Former IBF cruiserweight champion Tomasz Adamek, a winner of eight straight bouts -- six of them by knockout -- will continue his pursuit of heavyweight glory and recognition when he enters the ring on Feb. 6 at the Prudential Center in Newark, N.J., his promoter, Kathy Duva, said on Friday.Adamek (39-1, 27 knockouts) will go after his second straight heavyweight opponent at the Prudential Center, where the resident of nearby Jersey City routinely packs the stands with his local support.
"It's been a very long time since the boxing public has seen the kind of action in a heavyweight fight that they enjoyed before the super heavyweights who dominate the division these days. When a heavyweight title fight is exciting, it is always the smaller guy in the ring pressing the action," said Duva.
"Muhammad Ali, Joe Frazier, Joe Louis, Rocky Marciano, Jack Dempsey, and of course, Evander Holyfield, to name a few -- they all fought in their primes under 215 pounds," said Duva. "The next great heavyweight will come from the cruiserweight division and we believe that he will be Tomasz Adamek."
Duva said Adamek's long-range goals are to perhaps land a shot against Bernard Hopkins or Roy Jones at the cruiserweight limit of 200 pounds, or perhaps one opposite newly-crowned WBA heavyweight titlist David Haye of London (23-1, 21 KOs), who recently dethroned 7-foot, 318-pound Nikolay Valuev.
Haye became only the second cruiserweight to win a heavyweight title, joining Evander Holyfield, who dethroned Buster Douglass.
"David Haye, if you want to fight somebody who punches back at your face, and not at the empty air, then you know where to find me. You call yourself the best heavyweight fighter in the world after running scared for the whole fight against Nikolay Valuev? That's not even funny," said Adamek.
"But talking is cheap. People don't care how big you are during the press conferences," said Adamek. "The want to see a man in the ring."
Hopkins (49-5-1, 32 KOs) and Jones (54-5, 40 KOs) are slated to meet in early 2010, assuming each wins matchups they both have scheduled for Dec. 2.
Hopkins will fight Enrique Ornelas (29-5, 19 KOs) at light heavyweight (175 pounds) in his hometown of Philadelphia, and Jones will take on Danny Green (27-3, 24 KOs) at cruiserweight (200) in Sydney, Austrailia.
The Polish-born Adamek has been on a roll since February 2007, when was routed by 10, eight and six points, respectively, over the three judges' cards by current unbeaten light heavyweight champion Chad Dawson (28-0, 17 KOs).
It was the first career loss for Adamek, who lost his WBC 175-pound title to Dawson, in 32 bouts.
Since then, however, Adamek has soared in popularity, earning the IBF cruiserweight (200) title and defending it three times, part of a stretch where he's won all eight races since the loss to Dawson, with six of those wins being by knockout.
On Oct. 24, Adamek rose into the heavyweight ranks, where he flattened three-time heavyweight title contender Andrew Golota in five rounds.
"I never say too much before my fights, and my opponents are not saying a lot because they are knocked down," said Adamek, addressing a potential matchup with Haye. "You say that you want to be a people's champion, well if so, then fight me. That's what people want."
Adamek, who weighed nearly 215 pounds to Golota's nearly 257, gave up his IBF title in order to face Golota, with the result being more lucrative paydays down the road.
"We've talked to David Haye, and we feel like that would be a great matchup -- two, smaller heavyweights who actually throw punches and who would be fun to watch in the ring," Duva said of Haye, who must first defend his title against mandatory challenger and former world champion John Ruiz, perhaps in the spring.
"We had been speaking with Hopkins for a possible fight at cruiserweight before he signed to fight Jones," said Duva. "[Adamek] felt comfortable at heavyweight, and would like to continue fighting at that weight, but he would certainly come back down to cruiserweight to fight [either Hopkins or Jones.]"
