Kownacki vs Washington on the Thurman Undercard

Kownacki vs Washington on the Thurman Undercard

By Matthew Dean 

January 26 at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York People will be tuning in to watch Keith Thurman vs Josesito Lopez. But if you are one of those fans who likes to watch the undercards as well, you will be lucky enough to see a heavyweight fight which is not for any alphabet belt, nor a linear title of any kind or any accolade but one which I believe will truly be worth seeing.

Adam Kownacki (18-0-0. 14KOs) from Poland, and now resident of Brooklyn will be putting his unbeaten record on the line against Gerald Washington (19-2-2. 12KOs).

Kownacki has a large and proud following in Brooklyn and Washington is walking into the lion’s den. Kownacki although undefeated is not yet a household name. I say the word yet because at 29 he still has time provided the right fights can be made for him.

Let’s be honest he doesn’t have the bulging biceps like some of boxing’s flagship division, he is often criticised for not being “body beautiful” but the fact remains that he is a good fighter. Ranked at No.5 by the IBF and No.9 by the WBC he is a hard-working pressure fighter who comes forward constantly and never gives up.

I don’t want to sound like I am placing him on a podium too high but kind of like a real life Rocky Balboa. Nobody expected that he would be able to compete with the big boys of the division but he could certainly prove people wrong. Nobody gave Chuck Wepner a shot against Ali boxing history is full of stories of the unlikely hero.

This should be another learning fight at a crucial point in Kownacki’s career. The Pole outpointed former IBF titleholder Charles Martin in his last fight 4 months ago in an action packed and bruising encounter over 10 rounds. It was a seesaw fight but it was a solid performance.

Kownacki has also beaten former Deontay Wilder opponent, Artur Szpilka. Wilder took 9 rounds to get Szpilka out of there whereas Kownacki needed just 4 to conclude matters.

Washington coming into this fight could be ring rusty. Having fought only 3 times since 2017 and succumbing in 2 of these in back to back losses against Deontay Wilder (5th Rd) and Jarrell Miller (Rtd 8th). This can surely have an adverse effect on a fighter’s confidence and subsequently their performance. Added to that, Washington is almost 37, almost certainly in the last few years of his career. He isn’t a huge puncher with 12 KOs from his 19 wins so I think he would have to be the underdog in this matchup.

Kownacki nevertheless is respectful and mindful of his foe. He has publicly stated, he considers him to be a step up in opposition but is looking forward to being back at the Barclays Centre. In his opinion his key to success is to bring the kind pressure he exerts so well.

The torch for Polish heavyweight boxing seems to have been well and truly passed. Andrew Golota being the well-known name was defeated by Tomasz Adamek.

Adamek was outpointed by Artur Szpilka and he was then stopped by Kownacki. Adamek – the other big name for Polish boxing is in his forties and having recently lost to Jarrell Miller provides more space for Kownacki to flourish in this division.

Kownacki isn’t the biggest in the division at 6’3” ( Tyson Fury is 6’9”, Deontay Wilder is 6’7”, Anthony Joshua 6’6”). I think we should keep our eyes on this chap. He can certainly improve on what we have seen so far and I believe he will make his mark on the current division. Whether he can succeed in separating one of the existing champions from their belts is a matter still to be proven. However one thing is certainly clear, just like Rocky Balboa did in the films, he will give it his all inside the ring and we will most definitely witness some truly exciting fights.

Adam Kownacki, remember the name, I think we will be hearing more of it!