By Jim Dower: 34-year-old heavyweight contender Tomasz Adamek (43-1, 28 KO’s) easily defeated a hand-picked 2nd tier opponent Vinny Maddalone (33-7, 24 KO’s) in a 5th round TKO at the Prudential Center, in Newark, New Jersey. Adamek, who defeated another soft opponent in his last fight, dominated the over-matched Maddalone from round one with darting attacks and fast combinations. In the 5th, Adamek finally decided to get rid of his opponent and came out firing power shots and put Maddalone down with an uppercut.
To his credit, the 36-year-old Maddalone got to his feet and attempted to resume fighting – or, that is, getting pounded on in a one-sided route. Thankfully, Maddalone’s corner put a stop to the slaughter by signaling to the referee to halt the bout when Maddalone was getting rifled with shots but was still standing. Referee Steve Smoger than stepped in and halted the bout at 2:17 of the 5th. All in all, it was a decent fight but not particularly entertaining because it was so one-sided. I was disappointed by Adamek’s lack of power. He just doesn’t look all that powerful for a heavyweight, and looks like he needs to lose some fat and move back down to cruiserweight.
Adamek will get his shot at one of the Klitschkos and/or WBA heavyweight champion David Haye, but I can’t see him being any more than a punching bag in the same mode as Dereck Chisora will be for Wladimir when they eventually get around to fighting. Hopefully, once Adamek is knocked out by Haye or the Klitschkos, he’ll move back down to the cruiserweight, where he has the ability to hold down one of the belts and do well. At heavyweight, I don’t see Adamek as anything more than just a typical contender who has done well by selectively picking out beatable opponents.
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