crack at a Klitschko: he will take a stay-sharp fight sometime in April, we presume against someone who is quite unlikely to screw up the plan.

This mega-opportunity came about because David Haye is continuing his campaign to convince everyone but his fanclub that he is only capable of talking the talk, but when it comes time to walking tall, and actually signing a deal, and sticking to it, and fighting a Klitschko, he comes up short. The WBA champion called Wladimir a “coward” for choosing to fight an interim bout, against Dereck Chisora  on April 30. He and his manager Adam Booth have been scouring homeless shelters and I hear have a date to visit a busy morgue in London to find a suitable foe for Haye. Ruslan Chagaev is supposed to get a chance as the No. 1 contender, but he has in the past tested positive for hepatitis, and it is unclear whether that permits him to fight Haye. Jean Marc Mormeck, who clashed with Haye in 2007, when he was only 34, is in the mix to fight Haye next. He is to be fair a more challenging foe than Audley Harrison, who fought Haye in December  like he would have money deducted from his purse if he threw a punch. And now Haye is “threatening” to retire when he turns 31 in October because….good God, who cares, this man's posturing is more effective than benadryl at making me groggy. Honestly, I hesitate to even relay this synopsis on Haye, because the guy just yanks so many chains, and wastes peoples' time to such a maddening degree, but since it does pertain to the likable Adamek….

Now, if all goes to plan, and Adamek does fight a Klitschko–and we're hearing Wladimir would be the likelier of the brothers to get the gig—we have to ask: could he win?

And we have to answer: not likely. But we admit we'd not be at all crushed to see him do the job. He and Duva embarked on this quest way back in 2008, when Adamek met Steve Cunningham in a barnburner in New Jersey. He beat USS, and then Johnathon Banks, and Bobby Gunn in Jersey, Andrew Golota in Poland, Jason Estrada in Jersey and then stepped up a notch in beating Cris Arreola in Cali last April. The 34-year-old with 43-1 (28 KOs) record got Ws over Michael Grant and Vinny Maddalone in his last two matches.

Sum all that up, and you have to say Duva has been a wiz in taking the slow lane to this point. Arreola, not to be confused with anything resembling a Hall of Fame talent, no matter what some folks overly hopeful that an American could make some noise in the division wished for, represents the best of the lot among recent Adamek foes. And maybe you remember the “success” he had when he fought Vitali, getting stopped out in the tenth in September 2009. So the climb will be a tough one for Adamek. But then again, merely to reach this point is something of a miracle, so who's to say the run of luck doesn't continue for Adamek and Duva?

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