Masternak Scores Decisive Victory in Main Event
Mateusz Masternak (38-4, 26 KO) made a successful return to the ring after nearly a year away. In the main event of „BudWeld Boxing Night: Noc Prawdy” in Dzierżoniów, he comfortably outpointed Aleksander Kubicz (9-3, 6 KO). The Russian showed the same qualities he had displayed in his bout with Michał Cieślak. He boxed off the back foot, used the ropes well in defense, and launched attacks only in two or three bursts per round.
„Master” had the advantage from the opening bell, although the former European junior heavyweight champion struggled for a long time to land cleanly on his opponent’s chin. He therefore closed the distance with attacks to the body and looked for his overhand right. In the fifth round, Kubicz was penalized one point for clinching, but he continued to defend skillfully. During the final six minutes, Masternak changed his tactics. He stepped back to the right and answered with short left hooks. It seemed that stopping the Russian was only a matter of time, but Kubicz made it to the final bell. The judges awarded Masternak the victory, scoring the bout 78:73 and 80:71 twice.
Adam Balski (8-0, 6 KO) unanimously defeated Dariusz Skop (6-2, 2 KO), although he failed to impress this time. The ring referee, Włodzimierz Kromka, played a significant role in that. The first two rounds unfolded at a calm pace. The fighter from Kalisz waited for his trademark punch, the left hook, but Skop had prepared well for it and avoided it effectively. Balski accelerated in the third round, began attacking the body as well, and immediately extended his advantage.
From the fourth round onward, Skop clinched almost continuously. He received a warning, but for a long time afterward he got away with it. The lack of further reprimands allowed him to „destroy” the quality of the fight with his style. On the other hand, he showed cunning and ring intelligence, which enabled him to survive to the end. He received his second warning for fouls and clinching only in the final round. By that point, he should have been disqualified long before. In the closing moments, Balski sent his opponent to the canvas with a powerful right cross, but by the time the referee counted to eight, only seconds remained until the bell. The scorecards left no doubt: 80:70 and 80:69 twice for Balski.
After eight tactical rounds, the more experienced Michał Żeromiński (12-2-1, 1 KO) handed Tomasz Mazur (6-1-1, 2 KO) the first defeat of his career. It was a chess match, punctuated by short but sharp exchanges. Mazur coped reasonably well at long range. However, whenever „Żeromka” closed the distance, experience gave him the edge. He cleverly disengaged from his opponent and scored with short punches.
The bout appeared even, but after each round it was possible to identify the better boxer. Żeromiński won more rounds. The judges scored it 77:75, 78:74, and an excessively wide 80:72, all in favor of Piotr Wilczewski’s charge.
Michał Leśniak (6-1, 2 KO) defeated Nadzir Bażhajew (3-5-1), who unexpectedly outpointed Konrad Dąbrowski at the end of last year. „Szczupak” had previously been associated above all with tremendous fighting spirit. However, he often became overexcited and engaged in unnecessary wars. This time, he showed for the first time that he could box consistently and, above all, with calculation.
Leśniak did not look for single, heavy punches. He scored, connected his punches into combinations, and effectively stopped the physically stronger opponent. In the fifth round, he hurt Bażhajew with a left hook to the liver, but failed to notice the effect and allowed his opponent to recover from the crisis. He visibly faded during the final three minutes. Bażhajew began to come on, but his finish came too late. The judges awarded Leśniak a 60:55 victory and two scores of 60:54.
Robert Parzęczewski (15-1, 9 KO), working under Grzegorz Krawczyk, is gradually transforming from a primitive strongman with good stamina into a solid boxer. Tomasz Gargula (18-6-1, 5 KO) experienced this firsthand. From the start, the punching power of „Arab” was evident. Every one of his attacks, even a single counterpunch, visibly affected his opponent.
As early as the first round, „Tomer” felt a left hook to the liver, but gritted his teeth and avoided a knockdown. In the second round, he was dropped by a left hook to the chin. The pace slowed somewhat in the third, but Parzęczewski attacked more sharply again in the fourth. He caught the experienced opponent against the ropes and finished the job.
Two previously unbeaten fighters, operating between middleweight and super middleweight, produced an excellent spectacle. After six dramatic rounds, Tomasz Gromadzki (3-0-1, 1 KO) defeated Paweł Rumiński (2-1, 2 KO). The opening belonged to Rumiński, who boxed technically behind his left jab and looked for a powerful right uppercut. „Zadyma” pressed forward, but for a long time could not find the right rhythm.
It was only in the second half of the second round that Gromadzki began to get to his opponent. He forced him onto the defensive and controlled the fight through the third, fourth, and almost the entire fifth round. Rumiński returned to the contest only toward the end of the fifth. The final three minutes were a genuine war of attrition. Both men gave everything they had and were so exhausted that almost any clean punch could have knocked them down.
The late rally was not enough for the Legia Fight Club fighter. Better conditioned and more aggressive, Gromadzki won on all three scorecards: 59:55, 59:55, and 60:54. His victory was beyond dispute, although the scores themselves may be somewhat misleading. It was a tough and very good fight.
Przemysław Opalach (24-2, 20 KO) did not even have time to work up a proper sweat before his bout with Paata Warduaszwili (30-12-2, 23 KO) was over. „Spartan” traditionally looked for shots to the body and put together two- or three-punch combinations. His initial punches were lighter, but he finished every combination with a left hook around the liver. He did not set a high pace, as if saving energy for the later rounds. During the break between the second and third rounds, however, the Georgian reported a hand injury and withdrew from the fight.
Source: bokser.org
