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Tomasz Adamek survived a scare this afternoon in Newark, overcoming a charge and a bad knockdown against heavy-handed gatekeeper Travis Walker, climbing off the canvas and shaking off being legitimately and badly hurt in the second round to floor Walker himself later in that frame, and win the fifth in five rounds.
[ Results: Klitschko TKO-4 Charr ]
Adamek (47-2, 29 KO) has had trouble taking shots from legitimate heavyweights, and the one chance that Walker (39-8-1, 31 KO) had in this fight was to catch Adamek and finish him off. Walker is far from a contender, really, but he can thump, and he's always had the grit and the balls to go after his opponents, even as a heavy underdog.
He nearly pulled off the big upset today, but wound up punching himself out and falling victim to Adamek's better overall skill set and superior conditioning. At 35 and truly small for the division, Adamek's days may be numbered, but there are a lot of options out there for him, he provides good fights, and he's got a real fan base that loves him on both sides of the Atlantic.
In other words, Adamek will fight on and always be worth tuning in -- I get the feeling when he goes down, it'll be swinging, and it'll be definitive, which will be fitting a fighter like Tomasz Adamek.
Undercard Results
Steve Cunningham won a wide decision over Jason Gavern in his heavyweight debut, which it seems most are hoping will set up an Adamek vs Cunningham rematch, which I'd say can't be as good as their 2008 thriller, but it probably could be -- they're both vulnerable, at the back end of their careers, and don't shy away from a fight. Scores were 100-90, 100-90, and 99-90. Cunningham 25-4 (12 KO), Gavern 21-11-4 (10).
Bryant Jennings wiped out Chris Koval in 35 seconds. Jennings 16-0 (8), Koval 25-10 (18).
Jerry Belmontes, Karl Dargan, and Jose Peralta all won their off-TV fights.