Szpilka beats Adamek; Sulęcki and Syrowatka score brutal knockouts
In the main event of Polsat Boxing Night III in Krakow, young wolf Artur Szpilka (17-1, 12 KO) faced experienced former two-division world champion Tomasz Adamek (49-4, 29 KO). The first round was a feeling-out affair. “Góral” tried to back his opponent into the corner, but “Szpila” stopped him with his straight right. The Wieliczka fighter gained a slight edge in the second. He landed a left cross and kept his opponent at range with a good right jab. Adamek looked for openings to the body.
A minute before the end of the third round, Szpilka landed a clean left and moments later followed up with a right-left combination. Adamek ended up on the ropes. He felt the shot, but as usual quickly tried to respond. In the fourth, he pressed harder, yet the younger Pole was quicker with his head shots. Roger Bloodworth’s charge therefore consistently attacked the body.
In the fifth, his rights began finding Adamek’s head as well. Adamek landed several times, but Szpilka took the punches without showing much effect. The next three minutes were even. Both men cautiously feinted with their lead hands. In the seventh, Artur again kept his opponent at bay with the straight right, occasionally adding a powerful left.
The roles were reversed in the eighth round. Adamek came out attacking and landed accurately several times during a long combination. Szpilka was in trouble. He boxed off the back foot practically until the bell, although credit must be given to him for avoiding “Góral’s” bombs with his footwork and balance. In the ninth, he regained his rhythm and the bout was once again competitive.
The final three minutes were set to decide everything. Artur landed twice with the left before Tomek answered with a left hook. After the bell, both men raised their hands in victory. The judges scored it 94:96, 92:98 and 94:96, unanimously awarding the win to Szpilka.
Instead of a close battle, the fans saw a brief execution. In a bout between two undefeated fighters, Michał Syrowatka (11-0, 3 KO) rapidly knocked out Michał Chudecki (10-1-1, 3 KO). In close quarters, Syrowatka took a small step back and smashed a right hook into his opponent’s jaw. Chudecki hung on the ropes, and before Grzegorz Molenda could step in, Andrzej Gmitruk’s charge finished him with a powerful right uppercut. It was a very heavy knockout and revenge for two defeats to “TNT” in the amateur ranks.
Instead of an even contest, we witnessed a one-man show. Maciej Sulęcki (19-0, 4 KO) completely dominated Grzegorz Proksa (29-4, 21 KO) and won inside the distance. “Striczu” started brilliantly. He twice drew the former European champion onto a straight right and landed a short left hook once. “Get him moving,” Fiodor Łapin advised during the break.
Sulęcki continued to dictate the terms, setting up the fight with his jab. Proksa landed one clean shot, but after two rounds he was clearly behind, 18:20. At the beginning of the third, “Super G” performed better and landed a clean straight left. Sulęcki answered with a right, then finished the exchange with a spectacular right-left hook combination.
Proksa was probably slightly better in the fourth, but in the final seconds “Striczu” tilted the scales back in his favor with two excellent combinations. Przemek Saleta saw it the same way, scoring the round 40:36 for Maciej. Stung by this, Proksa launched a fierce attack in the sixth, but the relaxed Sulęcki calmly controlled the situation and picked him off with the jab.
By the halfway point, there was little doubt left. “Super G” attacked with increasing ferocity, but returned to his corner after another lost round, also carrying a slight cut over his eyebrow. “No standing still. From the bottom to the top,” Łapin urged him. That day, however, belonged to Sulęcki.
The end came in the seventh round. Maciej punished almost every move by his opponent with a straight right. Trying to change the course of the bout with one punch, Proksa opened up and walked onto Sulęcki’s right hook. A classic knockout. An upset? Probably not that big a one.
Dawid Kostecki (39-2, 25 KO) returned after a long layoff. His bout with Andrzej Sołdra (11-1-1, 5 KO) was supposed to be a formality, but it quickly became clear that it would be anything but. The opening was sensational. Piotr Wilczewski’s charge landed a right cross and a left hook. After another right hook to the temple, “Cygan” staggered and struggled to stay on his feet. In the corner, Fiodor Łapin warned his fighter, but the beginning of the second again belonged to Sołdra.
Seconds before the break, Kostecki fired a right-over-right combination. This time Andrzej was knocked down. The third round brought a genuine war of attrition. Blow for blow, bomb for bomb. Late in the round, Dawid’s right hook stunned Sołdra and probably earned him the judges’ favor.
The fourth was almost total Kostecki domination. After two minutes and 50 seconds, the battered Sołdra suddenly landed a left hook on the jaw. Dawid stayed on his feet. Kostecki again had the upper hand at the start of the fifth, and it seemed only a matter of time before the knockout came. Then Sołdra produced a fantastic surge and forced the favorite into deep defense.
The situation changed like a kaleidoscope. The sixth round clearly belonged to Sołdra. Everyone rubbed their eyes in disbelief, while Andrzej sensed blood and began hunting for the knockout. The next three minutes were a massacre. Both fighters were exhausted, battered and bleeding, but neither intended to give way.
Kostecki landed the biggest bomb, yet Sołdra was again the better man over the course of the round. “Cygan” therefore needed the final round to turn the fight around. Nothing changed. The two-way bombardment continued until the final second and was rewarded with loud applause. The judges scored it 75:76, 75:77 and 75:77, all in Sołdra’s favor.
In the second bout of the card, favored fighter Łukasz Maciec (22-2-1, 5 KO) clearly defeated Michał Żeromiński (7-2, 1 KO). The fighter from Lublin used his physical advantages from the outset and worked behind straight punches. Midway through the first round, however, Żeromiński drew him onto a right-hand counter.
After an even start, Maciec began building an advantage. He peppered his opponent with combinations, while Michał looked for a single, powerful shot. “Gruby” consistently followed the game plan. From range he attacked upstairs, and at mid-range he tried to work underneath his opponent’s elbows.
In the fourth round, Łukasz’s relentless pressure began to break Żeromiński down. The difference between the fighters became more pronounced by the minute. The only question was whether Maciec would add a sixth stoppage win to his record.
Half a minute before the end of the sixth, Michał went down to a left hook near the liver. Robert Gortat, however, did not begin a count, ruling that the punch was too low. “He’s fighting only to survive now,” Karolina Michalczuk shouted from the corner. Midway through the seventh, Maciec repeated the same attack. This time Żeromiński was not counted, but the pain was clearly visible on his face.
Extremely exhausted, Michał showed character and made it to the final bell. The judges had no trouble identifying the winner, scoring it 79:73 and 80:72 twice for Maciec.
In the opening bout of the card, Piotr Gudel (2-1, 0 KO) defeated Rafał Kaczor (2-1, 0 KO), settling the score from the previous year. Eager for revenge, Gudel landed a powerful hook near the end of the first minute, then unleashed a barrage on his wounded opponent. The referee counted the fighter from Wałbrzych to eight. Kaczor escaped the danger, but was bleeding from his right eyebrow.
Rafał returned to the fight in the second and gained a slight edge late in the round. The third unfolded similarly, although both men had already opened up and traded freely. A knockout or knockdown could come at any moment.
At the start of the fourth, Kaczor switched off for a moment. Gudel took a step back in close and smashed a left hook into the jaw. Rafał finished strongly. The next six minutes were a battle for supremacy. Piotrek punched harder, but Kaczor had more left in the tank and remained more active. Thirty seconds before the end, he landed a solid left hook on the chin, but could not be certain of victory.
The judges scored it 57:56, 55:58 and 58:56 for Gudel, who successfully avenged the earlier defeat.
Source: bokser.org
