Tomasz Adamek blitzes Andrew Golota, stops him in five

Reigning cruiserweight world champion Tomasz Adamek moved up to heavyweight to face fellow Polish superstar Andrew Golota today in Lodz, and from the opening bell, he dominated.

Adamek, fighting at 214 pounds, had a 42-pound disadvantage on the scales. But he outhustled, outworked, and busted up the 41-year old Golota, stopping him in the fifth round. Adamek scored a knockdown that appeared to be a shove in the first, but dominated every round until flooring Golota hard early in the fifth, on a right hand followed by a left hook. After a storm of power shots from every angle, referee Bill Clancy called a stop to the action.

Adamek (39-1, 27 KO) seemed to indicate after the bout that he will be moving up to heavyweight, where I think now he might have a lot more in him than I did before. I'm not saying beating Golota means a ton, but he can still fight some, and moves better than most guys do at heavyweight, even now. Adamek against someone like Eddie Chambers or Alexander Povetkin could be a hell of a good fight. He's simply not big enough to beat a Klitschko, and I think eventually a big hitter like Cristobal Arreola might catch him with a knockout blow, but he fought with some serious ferocity today and knocked the hell out of a much larger man.

For Golota (41-8-1, 33 KO), this was probably the end of the line. He hasn't been a serious contender in quite a long time, and this might have been a good way for him to cash out his career. He got a truck full of money for this one, and he fought until he just couldn't go anymore. Not the worst way for a career to end when you've had so many bizarre messes as he has.

Adamek thinks he can beat the world's best at heavyweight. Time will tell, I suppose, but best of luck to him. Adamek is one of those no-nonsense fighters that does his job time after time, and today he did it again.