By Ian S Palmer
Heavyweight Adam Kownacki of Poland steps back into the ring this Saturday, July 30th when he takes on Ali Demirezen of Turkey. The 10-round tilt from Kownacki’s adopted hometown of Brooklyn, New York can be seen live in America on Showtime while fans in Canada can catch it on TSN 2. Kownacki last fought in October when he was stopped in six rounds by Robert Helenius. It was his second straight loss to Helenius as he was stopped in the fourth round seven months earlier in a battle for the vacant WBA Gold World Heavyweight Title. Demirezen last saw action in May when he beat veteran journeyman Kevin Johnson via an eight-round unanimous decision.
The 33-year-old Kownacki enters the contest with a 20-2 record with 15 Kos under his belt and his only pro losses coming to Helenius. He stands 6-feet-3-inches tall and owns a 76-inch reach and turned pro back in 2009 with just 98 rounds of experience under his belt since then. Kownacki is quite powerful with a current knockout ratio standing at 68.2 per cent but we now know that he doesn’t posses a granite chin.
Kownacki was a pretty good Golden Gloves boxer back in his amateur days. He isn’t a muscular, ripped specimen but his body shape wasn’t much of a problem until Helenius stopped him. His lack of experience against upper grade boxers was pretty evident in those defeats and it cost him. However, he did beat former world champion Charles Martin by 10-round unanimous decision in 2018 and stopped fellow countryman Artur Szpilka in the fourth round in July, 2017.
He’s also beaten the likes of Gerald Washington, Joshua Tufte, Jesse Barboza and Danny Kelly. Kownacki simply lets his fists to the talking and isn’t interested in hearing what the judges have to say. So far his style has produced some pretty entertaining fights win or lose and he’s gone the distance in just five of his fights so far. When be beat Chris Arreola by unanimous decision in 2019, Arreola threw a Compubox record 1,125 punches for a heavyweight while Kownacki threw 1,047.
The 32-year-old Demirezen was born in Turkey and fights out of Germany. He enters the fight with a record of 16-1 with 12 Kos and is a former WBO European Heavyweight Champion. He’s a decent heavyweight but isn’t very well known outside of Europe. Demirezen has a pretty solid chin to go along with good power and has a current knockout ratio of 70.6 per cent. He turned pro back in 2016 after an extensive amateur career and has boxed 76 rounds since then.
Demirezen’s lone loss came at the hands of Efe Ajagba by a 10-round unanimous decision in July, 2019. Meanwhile his biggest wins have been against the likes of Michael Sprott, Adnan Redzovic, Nikola Milacic, Rad Rashid, Gerald Washington and Johnson. He stands 6-feet-3-inches tall with an 80-inch wingspan which gives him a four-inch reach advantage over Kownacki.
Prediction…
Kownacki’s fights are fan-friendly and action-packed due to his style and suspect chin. Fans should expect more of the same here on Saturday night but it’s hard to say how much two straight knockout losses will affect him and how much passion he has left for the sport. If he gets hit hard he could decide perhaps he’s chosen the wrong career afterall. Whoever lands the first big bomb here could very well end the fight, which makes it a bit of a tossup. This fight will end up being decided by power and chins and Kownacki can’t take Demirezen too lightly. Just sit back and enjoy it. I’m going with Kownacki in a tossup, but certainly wouldn’t bet the house on it.
