| Adamek Decisions McBride, Keeps Klitschko Hopes Alive | ||||
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 Photo Courtesy of George Jimenez
Once again a raucous crowd filled the Newark Prudential Center as Tomasz Adamek (44-1, 28 KOs) kept his proposed September title shot against Vitali Klitschko on track with a 12-round unanimous decision win over Kevin McBride (35-9-1, 29 KOs). The 34-year-old Glowice, Poland native by way of Jersey City, NJ, used a patient game plan consisting of constant movement and a concentrated early body attack to outlast McBride - best known for his 2005 upset of Mike Tyson - by scores of 120-107 and 119-108 twice.
McBride, who turns 38 next month, consistently tried to turn the fight into an ugly brawl in which he could take full advantage of his 70lb weight and 4.5-inch height advantage. Adamek relied on his quickness to pot-shot the Clones Colossus throughout the entire 12 rounds. Trainer Roger Bloodworth spoke of McBride’s roughhouse tactics, saying “Desperate people do desperate things. I honestly thought McBride would get tired around the 7th round, but it didn’t happen. The plan we had for Kevin McBride worked perfectly, but tonight he put on a wonderful show.” Asked about this fight compared to the looming September date with Klitschko, Bloodworth said “This was the plan for beating McBride - he executed it perfectly, just as well in the ring as he did in the gym. Tonight he put on a perfect show." Despite the assurances, many observers left the fight questioning whether Adamek’s power and much shorter reach versus Klitschko would serve him well in September, but certainly nothing in this fight gave rise to doubts that he deserves that opportunity. Asked hether he would put on weight for Klitschko, he assured us that “215, 218, is my natural weight - I can’t gain more without giving up speed”. McBride hinted at Retirement after the fight saying, “I will sit down with my family soon and decide, but will probably say goodbye to the great sport of boxing.” If this is his final fight, he certainly gave an effort worthy of the occasion. The undercard featured Sadam Ali extending his record to 12-0 (7 KOs) with a monstrous left-hook KO of Perez of Ponce, Puerto Rico at 2:40 of the 3rd round, Referee Earl Morton stopping the count at 2 and waving the fight over. A similar left hook had dropped Perez in the first and saw him barely surviving the round. Late sub Perez drops to 8-5 and ex-olympian Ali appears set to take on bigger challenges after yet another impressive performance. Speaking of fighting in front of the strong Polish gathering, Ali joked, “The Polish people are starting to like me, but I’m not thinking of changing my name.” In a heavyweight eight-rounder that excited the Polish contingent, Andrzej Fonfara from Warsaw by way of Chicago landed a huge right hand to game-but-overmatched Ray Smith (9-6, 3 KOs) of Little Rock, Arkansas, who struggled to get up, while Fonfara celebrated by climbing the ropes before Referee Allen Huggins’ count had even concluded. Fonfara improves to 17-2, 8 KOs, the end coming at 2:51 of the fourth. In a spirited six-round featherweight battle, Josellito Collado of Queens, NY scored a split-decision win over Rafael Lora, Irvington, NJ by scores of 59-54, 57-56 and 57-56 for Lora. The undefeated Collado improves to 11-0 (3 KOs), while Lora drops to 11-4 (5 KOs). Crowd-pleasing action-fighter Vinny “The Lion” O’Brien of East Hanover, New Jersey ran his record to 2-0 (2 KOs) as a big combination early in the fourth round left debuting Shakir Aquel Dunn looking to finish, and falling just short at 2:51. Referee Earl Morton deducted a point form Dunn for spitting out his mouthpiece in an effort to survive.
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| Last Updated ( Friday, 16 December 2011 16:32 ) |
