By Ian S Palmer
There’s an all-Polish heavyweight clash this Saturday, November 10th as Artur Szpilka will be taking on Mariusz Wach in a 10-round tilt at the Arena in Gliwice. Szpilka’s last fight was a 10-round unanimous decision over Dominick Guinn in May. Wach last fought in November of last year when he was stopped in the ninth round by Jarrell Miller. Both Szpilka have tried and failed in attempts at world titles in the past. Szpilka was stopped in the ninth round by WBC Heavyweight Champion Deontay Wilder in January of 2016 and Wach was beaten by unanimous decision by Wladimir Klitschko in 2012.
The 29-year-old Szpilka will enter the ring with a pretty good mark of 21-3 with 15 Kos to his name and he has some power in his punches as his knockout percentage is currently 63 per cent. He’s a southpaw who stands just over 6-feet-3-inches tall and has a reach of 76 inches. He’s fought 106 rounds since turning pro in 2008. His biggest wins have been against Guinn, Ty Cobb, Tomasz Adamek, Brian Minto, Jameel McCline, Owen Beck and Mike Mollo twice. His other losses were a 10th-round TKO at the hands of Bryant Jennings back in 2014 and a fourth-round TKO to Adam Kownacki in July, 2017.
Szpilka’s chin can rightfully be questioned since he’s been stopped in all three of his losses. He’s a tough customer though who likes to come forward and bang away on the inside. He’s going to need to land something hard and heavy early on in the fight though before Wach does as he needs to regain some of the confidence he lost in the Wilder and Kownacki fights. This is another huge clash for the southpaw Szpilka if he hopes to regain his stature as a legitimate heavyweight contender on the world stage instead of just in Europe.
The 38-year-old Wach of Krakow is the bigger boxer here though as he’s just over 6-feet-7-inches tall and has a wingspan of 82 inches, giving him a four inch edge in height and six inch advantage in reach over Szpilka. He isn’t really a power puncher though with a current knockout ratio of 47 per cent. He enters the ring with a record of 33-3 with 17 Kos. Wach turned pro in 2005 and has quite a bit of experience with 218 rounds under his belt. Along with being stopped by Miller and ;losing a decision to Klitschko, he was also stopped by Alexander Povetkin by 12th-round TKO in 2015.
Most of Wach’s other opponents have mainly been journeymen boxers with the most recognizable names being Kevin McBride, Tye Fields, Galen Brown, Jason Gavern, Julius Long, Arthur Cook, Travis Walker and Marcelo Luiz Nascimento. Wach definitely has the size to keep his fellow countryman at bay, but he’ll have to catch Szpilka with something solid to do so. Wach has some power in his right hand and Szpilka will need to neutralize it.
Wach, who has also participated in mixed martial arts, had a good amateur career and was a Polish National Champion. He won a silver medal at the European Union Championships and was an Olympic alternate for Poland in 2004. Since turning pro he’s captured the IBF East/West Europe, WBC International, WBC Baltic, TWBA, and Polish International Heavyweight Titles. Szpilka, who also dabbled in mixed martial arts, is a self-admitted former football hooligan and has held the WBC Baltic Silver, WBC Youth Silver, Polish International, IBF International, and interim WBC Baltic Heavyweight Titles in the past.
Prediction…
It’s arguable, but I think Wach has the better of the two questionable chins, but he doesn’t have as much power as Szpilka. Wach’s best chance of winning is to use his size and reach advantage to keep Szpilka to the outside as much as possible. Szpilka is naturally more aggressive, but will need to land several consecutive hard shots to stop Wach. Szpilka’s almost a decade younger than Wach and I think his style will eventually wear the bigger man down as long as he can land inside. Wach is probably a forgotten and underrated heavyweight, but he’s not a young man anymore and I think he’ll come out on the losing end of this fight.
