Tomasz Adamek vs. Michael Grant Live Coverage

Features, Results

Join Will Cooling at 9pm ET for live coverage of Tomasz Adamek taking on Michael Grant in “The Big Challenge”. The highly regarded former light heavyweight and crusierweight will be giving up 44Ibs in what is being billed as a test of Adamek’s ability to fight against larger heavyweights. Also on the card are Joel Julio vs. Jamaal Davis and Sadam Ali vs. Lenin Arroyo.

Evening all, for our live coverage of tonight’s boxing action. We’re kicking off with a six round light-welterweight match between Jeremy Bryan (13-1, 6 KOs) and Daniel Mitchell (5-1-1, 2 KOs) .

Six Rounds Light-Welterweight Match: Jeremy Bryan (139Ibs) vs. Daniel Mitchell(137.5 Ibs)

Round One

Jeremy Bryan is not only the heavier fighter but also has more experience and has significant height and reach advantages. Both boxers are coming off a defeat. Feeling each other out, with Bryan pumping out the left jab and being the more aggressive. Mitchell claims a headbutt but the referee is having none of it. Mitchell is camped out in the centre of the ring and is firmly in control. Bryan moves forward and traps Mitchell in the corner, putting together several decent combinations. There’s some confusion about whether he gets a knockdown on Bryan – the commentators call one but it looks like Bryan just bundled Mitchell over, with the referee never starting the ten-count. Towards the end he lands his best punch, catching Mitchell with a nice right cross.

Strange end to the fight. Mitchell had been complaining of problems with his eye towards the end of the first round. He continues complaining about it in the corner and the doctor is forced to advise the referee to end the fight. What made it strange is that replays could not find any point where Bryan landed anywhere near Mitchell’s eye. I’ll let you draw your own conclusions about that.

Jeremy Bryan defeated David Mitchell by referee stoppage after 1 round.

Eight Rounds Welterweight Match: Sadam Ali (145) vs. Lenin Arroyo (146)

Round One

Lenin Arroyo is from Costa Rica, while Sam Ali was the first Arab-American to represent the US at the Olympics whose hero is Naseem Hamed. They start out first, with Ali looking to overwhelm Arroyo with volume of fast combinations. Ali gets success early on with good work to the body while Arroyo comes back with some nice power shots. Ali comes back and pierces Arroyo’s guard with a thunderous uppercut that snaps Arroyo’s head back. Arroyo recovers quickly but Ali is outclassing him. The round ends with Ali throwing a lovely left hook that staggers Arroyo. Good round for Ali, 10-9.

Round Two

More good exchanges, Ali is showing good handspeed to put together some fast combinations to the body. Arroyo is retreating into his shell a tad, complaining to the referee and fighting off his back foot. Not only is Ali throwing and connecting with a lot of punches, he’s doing a really good job in bouncing around the ring and avoiding Arroyo. He saves his best for the end of the round putting together several big shots that have Arroyo staggering. 10-9 to Ali

Round Three

It looks like we start with an early knockdown for Ali but the referee waves it off, saying that Arroyo was down as a result of a cuff behind the head. More of the same after that, with Ali just being too fast for Arroyo – his handspeed is allowing him to just land at will while he’s able to move around the ring with impunity. That said he doesn’t put Arroyo in any seriously compromising position. 10- 9 to Ali.

Round Four

Better from Arroyo, who’s come out more aggressive throwing some big single punches early on, then later-on trying to close the distance and tie Ali up. However Ali has too much quality for him, putting together some lovely combinations that Arroyo has no answer for. The commentators highlight an excellent one where Arroyo manages to block three punches but then the fourth, a left hand gets through. Ali is just too much for Arroyo, 10-9 to Ali

Round Five

Credit to Arroyo, after seemingly retreating into his shell in the second round he’s done his best to stay in a fight against a much classier opponent. More of the same from Ali just throwing an overwhelming number of punches, always in dynamic combinations. The fight comes to a brutal end with Ali faking a right hand, landing a left hook and then connecting with a devastating liver punch. Arroyo is down and hunched over and cannot beat the count, for the fight to end at 2:46.

I was really impressed by Ali who was a whirlwind in the ring, with great handspeed and footwork. Fun fight.

Sadam Ali defeated Lenin Arroyo via TKO at 2:46 of Round Five.

Shemuel Pagan defeated Raul Rivera by unanimous decision with scores of 40-35, 40-34, 40-34 in a fight from earlier on in the evening.

We have a delay in proceedings because somehow a ring rope has broken while they were showing that pre-lim. Btw from what we’ve being shown Adamek has drawn a hell of a crowd from the local polish community, looks like something of a party atmosphere in New Jersey.

Ten Rounds Light-Middleweight Match: Joel Julio (152) vs. Jamaal Davis (153)

Round One

Davis pushes the action early on, pumping the jab out while working the body. Julio seems outmatched, not working enough to cope with the volume of punches coming from Davis. The fight taking place entirely in the centre of the ring early on, Davis almost connects with a big uppercut. Julio throws a big right hand but it misses. Davis looks the quicker of the two, catching Julio throughout the round. Julio responds with some hard punches to the head and body of Davis, but he’s certainly boxing off the back foot. 10-9 to Davis.

Round Two

Davis is again staying active and outworking Julio, but Julio is looking to take advantage of Davis leaving his left hand low by landing a big right hand. He comes close early on but just misses. Julio looks the more powerful fight, as although  his combinations are slower and involved less punches they seem more impactful. Julio looking really good towards the end of the round, defending well and putting together some good left hand-right hand combinations. 10-9 to Julio.

Round Three

More of the same early on, with Julio looking for the right hand while Davis tries to work his jab. Davis puts together a great flurry midway through that pushes Julio up against the ropes, some powerful shots to the head and body. Julio is cut after a right-hand/left-hook combo from Davis. The cut is just underneath his eye but it seems to be effecting his vision as he Davis is able to land two big left uppercuts towards the end of the round. Good close to the round for Davis as he steals the round 10-9.

Round Four

Julio comes in an absolute fury, looking to finish it before the cut can fully impact on the fight. Julio is absolutely all over Davis, just hitting him at will. Davis has slowed down and is now giving Julio the time and space to sit down on his punches and put his full power into them. Good round for Julio who bounces back from being cut. 10-9 to Julio.

Round Five

Julio rattles Davis at the start, landing several big punches including an uppercut and right hand which have an obvious effect on Davis. Davis has slowed right down and is trying to stifle Julio by holding. Julio ands a cracking right hand that clearly hurts Davis. Davis is looking very heavy-legged, just standing in front of Julio and taking several hard punches to the head. Julio puts together several combinations at the end of the round, almost connects with a big left hook. Just a dominant performance from Julio, I’d score that 10-8 to him.

Round Six

Davis slips early on, and is clearly struggling to stay in the fight. Davis is overcompensating against the right hand, so leaving him open to several big left hooks and uppercuts. Julio almost finishes the fight, pushing Davis into the corner and just unloading on him with several hard punches to the head and body. Davis looks out on his feet and the referee takes a hard long look. Davis finally offers some offence to stay alive but he just can’t get back into this fight. Another good round for Julio, 10-9.

Round Seven

Davis tries to pushes the action, but while he’s game he just looks very sluggish. Julio is just able to land at will with Davis planted, confused in the middle of the ring while Julio swarms him from every angle. Julio is pacing himself, still in charge but not boxing with the ferocity of the past two rounds. Julio 10-9

Round Eight

Whatever you say about Davis he can take an awful lot of damage but one has to ask what use is there in keeping him in this fight when he’s just standing there taking damage. Julio lands a few right hands from distance, Davis tries to comeback with a combination to the body but his punches now lack power. Julio is just taking his time, picking his punches and completely dominating his opponent. 10-9 to Julio.

Round Nine

More of the same, Julio completely dominant with Davis refusing to quit but unable to offer anything other than stubborn resistance. Fight is petering out after an exciting start, with Julio seemingly content to just outpoint Davis as we enter the final round. 10-9 Julio.

Round Ten

Julio sees out the round and the fight in complete control, Davis is dead on his feet but Julio isn’t able to put together a flurry like he did in fifth and sixth round to secure the KO. Another round to Davis 10-9. The judges scorecards are 97-93, 98-92, 99-93 all for Julio. I’d agree with that, I had him up 98-91.

Joel Julio defeated Jamaal Davis by unanimous decision (97.93, 98-92, 99-93)

Twelve Round Heavyweight Match: Tomasz Adamek (217) vs. Michael Grant (261)

Round One

The tale of the tape tells you way this fight is taking place, with Grant heavier than Adamek by 44Ibs, taller than Adamek by 4.5 Inches and with a 10 inch reach advantage. With those dimensions he offers Adamek an invaluable chance to to test himself against a significantly bigger boxer, as preparation for a possible early-2011 title fight against one of the Klitschko brothers. And of course, Michael Grant is yet another in a long list of veteran boxers broughout out of semi-retirement in an attempt to add lusture to the record of a young contender. If he can upset the odds then his key to victory will be keeping Adamek at bay with the jab. Adamek has impressed upon his move up to heavyweight, with his last fight being a comfortable points victory against Chris Arreola .

The crowd is unsurprisingly heavily in favor of Adamek, with huge cheers from the heavily polish crowd. Michael Grant is mercilessly booed by the crowd. A huge Adamek chant breaks out. Its a real shame this fight hasn’t got a wider distribution in the US because Adamek is coming across as a huge deal.

Grant looks huge in comparsion to Adamek, not quite Valuev-Haye but its close. Grant is working slow but is looking to throw the jab. Adamek comes in several times, throwing body shots. Michael Grant is keeping his left hand low. Grant really needs to start working more if he’s to overwhelm Adamek, he’s not really doing anything at the moment. Adamek dips underneath the jab and connects with a big left hook. Grant is throwing some more jabs but Adamek responds with a combination, including a left hand that lands square on Grant’s chin. Round ends with Adamek pushing the action, and he ends up tackling Grant to the round! 10-9 Adamek.

Round Two

Grant starts by pawing at Adamek with jabs, but isn’t doing enough to impose himself on Adamek. Adamek goes on the offensive, working inside with some good combinations. Grant tries to hold, but Adamek slips out and throws some left hand-right hand combinations to the head of Grant. Adamek didn’t connect as much as he did in the first, but again he outboxed Grant. 10-9 Adamek.

Round Three

Adamek is again outclassing Grant, with the American just not committing enough to his jab to be effective. He catches Adamek with a right but it doesn’t stagger Adamek.  Adamek is able to quickly move into and out of  range, connect with body shots before successfully avoiding Grant’s counters. Adamek puts together a flurry of punches to the head of Grant. Another round to Adamek, who is too slick for Grant. 10-9 Adamek.

Round Four

Adamek is pushing the action, putting together several big combinations to the body. Grant is looking very slow and leaden, unable to work his jab and dictate where the fight takes place. Adamek is showing his quality with good movement and hands. 10-9 Adamek.

Round Five

Grant is just far too tenative, not only failing to put any power into his jab but often failing to pull the trigger. Adamek is increasingly contempous of Grant, becoming more willing to risk taking the American’s punches to move into range for him to land several good punches, including jabs which is crazy when you consider he has a 10inch reach DISadvantage. 10-9 Adamek.

Round Six

Adamek has a gameplan and is executing it perfectly; put Grant under pressure so denying him the time to get his jab off. Move into punching range, land something to either the body or head and then get the hell out before Grant can counter. That’s basically what every minute of this fight has been. Grant has been completely outfought by Adamek, with the best punches coming from Adamek. At the very end Grant shows what could’ve been, not moving back after taking two punches from Adamek and responding with a big right hand that seems to stagger Adamek. He then follows up with a punch that connects after the bell goes for the end of the round. Still Adamek’s round but he may have been weakened by that late exchange. 10-9 to Adamek.

Round Seven

Adamek is cut and Grant starts the round the stronger, seemingly starting to boss a weakened Adamek. But the Pole comes back strongly in teh second half of the round, showing real quality in landing some good punches when moving in. Very even round but Adamek probably clinches it with a big uppercut that seemingly staggers Grant towards the end of the round. 10-9 to Adamek.

Round Eight

A Grant round with Adamek seemingly tiring, probably due to the damage suffered at the very end of the sixth round. He is not moving around the (small) ring with the same zest that he had in the first five rounds which limits his ability to land on the bigger Grant. Grant is putting more power into his power, pinning Adamek against the ropes in the final minute of the round and puts together several hard hook body punches. Adamek looks very heavy as the round ends. 10-9 Grant.

Round Nine

Very even round but the turning point is when Adamek cuts Grant with about a minute length. However its Grant that takes the last minute, seemingly energised by the cut. He starts hunting Adamek down, walking through the punches that had kept him at bay in the earlier rounds. At the very end he gets a big right hand that seemingly staggers Adamek. 10-9 Grant and this is getting very interesting.

Round Ten

Adamek comes on the offensive as Grant seemingly goes back into his shell. Not much going on this round with both fighters looking very tired. Grant lands a big right hand but Adamek counters with a nice three-punch combination. Grant throws several jabs, with Adamek responding with a several body shots and a left hook. Very close round, possibly a 10-10 but if I had to I’d give it to Adamek 10-9.

Round Eleven

Adamek comes on strong, with several punches to the head of Grant. Adamek is being far more aggressive than he has been in the second half of this match. Grant is slowing down, allowing Adamek to outbox him. Grant is once again counterpunching, which is foolish given the success he’s had when he’s gone on the offensive. Adamek’s round, with the Pole showing more energy in his footwork and connecting with several flurries. 10-9 Adamek.

Round Twelve

Adamek is in charge early on but Grant charges him and staggers Adamek with a big left hand. Adamek is in really trouble, Grant charging around the ring looking for the knockdown  but Adamek is able to duck and move and avoid  taking too many follow-up shots. The second half of the round is all Grant but he cannot get that final telling blow and Adamek ends the round on his feet. 10-9 Grant. I give that to Adamek 117-111. The judges scorecards have it 117-111, 118-110, 118-111 for Adamek.

Really fun fight. It looked like Adamek was going to run away with it but Grant was able to put together some good rounds in the middle of the fight, and had Adamek in all sorts of trouble in the twelfth. While Adamek looked good early-on, I seriously doubt that his handlers will want to put him in with either of the Klitschkos anytime soon. Neither Wladimir or Vitali have the technical flaws that allowed Adamek to boss Grant early-on with both brothers able to box aggressively throughout a match and get their punches off quickly. None the less, this was a good victory for Adamek who once again showed that he’s a genuine contender at heavyweight.

A Comics Nexus original, Will Cooling has written about comics since 2004 despite the best efforts of the industry to kill his love of the medium. He now spends much of his time over at Inside Fights where he gets to see muscle-bound men beat each up without retcons and summer crossovers.