Diablo returns after a layoff. First Sosnowiec, then big plans

On March 4 in Sosnowiec, Krzysztof Włodarczyk will return to the ring. The two-time world champion at cruiserweight will face an opponent who has not yet been announced. For Diablo, it will be a comeback after an 18-month layoff. This time, however, things are supposed to be different. Włodarczyk wants to record the 50th victory of his professional career, then fly to the United States and meet Beibut Shumenov, the interim WBA champion. His plans also include bouts with fellow Poles Artur Szpilka and Tomasz Adamek.

- Do you remember when you last fought in Poland?
Krzysztof Włodarczyk: Not particularly. It must have been several years ago.

- Almost three and a half years ago.
KW: It really has been a long time. And I did not enter the ring at all for more than a year.

- You are 35, which is the prime age for a boxer. This is the time when you should be having the biggest fights and making the most money.
KW: That’s true, but please don’t ask me why it happened this way. It was a difficult and very stressful period. I was supposed to fight Grigoriy Drozd in May, but I got sick. These things happen. Toward the end of the year, my fight with Shumenov in the United States was being planned, but the Kazakh reported an eye injury. You have to understand that. Still, I’m sorry I went so long without boxing.

- Did you waste a year?
KW: Do we really have to talk about that? Can’t you spare me a little? Maybe it’s some kind of curse. I have no idea why I didn’t fight.

- Haven’t you become rusty after such a long layoff?
KW: Let me tell you a story. On Tuesday, during training, I was working on technique with Andrzej Wawrzyk. Trainer Fiodor Łapin was watching us and suddenly said that, after such a long layoff, I was executing all the combinations very smoothly. A moment later, however, he added that when it comes to a fight, or even sparring, I often tense up. So all I need to do is what I know how to do, and the results will follow. Besides, gentlemen, I have no choice. It has to be good. I don’t have time to get rusty.

- Somewhere in the back of your mind, you should be hearing an alarm. Otherwise, you will miss the best period of your career.
KW: That’s exactly how it is. Everyone gets their ten minutes. I probably have about two left, and I have to use them one hundred percent. I believe I can still become world champion. There are older and more battle-worn fighters who remain among the elite, put on good fights and make money.

- I heard you met Artur Szpilka, who had flown from the United States to Poland for a while. It was almost exactly the same place where you got into a scuffle before he left. This time, a pane of glass separated you.
KW: I saw him, that’s true. I don’t want to go back to that situation. We keep our distance from each other and do our own thing. Although... we will meet one day. I’m sure of it. I don’t know when or where, but one day I’ll get him in the ring.

- Recently, there has also been talk of a fight between you and Tomasz Adamek.
KW: That subject did come up. Recently, I met with Polsat’s head of sports, Mr. Marian Kmita. He even asked me about their offer. I replied that we needed to make it happen because I was interested. Not now, though, because I have other plans. I see it this way: I win in Sosnowiec, then beat Shumenov and win the interim WBA title. I will probably defend it twice, then face Denis Lebedev for the real title. Once I return to champion status, I would gladly face Adamek in the ring, and Szpilka at the end. That’s a good scenario.

Interview by: Kamil Wolnicki/Przegląd Sportowy