In the Homestretch of His Career, Philadelphia’s Joey “Tank” Dawejko Keeps on Rolling

As he entered the ring for his 38^th professional fight, veteran Philadelphia heavyweight Joey “Tank” Dawejko was clear about his current position in the sport. During his long involvement in boxing, Dawejko, 32, has experienced just about everything a fighter goes through. He’s felt all the highs and the lows that the sport has to offer, both inside and outside of the ring. Although he has travelled the world because of boxing, much of his career has been spent doing so on other people’s terms. Dawejko has been sought after by countless contenders and champions as training partners (most notably Anthony Joshua and Tyson Fury).

So, as he approached the twilight of his career, a decision was made last year by Dawejko to take one last crack at the sport’s summit. To climb that mountain and be properly compensated during the climb, Dawejko enlisted the help of Hall of Fame promoter and Philadelphia legend, Russell Peltz. Together the two set on their quest by getting Dawejko a trio of fights that were intended to start pushing the tank up the mountain. These fights were against lesser competition that Tank could fight to get in the proper shape to sharpen his already skilled approach in the ring – a style that made one fan call him, “Philadelphia’s white James Toney.”

Indeed, it was Dawejko’s effective use of a right shoulder roll paired with the appropriate counter straight right that helped the Tank roll past Colby Madison on Tuesday night, May 2, at South Philadelphia’s LIVE casino. In Madison, Dawejko faced his toughest opponent since entering this phase of his career. Much to the fans’ delight, Dawejko (who has been criticized in the past for inactivity during fights due to a variety of reasons), showed his loyal local fanbase that this time things could be different. Dawejko-Madison proved to be an entertaining six-round battle in which both fighters were willing to exchange power shots mixed in with hard jobs and a nice body attack by Dawejko.

In the end, Dawejko’s hand was raised as the clear winner bumping his record to 25-10-4 (13 KOs). A slightly closed left eye along with the bruises of warfare were the badge of honor given to the Tank. Madison, the always game, tough, and sturdy Baltimore heavyweight suffered a busted nose and a loss that dropped his record to 11-5-2 (7 KOs). As Peltz has often mentioned, fans shouldn’t let a record fool them into thinking that certain fighters aren’t worth the price of admission. In this case, he was right.

Both Peltz and Dawejko were candid about what they feel is next for him. Simply put, they’re going to keep having fun when dealing with the business side and the actual fights. “It’s about opportunities and hanging around to take those opportunities when they’re presented,” stated Peltz. In other words, if Dawejko continues to win and look good doing so, eventually a fringe contender or prospect is going to have to step up and fight someone of Dawejko’s caliber. When that happens, Dawejko and Peltz will be available to answer the call. If victorious on that occasion, they’re aware that the type of fight Dawejko is craving should eventually present itself for the taking.

What is clear is that the days of Dawejko taking a phone call to be a last-minute replacement for a fight in Russia or some other part of the world are over. Several of his losses have come in this fashion or occurred during a time when Dawejko may not have had the fight game front and center in his life. Aside from fighting, he has a successful roofing company, So, since he seems to be taking this last run seriously, we might just be able to see the best of what the Tank has to offer the heavyweight division as his career winds down.

“I’ll fight anyone, I’ve always been like that. My career up to this point proves that” said Dawejko as he was getting toweled off and checked out by the doctors in the back post-fight. “I just want another chance and big fight to show the world that.” Immediately after the fight, fans in attendance started to ask the one question most in Philadelphia have been thinking about for some time – if Dawejko would be willing to fight fellow Philadelphia heavyweight Sonny Conto. Conto, who is signed to Top Rank, also has a huge following in the area and from a business sense a fight with Dawejko in Philadelphia would do big business on the local boxing scene.

It’s the type of fight that would have been a natural fit for the legendary Blue Horizon as part of the Tuesday Night Fights series on the USA network, both now sadly gone. Unfortunately, it’s also the type of fight that no longer is in a rush to be fought. For now, it’s the event centers and ballrooms of the area for the Tank. Although these venues don’t provide the financial compensation he deserves at this point in his career, it allows him to stay active and sharp for the moment when the right opportunity presents itself —  an opportunity that this time “The Tank” will be ready to go to war for.

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For fight fans in the Philadelphia / South Jersey region there are a trio of professional fight cards scheduled for the rest of the month. Two shows take place on Saturday May 20^th. Kings Promotions will be back in Philadelphia at the 2300 Arena while upstart R & B Promotions will be running a show at the Showboat Casino in Atlantic City. On May 27^th, RDR Promotions will be having a show at the Newton Athletic Club in Newton PA.

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