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Ladies and Gentleman of the boxing
jury, I stand here today to make the case
for Cunningham vs. Adamek II. Now, I am
not one to regularly call for a rematch.
My feeling is what's done is done. Do I
really want to see it again?
For the majority of fights this year, I
don't; however, in this case, I do want to
see it again. So I am here to lay out my
case before you.
Now you might be thinking, why have a
rematch? As I see it there are really only
two reasons to have a rematch. The first
is not only a close fight but also an
exciting fight. The second is the support
of boxing fans. Without the first, you
won't have the second, and without the
second, you won't have a fight. And why
would you even want one?
This year we have been treated to many
so-called great match-ups. We were even
treated to a Dream Match. Depending on
which side of the ring you were on, that
was either a dream or a nightmare. But
that wasn't true with Cunningham, Adamek.
It was truly one of the great fights of
the year, no matter who you wanted to win.
If you were there or you saw it on Versus,
you know that neither fighter ever backed
down and neither had a clear advantage
over the other. Both acknowledged that the
other fought with a lot of heart.
I will offer up an additional piece of
evidence for this being an exciting fight.
I offer for your consideration, my notes
on the fight. Now if you were to look
through all my notes of all the fights I
have covered, you would find fights where
I would write round after round, "more of
the same," "little action," and such and
such a fighter "totally dominating."
(Lucky for me, this is not too often.) For
round one in Cunningham, Adamek, I wrote
"Cunningham landing a few more" and "both
looking aggressive." In round two,
"Cunningham counters quick to Adamek's
attack." Round eight, "Cunningham comes
out strong" followed by "Adamek comes
right back." In a slow fight, I might even
look around to get an idea of how the
crowd is reacting to the fight. I didn't
dare take my eyes off the ring this fight.
The only time I took to look at the crowd
was between rounds. In fact, I wrote
nothing about the crowd in my notes except
at the beginning&emdash;before the fight
began, and the end&emdash;when the
decision was announced. I think my notes
show that this was both a close and
exciting fight.
Now you might be saying to yourself,
sure that was a great fight but why do you
think that a rematch will be just as
great. I know for sure that Steve "USS"
Cunningham will give his all. He has all
the incentive he needs for a rematch. He
wants back the title of IBF Cruiserweight
champion. He has made that clear from the
first interview after the fight. But what
about Tomasz Adamek? Does he have any
motivation for this fight? I believe he
does. He was made champion by split
decision.
Now I don't want to discredit his win,
but a split decision still leaves some
question in the minds of boxing fans. So
this is a chance for him to prove himself
before all the skeptics. And I believe we
can give him even more incentive. After
the fight, Adamek said that his next fight
was not up to him but up to his promoter
and television. If you, boxing fans, want
this fight, the television executives and
the promoters will see that this is a
win-win situation for them and Adamek.
Adamek, you said that you love a great
fight, so give us another.
Do the fans want to see Cunningham and
Adamek meet in the ring again? I believe
they do because they certainly were into
the first. Now a lot has been made about
the Polish fans in attendance, and
rightfully so, they were in the majority.
But not enough has been said about
Cunningham's fans in attendance. They were
equally vocal. I described it in my fight
coverage as feeling like I was at the
Olympics. Chants could be heard from each
side. "Polska" followed by "USA." "Adamek"
followed by "USS." There seems to be a
true rivalry developing here, and there is
nothing better than a great rivalry in
sports. Even the press seemed to be
getting into it. If you watch boxing on
television, you might not have ever seen
the press. There is a reason for that. We
are not that exciting to watch. In a less
than exciting fight, you will probably see
us carrying on conversations, and in an
exciting fight, you might see us typing on
our laptops or writing in notebooks. But
during the Cunningham, Adamek fight, we
were watching intently and jumping up as
the action intensified.
I would also like to offer my wife as
evidence that this was a fight that caught
the attention of the fans. Normally, we
fight over control for the television, and
when I get control and pick a boxing match
to watch, she just rolls her eyes at me.
When I arrived home after the fight, she
told me all about it. She had not only
watched it but also recorded it. Now if
this fight caught her attention, I know it
caught the attention of many others.
With the right promotion, Cunningham
vs. Adamek II could be much bigger. It
could possibly be more than a fight. It
could be an event. Something that will be
remembered years from now as someone
somewhere puts together a history of 21st
century boxing. And can I make one last
suggestion. Wouldn't this be a great last
fight for the Spectrum in Philadelphia
before they demolish it?
Tim
Donaldson's Cunningham vs Adamek fight
report on Pound4Pound.com
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