On November 8, 2014, Polish heavyweights Tomasz “Goral” Adamek (49-3, 29 KOs) and Artur Szpilka (16-1, 12 KOs) meet for the IBF International Heavyweight title in their own backyard at the Kraków Arena in Kraków, Poland. The fight, which will be telecast by Polsat via pay-per-view, is presented by Knockout Promotions, Main Events, and Ziggy Promotions. Ticket prices range from 75 – 5000 zł.
The veteran Adamek, 37, returns to fight in his home country from the United States for the first time since he lost the WBC Heavyweight Title match-up with Vitali Klitschko in 2011. Earlier this year, Adamek faced undefeated stablemate Vyacheslav “Czar” Glazkov at Sands Casino Hotel in Bethlehem, PA. Czar managed to squeak out the decision after a brutal 12-round war for the IBF North American Heavyweight Title. Prior to the loss to Glazkov, Adamek had won his previous five fights in a row dating back to his fight with Klitschko (Mar. 24, 2012 – Nagy Aguilera, 10-round unanimous decision victory; Jun. 16, 2012 – Eddie Chambers, 12-round unanimous decision victory; Sept. 8, 2012 – Travis Walker, fifth round TKO; Dec. 22, 2012 – Steve Cunningham, 12-round split decision victory; and Aug. 3, 2013 – Dominick Guinn ten-round unanimous decision). When asked about the fight Adamek said, “It is good to be fighting in Poland. This will be the biggest fight in Poland since my fight with Vitali Klitschko. I look forward to satisfying my Polish fans with a knockout of Szpilka.
The young challenger, Szpilka, 25, has only 17 career fights as compared to the 52 professional fights Adamek has on his professional resume. Szpilka is also coming off a tough loss. He suffered a TKO at the hands of Bryant Jennings in the final round of a ten-round fight at Madison Square Garden in New York City, NY on Jan. 25, 2014. This was the first loss of Szpilka’s young career since making his professional debut on Oct. 18, 2008 against Senol Cente (a four-round unanimous decision win). Twelve of his 16 career victories have come by way of knockout for an impressive 75% knockout-to-win ratio. When asked about the fight, Szpilka said, “I will surprise a lot of people with my style and really don’t care about people seeing Adamek as a clear favorite. I learned a lot losing to Bryant Jennings at Madison Square Garden. There will be no distractions this time, I feel stronger and better than ever. Just watch me on November 8. You will not believe your eyes.”
Main Events CEO Kathy Duva said, “This is a fantastic heavyweight fight that will be a great event for Poland. When Tomasz fought Andrew Golota and then Vitali Klitschko in Poland, it felt like all of Poland was watching. I’m sure that will be the case again on November 8th.”
Placing the bout for a US telecast is being explored at this time.
