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Adamek Narrowly Wins Over
Estrada
By Tim Donaldson
A lot was made of Tomasz Adamek’s first U. S. defense of his
International Heavyweight title. Not so much from Adamek’s
side. They already seemed to be looking forward to his next
fight, a possible match with Chris Arreola. Rightly so,
Jason Estrada saw this as a snub. The fight wasn’t even
over, and Adamek already was acting like the winner. Estrada
let it be known that he wasn’t simply going to be walked
over on Adamek’s way to his next fight.
Now Adamek’s fans, never doubting the great Tomasz, came out
like never before to support him. All of the available
seating sold out, and Main Events and The Prudential Center
opened up more seating for the fight, even with a snow storm
that blanketed much of the Northeast, although Newark and
northern New Jersey were spared the brunt of the storm. As
always, they were there, wearing the red and white, faces
painted to match the Polish flag, and banners reading Polska
waving throughout the arena.
Estrada got off the first punch of the first round. Adamek
came back with some shots to the body. But it was obvious
from the beginning that Estrada was the bigger man, and he
was moving Adamek back in that first round. Adamek had to
fight smarter than he had in his last few fights at The
Prudential Center. Estrada was out to back up what he had
said earlier in the week. It is hard to judge a fight in the
first round, but it looked like Adamek really might have bit
off more than he could chew. From the middle of the first
round and into the second, it was clear what Adamek would
have to do to win this fight. He would have to use his
boxing skills. Instead of just being a great puncher, he
would have to move in and out, landing punches but getting
out before being hit. Estrada, for his part, stood his
ground. And when he had the chance, he would pressure Adamek
back.
As Adamek moved in and out, Estrada at times looked as
though he was not used to this kind of fighting. Adamek
would jump back after landing a few shots, and Estrada would
walk to him. In the third, Adamek was throwing big rights
and lefts. At times he would get hit when coming in, but he
continued this attack. The fight was looking as though a
clear winner was emerging. It looked even clearer in the
fourth and fifth rounds. Adamek clearly was in control of
those rounds. He was landing hard rights. He was landing
combinations when Estrada could only answer with a single
shot.
By the sixth round, Estrada was looking slow compared to
Adamek. Adamek might be the older of the two, but he was
fighting like the younger, or at least, the better.
Estrada’s corner could be heard telling him that he was
wearing Adamek down, but to many in the crowd, it didn’t
look like it. In fact, in round seven Estrada was lucky to
land one punch for every 3-4 that Adamek would land.
However, Estrada did not feel that he was losing. He raised
his glove at the end of the round to signal his victory in
the round. Estrada would do this for several more rounds.
Estrada never acted as though he was losing the fight. Maybe
he was in denial. Maybe he was confident that he was wearing
Adamek down. He was taunting Adamek in the eighth round. But
still, Adamek was landing combinations while Estrada was
landing single shots. Apparently though, Estrada was wearing
Adamek down. In the middle of the ninth round, Estrada was
able to start to land his combinations. Adamek was starting
to look tired.
Estrada carried that momentum over into the tenth round. He
was chasing Adamek now. Adamek was still moving, still
coming in and out, making it hard for Estrada, but Estrada
was taking control of the round. He carried this momentum
over into the eleventh round. He was now clearly controlling
the fight. It was Estrada who was landing the big shots now.
Adamek ended the round with a flurry, but it did not seem
like enough to win the round.
Estrada kept the pressure up for the final round. Adamek
looked like he was fighting in survival mode, a strange
thing to see from Adamek. He was moving around the ring but
throwing few punches. And he would be quick to hold Estrada
to stop his attack. Estrada seemed to be looking for a knock
out at this point. Maybe he knew that he had a lot to
overcome, being the challenger and fighting at Adamek’s home
away from home. Estrada was throwing wide hooks, but Adamek
wasn’t about to go down. Maybe it wasn’t the fight Adamek
expected. Maybe it was tougher than he planned. But he was
not about to go down in front of his fans.
Adamek won the fight on the scorecards. On two he won only
by a few points. And then, there is always one that seems to
have nothing to do with the fight we all just watched.
118-110. It seemed ridiculous to think that Adamek won 10
rounds to Estrada’s 2. But I am sure that is how Adamek’s
faithful followers would have seen the fight. To be honest,
every fighter would be lucky to have fans like Adamek’s.
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