Adamek wins but questions remain

When the bell rang, signaling the end of the 12th and final round, Tomasz Adamek and Jason Estrada embraced in the center of the ring with a hug, acknowledging the respect they had for one another after battling 36 minutes inside the squared circle.

Adamek, along with the 10,000 plus Polish fans at the Prudential Center, who came to witness his second heavyweight fight, eagerly awaited the three judge’s decisions. While there was a sense of confidence amongst the crowd in Newark, there was also a sense of skepticism that could be detected from the loyal Polish fans. The skepticism surrounding boxing judges is well warranted and one can turn to fights that happened last calendar year to find examples of just how awful judges can be (Paulie Malignaggi-Juan Diaz I & Sergio Martinez-Paul Williams).

However, when the score cards came in, all three judges had the fight in Adamek’s favor and Adamek retained his IBF International heavyweight title. Subsequently, the crowd erupted in cheers, holding up their Polish flags and scarves, celebrating the best active Polish boxer’s second win in his new weight class.

Judge Steven Weisfeld scored the bout 115-113, Judge Joseph Pasquale had the fight 116-112, which is what I happened have on my scorecard, and Judge Lawrence Layton had the bout 118-110.

While Adamek (40-1, 27 KO) did enough to convince the three judges that he deserved to win the bout, he did not do enough to convince boxing critics that he can continue to successfully compete at the heavyweight division. Too many times throughout the fight, Adamek left himself vulnerable and Estrada capitalized by landing flush punches to Adamek’s face. Fortunately, Estrada (16-3, 4 KO) is not a heavy puncher and was not able to do enough damage to his opponent to sway the judge's opinions in his favor.

Estrada simply did not do enough work in the middle rounds of the fight to take rounds away from Adamek. To Adamek’s credit, he often countered Estrada’s biggest punches, by throwing combinations to both the head and body of Estrada.

With the victory under his belt, Adamek and his team will now turn their attention to a possible April 24th fight date with Chris Arreola, a fight HBO has shown great interest in. But before Adamek and Main Events make this fight a reality, they may want to take a step back, reevaluate where Adamek is as a heavyweight, and consider at least one other heavyweight opponent before fighting Arreola.

Arreola (28-1, 25 KO), whose only loss came at the hands of Vitali Klitschko, could not be any more different than Estrada. In fact, the only similarities these two men share are their nationality and weight class.

Arreola’s punching power is far greater than that of Estrada’s and if it was Arreola, not Estrada, landing some of the punches to Adamek’s face last night, it would be hard to imagine how Adamek would withstand those blows. There is no question that Adamek is the more skilled boxer, when comparing him and Arreola, but at the heavyweight division, there are some fights where skill alone will not dictate the outcome.

With that said, it would not shock me if Adamek takes this fight and beats Arreola in his own backyard (if the fight does happen, it is likely it will take place in Arreola’s home state of California).

Adamek is a man on a mission. He has successfully moved up in weight before (from light heavyweight to Cruiserweight) and captured world titles. The Estrada fight will serve as a learning experience for the 33-year old Polish native, who now resides in Jersey City.

Adamek’s 5th round TKO win over Andrew Golota back in October may have given him a false sense of confidence about where he stands in the heavyweight division. Golota was and is clearly past his prime, and Adamek’s quick disposal of his fellow countryman may have led Adamek and his team to believe he is ready to challenge the best fighters in the heavyweight division.

However, his less-than-convincing win over Estrada will surely remind “Goral” that it will be a long and tough road ahead if he is to capture a world heavyweight title.

Fortunately, he has been down this road before when he made his leap to Cruiserweight in 2007. As long as Adamek keeps winning and his dream of being a world heavyweight champion comes closer to a reality, he will bring excitement and hope to both New Jersey boxing fans, as well as Polish boxing fans.

No matter who he fights next, whether it be Arreola or some other heavyweight, Adamek will have a chance to win – he is a world-class fighter. I just hope that if his road to a world heavyweight title makes a stop through California, Adamek is prepared to fight the biggest, most powerful opponent of his career.