Adamek crushes Gunn

By Boxing News - 07/12/2009 - Comments

adamek4534By Jason Kim: In a fight that probably should have never taken place, IBF cruiserweight champion Tomasz Adamek (38-1, 26 KO’s) defeated Bobby Gunn (21-4-1, 18 KO’s) in the 5th round tonight at the Prudential Center, in Newark, New Jersey. Gunn, 35, never had a chance and just plodded around for four rounds soaking up terrific punishment in a one-sided fight.

Adamek, 32, who instead of looking for a more competitive opponent, opted to take on Gunn in a stay busy fight. It was one-day traffic for three rounds with Adamek punishing the hopelessly over-matched Gunn round after round with right hands and left hooks to the head. In the 4th round, Adamek loaded up on a big right hand and hurt Gunn, staggering the 35-year-old.

Adamek then opened up with a salvo of unanswered punches for the rest of the round, hitting Gunn with one big shot after another without let up. The referee must have been feeling charitable for Gunn, because he let the fight continue despite it being a full route at this point. Gunn somehow made it out of the round but he looked like he been in a war. In between rounds, the bout was stopped when the referee met with Gunn’s corner.

It wasn’t one of Adamek’s better performances, however. His hand speed, which has been going downhill since moving up to cruiserweight in 2007, looked very slow compared to his pre-cruiserweight days as a light heavyweight.

Adamek looked sloppy and mechanical against Gunn, missing a lot of punches, throwing slow shots and moving like a tank. In comparing Adamek to another top cruiserweight Enzo Maccarinelli, who destroyed Gunn in one brutal round in 2007, Adamek looked weaker and much slower than Maccarinelli offensively.

Adamek may or may not have a better chin than Maccarinelli, but it’s pretty clear that he doesn’t have the punching power, size or speed that Maccarinelli possesses. Gunn never had a chance against Maccarinelli and was battered around the ring like a big fly for one round before Maccarinelli finished Gunn off at 2:25 of the round.

Adamek looks smooth and appears to be carrying around extra body fat on his 200 pound frame. The added weight makes Adamek slower and seems to have done a number on his once good work rate. Adamek should have been able to finish a fighter like Gunn off in one or two rounds, but he looked slow and unable to land his shots.

Although it was a good win for Adamek, his choice of opponent did little to further his career. At 32, Adamek needs to be looking to get bigger fights with the little time that he has left. He needs to be going after Bernard Hopkins or someone of his talent level rather than going after 2nd tier fighters like Gunn. Steve Cunningham, who Adamek narrowly beat by a 12-round split decision in December 2008, is another option that Adamek should be going after rather than skimming the bottom level fighters like Gunn.



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