“Diablo” victorious in Poznań, spectacular knockout by Runowski and a debut win for “Wierzba”
It was a high-stakes affair. Krzysztof Włodarczyk (53-3-1, 37 KOs) and Noel Gevor (22-1, 10 KOs) met in Poznań in the final eliminator for the IBF junior heavyweight title. Also at stake was the right to take part in the lucrative World Boxing Super Series tournament, where huge sums of money are up for grabs.
Neither man set a high pace, although the German remained mobile on his feet throughout. Krzysiek applied pressure but did not put together long combinations. Apart from a few powerful rights to the body, he was unable to reach his opponent’s chin. Late in the fourth round, Gevor landed an overhand right on the Pole in the corner. Fortunately, it had no serious consequences. The German also boxed the sixth round well. He waited for Włodarczyk, made him miss and answered with quick two- and three-punch combinations. “Diablo” came back into the fight in the eighth. He increased the tempo and landed a right hook by the ropes. He also rallied in the penultimate, 11th round, but could not break down his mobile and clever opponent. Gevor looked better over the final three minutes. We waited tensely for the verdict. The judges voted two to one in favor of “Diablo”: 113:115, 116:112 and 115:114.
Patryk Szymański (18-0, 9 KOs) added the name of Rafał Jackiewicz (48-17-2, 22 KOs) to his record, but for the second fight in a row he was hurt. It seems that at the highest level, punch resistance could become a serious problem for the Konin fighter. The bout had barely begun when the old fox was already counted. After a double left, Szymański landed an overhand right near Jackiewicz’s ear. Fortunately for the spectacle, Rafał survived the crisis thanks to his vast experience. Patryk had the advantages in size and strength, however. His punches pierced Jackiewicz’s usually tight guard. The younger Pole imposed his boxing and did not allow his opponent to get into mid-range for a moment.
“I just can’t catch him, damn it,” an irritated Jackiewicz told Robert Złotkowski before the third round. Rafał began landing in that round, but even clean punches did not make much of an impression on Patryk. Every shot going the other way hurt. Then Jackiewicz showed what he had been known for throughout his career. He slipped his opponent’s jab and immediately countered with an overhand right while leaning back. Szymański was rocked, and Rafał followed up with another right. An upset was close, but there was not enough time.
Patryk won the fifth round, but the picture of the fight clearly evened out. “I’m waiting for the counter,” Jackiewicz said in his corner. “Okay, but you’re waiting a little too long,” his trainer replied. In the sixth round, the former European champion seemed to hit a slight crisis. Perhaps the dozens of body shots had taken their toll. When the bell rang for the seventh, Rafał came out transformed. He hurt his opponent again with a perfectly timed counter. Szymański smartly clinched and recovered a moment later. After an even eighth round, the younger Pole took full control in the ninth. Jackiewicz looked better again down the stretch and landed two more spectacular counters on Szymański. He lost, but exposed the shortcomings of his countryman, who was 16 years younger. After the final bell, the judges scored it 95:92, 98:92 and 98:91 for Patryk.
This was probably the best performance of Przemysław Runowski’s (15-0, 3 KOs) career. The popular “Kosiarz” spectacularly stopped previously unbeaten Alain Chervet (13-1-2, 10 KOs). The Swiss started very aggressively, but the Pole effectively cooled his enthusiasm with good footwork and a quick jab. From the outset, he was also looking for a right-for-right counter. It did not come off in the first round, but in the second Runowski landed an overhand right and sent his opponent to the canvas. Chervet rose at eight and backed up to the ropes. This, however, was Przemek’s night. Several dozen seconds later, another overhand right produced a second knockdown. Five seconds before the end of the round, Runowski sent his opponent to the canvas for a third time, this time with a right hook. The TKO victory has raised hopes for the future.
This was supposed to be one of the most important debuts in Polish professional boxing in many months. And it did not disappoint. Paweł Wierzbicki, a multiple Polish super heavyweight champion and a world junior championships silver medalist, quickly dispatched his first professional opponent. Standing opposite Tomasz Potapczyk’s charge was the physically strong but inexperienced Paweł Sowik (0-2). The fighter from Sokółka started calmly. He worked behind his jab and powerful hooks to the body, getting around his opponent’s tight guard. Once he had lulled Sowik into a false sense of security, a right uppercut–right hook combination sent him to the canvas. Sowik rose at eight, and the bell rang moments later.
It was all over immediately after the break. Wierzbicki hurt his opponent with a right hook to the jaw, closed in on the wounded fighter and, after several more bombs, left Sowik hanging on the ropes. Referee Włodzimierz Kromka did not even begin a count. Fearing a serious knockout, he stopped the contest.
There was one favorite, and he did not disappoint. Przemysław Zyśk (5-0, 2 KOs) defeated ambitious but clearly technically inferior Tomasz Goluch (4-7, 2 KOs). The charge of Fiodor Łapin and Łukasz Malinowski crashed a left hook into the liver area late in the second minute. His opponent boxed through the remainder of the round with a grimace of pain. In the second round, Zyśk sent his opponent down twice with a left-right combination. Goluch got up from the canvas each time, but with 30 seconds remaining in the round, the referee stopped the one-sided contest.
Kamil Gardzielik (3-0, 1 KO) endured a moment of danger but escaped trouble and defeated the technically weaker yet physically stronger Przemysław Gorgoń (3-1, 1 KO). The two-time Polish middleweight champion, unquestionably the paper favorite, entered the ring looking sleepy and cold. Several times he was caught by a right hook over his left hand. One minute before the end of the first round, Przemek’s left hook unexpectedly sent Kamil to the canvas. Gardzielik quickly sprang up and weathered the crisis, then took control of the fight in the second round.
In the third round, he was clearly dominant. He landed accurately from range with a right to the body, alternating it with an overhand right upstairs. He also added a dangerous right uppercut whenever Gorgoń tried to close the distance. After the final bell, there could be only one verdict: 38:37 for Gardzielik. Fortunately, all the judges saw the fight the same way.
Earlier, Aleksander Strecki (4-0, 2 KOs) impressively stopped Andrei Abramenka (20-9-2, 4 KOs). In the first round alone, he twice forced the Belarusian to take a count with body shots, then finished the job in the second.
source: bokser.org
