By John F. McKenna (McJack): Now that the venue for the September 10 showdown between 6’7 Vitali Klitschko (44-2, 39 KO’s) and Tomasz Adamek ( 44-1, 28 KO’s) has been determined, Adamek says that he will rely on his speed to defeat Dr. Ironfist. The fight will take place in Adamek’s homeland in the football stadium at Wroclaw, Poland.

The September 10 date had been set for months but the venue had not yet been decided. The fight between Adamek and Klitschko will be one of the first events at the new stadium and will hold 42,000 fans.

Adamek is making no secret that he plans to use his superior speed to befuddle Klitschko while applying pressure in the hope that Vitali will tire. Vitali will be forty years old by the time the fight takes place and the Adamek camp is betting on the strategy that Klitschko will not be able to keep up the pace with Tomasz applying constant pressure and will tire in the later rounds. Tomasz was quoted as saying: “If I press and push the pace, then Klitschko might get tired. I will of course do everything based on speed because that is my biggest asset.”

Vitali of course will be working on how to counter Tomasz’a speed when he trains for the fight and as usual will take this fight as seriously as he takes all of his fights.
Unlike Klitschko’s other recent opponents, Adamek believes he has the formula to achieve victory on September 10 and will go into the fight with that mindset. Adamek really believes that he has the tools needed to ensure victory and will waste no time in putting his plan to work. Quit is not in his vocabulary and it is doubtful that he will retire on his stool between rounds. He will enjoy home field advantage in his native Poland and in all probability if he loses will go out on his shield.

Speed and home field advantage are the only advantages Tomasz will have against Vitalis who has been dominant in the seven fights since his return to the ring in October 2008 against Sam Peter. Part of the secret to Klitschko’s longevity is that, like Bernard Hopkins, he is always in shape and does not abuse his body. He does not pack on a lot of weight between fights which prevents him from having to struggle to get back into shape for his next bout. Vitali, who has never been knocked down very rarely loses a round in any of his fights.

Adamek has faced tall fighters in the lead up to his fight with Klitschko, but Michael Grant and Kevin McBride are not in the same league with Vitali. This fight in some ways is similar to the matchup Klitschko faced against Albert Sosnowski, in which Vitali also enjoyed a huge height and reach advantage. Adamek however is a better fighter than Sosnowski and should give a better account of himself. In the Sosnowski fight you had the impression that Vitali could have ended it whenever he chose to. In his fight with Odlanier Solis on March 19 Vitali seemed a little embarrassed before his adoring German fans that Solis did not put up a better fight. He likes to give his loyal fans their money’s worth. Klitschko seems to have a sense of when to end a fight and that is usually in the middle to late rounds. Like every other fighter who goes up against Vitali, Tomasz will have to figure a way to get inside on him. A lot of fighters have had a plan against
Klitschko and the plan went awry when the bell sounded for the first round. Joe Louis had a lot of good quotes and one of his best was “Everybody has a plan until they get hit.”

In addition to Adamek’s speed he will need a little bit of luck. The Adamek camp is hoping that Klitschko will suddenly start showing his age. One of the reasons Vitali sought a fight in June was because at his age he knows he needs to stay active. Unfortunately an opponent for Vitali could not be found on such short notice.

Vitali if given the opportunity will be attempting to take Adamek out as soon as possible. He knows how dangerous it is to fight in the other guys back yard if the fight goes to decision. He will from the very first round attempt to time Adamek when he moves in to land one of his quick combinations. He may even take a shot or two to give Adamek a false sense of security as George Foreman did when he fought Michael Moorer. It is likely that Klitschko will tag Adamk on the way in and slowly but surely bludgeon him into submission.