by: Geoffrey Ciani
Tomasz Adamek is fresh off his dominating performance against Andrew Golota in the “Polish Fight of the Century”. This was the cruiserweight champion’s first fight at heavyweight. He intends to stay there and ultimately has his eyes set on the heavyweight title. He is now planning to take his next step towards that goal when he faces Jason Estrada on February 6 at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey. Both pugilists were in attendance for a press conference today at the Liberty House in Jersey City.
“I honestly think that Tomasz made a big, big, big mistake”, quipped a very confident Jason Estrada. “Going off a Golota win, Golota in his day was one of the best heavyweights, in my opinion. He had decent hand speed, great power, very strong guy, but that is not the same Golota from ’96. To me, that’s not really a fight that I would take as a justification to fight me”. Estrada continued, “I hear stories about him doing what no one else could do—put me on my ass? It’s not going to happen. In 300 and something amateur bouts, it’s never happened. In the gym in sparring, it’s never happened. In the street, it’s never happened. When I sleep, my bed is vertical. I stand up sleeping, so it’s not going to happen..”
Adamek seemed unfazed as Estrada resumed, “I’m not getting put on my ass. There’s nobody who is going to put me there. I work too hard in the gym, I work way too hard, my defense is good, and I’m just too fast for him. He’s based this whole thing on how much faster he’s going to be than I am. I’ve seen fast. I worked with Eddie Chambers I’ve worked with Matt Godfrey, now these guys are fast. And for him, I’ve watched the fights. I’ve studied them—back and forth, forth and back. Honestly, I have to put the DVD on fast forward to make him even faster.” Estrada than concluded, “Honestly, he’s a good fighter at light heavy, he’s a good fighter at cruiser, but at heavyweight he’s making a big mistake.”
Adamek appeared in good spirits when it was his turn to speak. A man of few words, he did not have much to say. After welcoming Jason Estrada and various members of the press, with a big grin on his face Adamek said, “It’s like my home, the Prudential Center”. He then mentioned how his ultimate dream is to become heavyweight champion and he noted that he expects a tough fight come February 6. As quickly as he started, he was thanking people and the more formal part of the press conference had come to an end. Later, I was afforded a brief moment to ask Adamek some questions.
Q: Was your fight with Golota easier than you expected it would be?
A: I always expect to win with every opponent, but I was too fast for Andrew.
Q: Did you think that he would put up a tougher fight?
A: He did give me a hard fight, but I had my own tactics and I was able to go around him.
Q: Were you surprised you were able to drop him in the first round?
A: No, because I’m strong. So once I caught him I knew he was going to hit the floor. I caught him and I knew what he was going to do.
Q: Now Estrada has said you made a mistake choosing him as your next opponent following Golota. How do you respond to that?
A: I think it will be a good fight. Estrada is fast. Everyone can talk, but when you get in the ring you have to do your job. That’s what I get paid for. Everybody says they’re going to win, but once you get in the ring you got to have heart. When the day comes, I show that.
Q: What kind of home field advantage do you think you will have fighting in Newark in front of all your fans?
A: It feels like I’m home. It feels like I’m back home at Poland.
Q: Estrada joked that he sleeps vertical and that nobody could put him down. Do you think otherwise?
A: Like I said before, once I catch you I’m going to put you down, so we have to wait until February.
Q: I’m curious what you thought of David Haye’s performance against Nikolay Valuev?
A: He won. David Haye had good tactics in his fight with Vlauev and he won.
Q: Is a fight with Haye something you might be interested in at some point?
A: If we get the offer from HBO, we may. I’m ready!
Whether or not Adamek is really ready for a title shot remains to be seen. We should have a better idea of where he stands in the heavyweight landscape after his upcoming fight with Estrada.
Tomasz Adamek is fresh off his dominating performance against Andrew Golota in the “Polish Fight of the Century”. This was the cruiserweight champion’s first fight at heavyweight. He intends to stay there and ultimately has his eyes set on the heavyweight title. He is now planning to take his next step towards that goal when he faces Jason Estrada on February 6 at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey. Both pugilists were in attendance for a press conference today at the Liberty House in Jersey City.
“I honestly think that Tomasz made a big, big, big mistake”, quipped a very confident Jason Estrada. “Going off a Golota win, Golota in his day was one of the best heavyweights, in my opinion. He had decent hand speed, great power, very strong guy, but that is not the same Golota from ’96. To me, that’s not really a fight that I would take as a justification to fight me”. Estrada continued, “I hear stories about him doing what no one else could do—put me on my ass? It’s not going to happen. In 300 and something amateur bouts, it’s never happened. In the gym in sparring, it’s never happened. In the street, it’s never happened. When I sleep, my bed is vertical. I stand up sleeping, so it’s not going to happen..”
Adamek seemed unfazed as Estrada resumed, “I’m not getting put on my ass. There’s nobody who is going to put me there. I work too hard in the gym, I work way too hard, my defense is good, and I’m just too fast for him. He’s based this whole thing on how much faster he’s going to be than I am. I’ve seen fast. I worked with Eddie Chambers I’ve worked with Matt Godfrey, now these guys are fast. And for him, I’ve watched the fights. I’ve studied them—back and forth, forth and back. Honestly, I have to put the DVD on fast forward to make him even faster.” Estrada than concluded, “Honestly, he’s a good fighter at light heavy, he’s a good fighter at cruiser, but at heavyweight he’s making a big mistake.”
Adamek appeared in good spirits when it was his turn to speak. A man of few words, he did not have much to say. After welcoming Jason Estrada and various members of the press, with a big grin on his face Adamek said, “It’s like my home, the Prudential Center”. He then mentioned how his ultimate dream is to become heavyweight champion and he noted that he expects a tough fight come February 6. As quickly as he started, he was thanking people and the more formal part of the press conference had come to an end. Later, I was afforded a brief moment to ask Adamek some questions.
Q: Was your fight with Golota easier than you expected it would be?
A: I always expect to win with every opponent, but I was too fast for Andrew.
Q: Did you think that he would put up a tougher fight?
A: He did give me a hard fight, but I had my own tactics and I was able to go around him.
Q: Were you surprised you were able to drop him in the first round?
A: No, because I’m strong. So once I caught him I knew he was going to hit the floor. I caught him and I knew what he was going to do.
Q: Now Estrada has said you made a mistake choosing him as your next opponent following Golota. How do you respond to that?
A: I think it will be a good fight. Estrada is fast. Everyone can talk, but when you get in the ring you have to do your job. That’s what I get paid for. Everybody says they’re going to win, but once you get in the ring you got to have heart. When the day comes, I show that.
Q: What kind of home field advantage do you think you will have fighting in Newark in front of all your fans?
A: It feels like I’m home. It feels like I’m back home at Poland.
Q: Estrada joked that he sleeps vertical and that nobody could put him down. Do you think otherwise?
A: Like I said before, once I catch you I’m going to put you down, so we have to wait until February.
Q: I’m curious what you thought of David Haye’s performance against Nikolay Valuev?
A: He won. David Haye had good tactics in his fight with Vlauev and he won.
Q: Is a fight with Haye something you might be interested in at some point?
A: If we get the offer from HBO, we may. I’m ready!
Whether or not Adamek is really ready for a title shot remains to be seen. We should have a better idea of where he stands in the heavyweight landscape after his upcoming fight with Estrada.
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