Adamek to fight Estrada on February 6th

December 5th, 2009

By Jim Dower: Former World Boxing Council light heavyweight and IBF cruiserweight champion Tomasz Adamek (37-1, 27 KOs) will be making his second fight at heavyweight in taking on Jason Estrada (16-2, 4 KO’s) on February 6th at Prudential Center, in Newark, New Jersey. Adamek, 33, has abandoned the cruiserweight division recently in hopes of getting a title shot and a chance at big money in the heavyweight division. Adamek destroyed 41-year-old Andrew Golota in a 5th round stoppage on October 24th for the vacant International Boxing Federation International heavyweight title.

Adamek looked good in beating up the faded Golota, knocking him down twice and battering him at will for five rounds before the bout was ultimately stopped. However, the win still leaves open a lot of questions about Adamek. He needs to show that he can do the same thing against a younger, faster and more skilled heavyweight than Golota. Estrada, 29, a former 2004 Olympian for the U.S., is a slight step up from Golota. Estrada was beaten by Alexander Povetkin by a 10 round decision in April 2009. Estrada was also beaten by Travis Walker by an eight round decision in 2006.

Had Adamek stayed at cruiserweight, he probably could have held onto the IBF title for a long time, because the division has few stars that could give Adamek much of any problems. However, Adamek wants to get a fight with one of the Klitschko brothers or David Haye and get a good payday. At 6’1″ 214, Adamek would seem to be more than a little too small to compete against the gargantuan Klitschko brothers, but he is big enough to be problems for Haye if he can get a fight with him before Haye loses his title.

At 33, Adamek has to speed up his move to a title shot because he can’t afford to take the slow route and work his way up to a title shot in three to four years like many heavyweights often do. Adamek has to continue to fight better and better fighters if he wants to get pushed up the heavyweight rankings to get in a position for a title shot.

Against the smaller heavyweights like Haye, Povetkin, Ruslan Chagaev and Denis Boytsov, Adamek would have a chance at beating them if he can throw enough punches and avoid getting hit too often by them. Adamek has a history of having a good chin, but he tends to cut too easily.