The Hauser Report: Adam Kownacki and a Sad Night at Madison Square Garden

Sometimes a fight seems like a wake with the body in the ring. That was the feeling I had at Madison Square Garden on Saturday night when Adam Kownacki fought Joe Cusumano in the chief support bout for Edgar Berlanga vs. Jason Quigley.

Kownacki (now 20-4, 15 KOs, 3 KOs by) was once groomed as an opponent for Deontay Wilder. But Robert Helenius stopped him twice. Then Adam lost his third fight in a row (by decision against Ali Eren Demirezen).

Cusumano (22-4, 20 KOs, 1 KO by) had been knocked out in the first round by Daniel Dubois in his only outing against a world-class opponent and was as “safe” an opponent for Kownacki as promoter Eddie Hearn could get past the New York State Athletic Commission.

There was talk that Hearn was considering Kownacki as an opponent for Anthony Joshua’s next outing in August. But first, Adam had to get by Cusumano.

Kownacki was a heavy betting favorite, in large measure because of Cusumano’s shortcomings. It was a “must-win” fight for Adam. But his last three outings had also been must-win fights. And Adam had lost all of them.

Against Cusumano, things went wrong for Kownacki from the start. Cusumano shook him with right hands in round one and dropped him face first with fifteen seconds left in the stanza. Adam struggled to his feet, not just because he was supposed to but because he’s a fighter at heart and was still trying to win the fight. The bell saved him.

Kownacki rallied to win rounds two and three. There was no quit in him. But there wasn’t much else either except his heart. He’d come into the fight with a gas tank that was close to empty, and now the engine was running on fumes.

Both fighters were slow, lumbering, and easy to hit. Both men threw punches in bunches. And very few of those punches missed. The main question regarding the outcome was how Cusumano’s chin would hold up if Kownacki hit him flush. But Adam doesn’t hit as hard as he once did. In the ring, he’s now a shell of his former self.

The end came two minutes into round eight with Kownacki being battered around the ring, woozy but still on his feet, and his corner throwing in the towel. The fight was too sad to be entertaining but it was dramatic.

I’ve known Adam for a long time. I like him. He shouldn’t fight anymore. I don’t want to hear, “Oh, I hope Adam doesn’t fight again but he’s going to fight anyway, so I’ll do the best I can to protect him.”

Adam shouldn’t get hit in the head anymore. Not in sparring and not in a fight. Shame on anyone who, in any way, facilitates his fighting again.

* * * *

Saturday night marked a return to the scene of an ongoing problem that has long plagued the New York State Athletic Commission. Too often, the judging in New York is atrocious.

Two weeks ago, Teofimo Lopez fought Josh Taylor at Madison Square Garden. Lopez outlanded Taylor by a two-to-one margin and also landed the heavier blows. It was hard to find more than three rounds that could be credibly scored for Taylor. But two judges (Joe Pasquale and Steve Gray) gave him five. Indeed, had Taylor won the last round, the fight would have been declared a draw. And if Taylor had scored a flash knockdown, he would have won the fight. But since (according to CompuBox), Taylor was outlanded 20-to-2 in the final stanza, not even Pasquale and Gray could score that round for him.

Steve Weisfeld had Joe Cusumano ahead of Adam Kownacki by a 68-64 margin when that fight was stopped (which, in the eyes of this observer, was the correct score). Ken Ezzo’s scorecard was even, which was beyond the pale.

That brings us to Berlanga-Quigley.

Berlanga began his career with a gaudy streak of sixteen consecutive first-round knockouts. Then the competition got tougher. He’d been taken the distance in his last four fights. Quigley had never beaten a world-class fighter, was knocked out by Tureano Johnson and Demetrius Andrade, and had fought only once since 2021. That fight, in Dublin, was a ten-round decision over a Hungarian fighter named Gabor Gorbics who has now lost forty times and is winless in his last 31 outings.

Hearn was hoping to groom Berlanga as an opponent for Canelo Alvarez. Indeed, in the build-up to Berlanga-Quigley, Edgar posted on social media, “If me and Canelo fought, easily we’ll do over 1.5 million in PPV buys.” That was a silly assertion, but indicative of the path that he and Hearn hoped to follow. Then, hours after the final pre-fight press conference for Berlanga-Quigley, Canelo announced that his next fight would be in September with Premier Boxing Champions on Showtime PPV. That fight, it was later reported, would be the first under a three-bout contract.

Berlanga talks the talk. But so far, he hasn’t stepped into the ring against a world-class opponent to walk the walk. Against Quigley, he looked one-dimensional. Jason had faster hands and better footwork but lacked the power to hurt Edgar. Berlanga dropped him in round three. And the normally-reliable Harvey Dock mistakenly called a knockdown in round five when Quigley slipped and hit the canvas. But Jason fought his way back into the fight, finding a home for some sharp right hands. Then Edgar finished strong, dropping Quigley twice in the twelfth round.

I gave Quigley five rounds. Two of the judges gave him four. Judge Nicolas Esnault gave him two, which wasn’t a credible scorecard.

The New York State Athletic Commission might say, “Well, Lopez-Taylor was a WBO title fight, so we didn’t appoint the judges.” But the NYSAC had jurisdiction over the fight and final approval of the judges. The Commission might also say with regard to all three fights, “The right guy won, so what’s the problem?”

The problem is that, too often, the wrong guy (or woman) wins in New York. And the New York State Athletic Commission doesn’t correct the situation. It doesn’t even acknowledge that the problem exists.

The day after Taylor-Lopez, I emailed the public relations officer for the NYSAC asking for comment from executive director Kim Sumbler regarding the judges’ scoring of that fight. There was no response. Nine days later, I followed up with a second email. Again, there was no response.

Judges are entrusted with the livelihood and legacy of every fighter who participates in a bout that they watch over. That’s a huge responsibility. Too often, it’s placed in the hands of men and women who aren’t up to the task.

Thomas Hauser’s email address is thomashauserwriter@gmail.com. His most recent book – In the Inner Sanctum: Behind the Scenes at Big Fights – was published by the University of Arkansas Press. In 2004, the Boxing Writers Association of America honored Hauser with the Nat Fleischer Award for career excellence in boxing journalism. In 2019, Hauser was selected for boxing’s highest honor – induction into the International Boxing Hall of Fame.

 Photo credit: Ed Mulholland / Matchroom

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