Tomasz Adamek

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Tomasz Adamek
Adamek with the IBF title, 2008
Born	(1976-12-01) 1 December 1976 (age 48) Żywiec, Poland
Other names	Góral
Statistics
Weight(s)	Light heavyweight Cruiserweight Heavyweight
Height	1.87 m (6 ft 2 in)
Reach	191 cm (75 in)
Boxing record
Total fights	61
Wins	55
Wins by KO	32
Losses	6
Medal record Men's amateur boxing Representing  Poland European Championships 1998 Minsk Light heavyweight

Tomasz "Tomek" Adamek (Polish pronunciation: [ˈtɔmaʂ aˈdamɛk]; born 1 December 1976) is a Polish former professional boxer who competed from 1999 to 2018. He held world championships in two weight classes, including the WBC light heavyweight title from 2005 to 2007, and the IBF and The Ring magazine cruiserweight titles from 2008 to 2009. He also held the IBO cruiserweight title in 2007, and challenged once for the WBC heavyweight title in 2011. BoxRec ranks Adamek as the third greatest Polish boxer of all time, pound for pound.^[1] He is the first Polish boxer to win The Ring title.

Adamek was born in Żywiec, Poland, as of 2012 he resided in Kearny, New Jersey.^[2]

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Adamek made his professional boxing debut on 13 March 1999 in Manchester, England against Israel Khumalo. He won by TKO in the first round.^[3]

Adamek won the vacant WBC light-heavyweight title defeating Paul "Firepower" Briggs by majority decision on 21 May 2005. The fight was described by some as one of the most brutal in recent memory, as Briggs suffered a large cut above his left eye early in the fight and Adamek bled profusely from his nose for much of the fight as well. Adamek tended to be the aggressor and won the fight.

On 15 October 2005, he defended his title against German boxer Thomas Ulrich by knockout in Round 6.

He then defended his title in a rematch with Paul Briggs in 2006, again winning by majority decision. After the fight Jim Lampley said that Adamek vs Briggs I and II was the best combined 24 rounds he has ever seen.

Undefeated Adamek with 31-0 (21 KO) lost his first fight by unanimous decision to Chad Dawson on 3 February 2007. During that fight, Adamek was knocked down in the seventh round; this was only the second time in his career he has been knocked down (upon slow-motion replay, Adamek was shown to have tripped on Dawson's foot after the body shot). Adamek, well behind on points, provided some drama by suddenly dropping Dawson in the 10th round but Dawson fended off the onslaught that followed, and won a clear-cut points decision. Immediately following the loss to Dawson, Adamek decided to move up in the cruiserweight division.

After losing to Dawson, Adamek moved up to cruiserweight to beat Luis Andres Pineda by technical knockout in round seven. He defeated Josip Jalusic on 29 December 2007 in Germany.

On 19 April 2008, in Poland, Adamek fought former undisputed cruiserweight champion O'Neil Bell in an IBF Cruiserweight title eliminator. Adamek floored Bell in round one and had good success by outboxing Bell. Bell opted not to come out for round eight, citing that he felt dizzy and ill.

In December 2008 he fought the then reigning champion Steve Cunningham at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey. Knocking a game Cunningham down three times, he won the IBF and vacant lineal cruiserweight titles in a bout many thought was the fight of the year.^[4]

Adamek successfully defended his title against Johnathon Banks on 27 February 2009, at the Prudential Center in Newark. He won with a brutal TKO in the 8th Round. He then went on to defeat Bobby Gunn before a large crowd at the Prudential Center on 11 July 2009, with the referee stopping the bout at the ring physician's advice between rounds four and five.

He vacated the IBF title on 18 October 2009, choosing to move up to the heavyweight division.^[5]

On 24 October 2009 in Łódź, Poland, Adamek defeated Andrew Golota by TKO in the fifth round to win the IBF "International" Heavyweight Title. Then, on 6 February 2010 in Newark's Prudential Center he defeated Jason Estrada by unanimous decision after 12 rounds.

Adamek (40-1; 27 KO) then took on fellow heavyweight contender Chris Arreola (28-1; 25 KO) on 24 April 2010, at the Citizens Business Bank Arena in Ontario, California. The bout was televised as part of Boxing After Dark. The Polish fighter won a twelve-round majority decision, with the scores of 114–114, 115–113, and 117–111. A day before the bout, Arreola weighed 250½ pounds, while Adamek was 217.

In 2010 he was the first Polish winner of the "Muhammad Ali Athlete Award" at the Giant Awards diner in Chicago.

Adamek defeated veteran American Michael Grant by unanimous decision on 21 August 2010.^[6] In his first fight of 2011, Adamek defeated Irishman Kevin McBride by a wide unanimous decision.^[7]

On 10 September 2011 Adamek faced the WBC heavyweight champion Vitali Klitschko in Poland, losing by TKO in the 10th round, in the first ever PPV fight in Polish TV history.^[8][9] The referee stopped the bout after Adamek received punishing blows and was ruled out, as he was no longer able to defend himself.

Adamek returned on 24 March 2012, after signing a contract with Main Events, defeating Nagy Aguilera by unanimous decision. He then agreed to face former heavyweight contender Eddie Chambers. Both Adamek and Chambers were praised for taking the fight with no world title nor mandatory position on the line.^[10][11] Coming into the fight, Adamek was ranked No.3 heavyweight contender by The Ring, while Chambers, having had only one fight in two years and three months, was unranked by the publication.^[12] The fight was the main event of the Fight Night card on NBC Sports. In the opening rounds, both fighters were trading shots, with Chambers landing the most meaningful punches. During the first round, Chambers torn his bicep in the left arm,^[13][14] and often switched between orthodox and southpaw stances throughout the rest of the fight, throwing shots almost exclusively with the right hand, mostly connecting with overhand punches.^[12][15] Adamek was more active since round 3, frequently switching up from counterpuncher to aggressor. The bout lasted full twelve rounds, with Adamek being declared the winner by unanimous decision with scores 116–112 (twice) and 119–109.^[16][13] According to CompuBox, 1,381 punches were thrown, with Chambers landing 152 punches out of 462 thrown (32.9% accuracy), while Adamek landed 134 punches out of 919 (14.6%).^[17]

Adamek defeated Travis Walker on 8 September 2012 via fifth-round technical knockout at 1:51 due to a stoppage by the referee.^[18]

Adamek defeated Steve Cunningham in a very close and somewhat controversial split decision on 22 December 2012. Initially, the result was a draw, but after noticing a mathematical miscalculation in the judges scorecards, Adamek was declared the winner.^[19] On 15 March 2014 Adamek was defeated by Vyacheslav Glazkov by unanimous decision after 12 rounds, losing his IBF North American heavyweight title.^[20]

On June 24, 2017, Adamek defeated Solomon Haumono via unanimous decision, 100-90, 99-91 and 99-91 on the scorecards.^[21]

On November 18, 2017, Adamek fought and defeated Fred Kassi via unanimous decision, 97-93, 96-94 and 96-94 on the scorecards.^[22]

On October 6, 2018, Adamek fought heavyweight contender Jarell Miller. Miller was ranked #2 by the WBA and #5 by the WBO at the time.^[23] Miller dropped Adamek twice in the second round. After the second knockdown the referee stopped the fight despite a disoriented Adamek making it to his feet.^[24]

On February 24, 2024, in the main event of XTB KSW Epic: Chalidow vs Adamek, he fought Mamed Khalidov in a boxing match in the cage. The fight is contracted for 6 rounds with Adamek's purse being 250 000 USD.^[25] He won after the third round after Khalidov suffered a hand injury in the round.^[26]

62 fights	56 wins	6 losses
By knockout	31	3
By decision	25	3

No.	Result	Record	Opponent	Type	Round, time	Date	Location	Notes
59	Loss	53–6	Jarrell Miller	KO	2 (12), 0:51	6 Oct 2018	Wintrust Arena, Chicago, Illinois, US
58	Win	53–5	Joey Abell	TKO	7 (10), 2:33	21 Apr 2018	Hala Sportowa, Częstochowa, Poland	Retained Poland International heavyweight title
57	Win	52–5	Fred Kassi	UD	10	18 Nov 2017	Hala Sportowa, Częstochowa, Poland	Won vacant Poland International heavyweight title
56	Win	51–5	Solomon Haumono	UD	10	24 Jun 2017	Ergo Arena, Gdańsk, Poland
55	Loss	50–5	Éric Molina	KO	10 (12), 3:00	2 Apr 2016	Tauron Arena, Kraków, Poland	For vacant IBF Inter-Continental heavyweight title
54	Win	50–4	Przemysław Saleta	RTD	5 (10), 3:00	26 Sep 2015	Atlas Arena, Łódź, Poland
53	Loss	49–4	Artur Szpilka	UD	10	8 Nov 2014	Tauron Arena, Kraków, Poland	For vacant IBF International and Poland International heavyweight titles
52	Loss	49–3	Vyacheslav Glazkov	UD	12	15 Mar 2014	Sands Casino Resort, Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, US	Lost IBF North American heavyweight title
51	Win	49–2	Dominick Guinn	UD	10	3 Aug 2013	Mohegan Sun Arena, Montville, Connecticut, US
50	Win	48–2	Steve Cunningham	SD	12	22 Dec 2012	Sands Casino Resort, Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, US	Retained IBF North American heavyweight title
49	Win	47–2	Travis Walker	TKO	5 (12), 1:08	8 Sep 2012	Prudential Center, Newark, New Jersey, US	Retained IBF North American heavyweight title
48	Win	46–2	Eddie Chambers	UD	12	16 Jun 2012	Prudential Center, Newark, New Jersey, US	Won vacant IBF North American heavyweight title
47	Win	45–2	Nagy Aguilera	UD	10	24 Mar 2012	Aviator Sports and Events Center, New York City, New York, US
46	Loss	44–2	Vitali Klitschko	TKO	10 (12), 2:20	10 Sep 2011	Stadion Miejski, Wrocław, Poland	For WBC heavyweight title
45	Win	44–1	Kevin McBride	UD	12	9 Apr 2011	Prudential Center, Newark, New Jersey, US	Retained IBF International and NABO heavyweight titles
44	Win	43–1	Vinny Maddalone	TKO	5 (12), 2:17	9 Dec 2010	Prudential Center, Newark, New Jersey, US	Retained IBF International and NABO heavyweight titles
43	Win	42–1	Michael Grant	UD	12	21 Aug 2010	Prudential Center, Newark, New Jersey, US	Retained IBF International and NABO heavyweight titles
42	Win	41–1	Chris Arreola	MD	12	24 Apr 2010	Citizens Business Bank Arena, Ontario, California, US	Retained IBF International heavyweight title; Won vacant NABO heavyweight title
41	Win	40–1	Jason Estrada	UD	12	6 Feb 2010	Prudential Center, Newark, New Jersey, US	Retained IBF International heavyweight title
40	Win	39–1	Andrew Golota	TKO	5 (12), 1:20	24 Oct 2009	Atlas Arena, Łódź, Poland	Won vacant IBF International heavyweight title
39	Win	38–1	Bobby Gunn	RTD	4 (12), 3:00	11 Jul 2009	Prudential Center, Newark, New Jersey, US	Retained IBF and The Ring cruiserweight titles
38	Win	37–1	Johnathon Banks	TKO	8 (12), 1:30	27 Feb 2009	Prudential Center, Newark, New Jersey, US	Retained IBF and The Ring cruiserweight titles
37	Win	36–1	Steve Cunningham	SD	12	11 Dec 2008	Prudential Center, Newark, New Jersey, US	Won IBF and vacant The Ring cruiserweight titles
36	Win	35–1	Gary Gomez	RTD	7 (10), 0:01	11 Jul 2008	Aragon Ballroom, Chicago, Illinois, US
35	Win	34–1	O'Neil Bell	TKO	8 (12)	19 Apr 2008	Spodek, Katowice, Poland
34	Win	33–1	Josip Jalusic	UD	8	29 Dec 2007	Seidensticker Halle, Bielefeld, Germany
33	Win	32–1	Luis Andres Pineda	TKO	7 (12)	9 Jun 2007	Spodek, Katowice, Poland	Won vacant IBO cruiserweight title
32	Loss	31–1	Chad Dawson	UD	12	3 Feb 2007	Silver Spurs Arena, Kissimmee, Florida, US	Lost WBC light heavyweight title
31	Win	31–0	Paul Briggs	MD	12	7 Oct 2006	Allstate Arena, Rosemont, Illinois, US	Retained WBC light heavyweight title
30	Win	30–0	Thomas Ulrich	KO	6 (12), 1:57	15 Oct 2005	Mehrzweckhalle Süd, Düsseldorf, Germany	Retained WBC light heavyweight title
29	Win	29–0	Paul Briggs	MD	12	21 May 2005	United Center, Chicago, Illinois, US	Won vacant WBC light heavyweight title
28	Win	28–0	Ismail Abdoul	UD	8	10 Sep 2004	Blue City, Warsaw, Poland
27	Win	27–0	Dzhabrail Dzhabrailov	KO	5 (12), 0:43	17 Apr 2004	Baltic Hall, Mariehamn, Finland	Won vacant WBO Inter-Continental light heavyweight title
26	Win	26–0	Olivier Beard	TKO	3 (10)	20 Dec 2003	BBTS Wlokniarz Hall, Bielsko-Biała, Poland
25	Win	25–0	Ed Dalton	KO	2 (12), 2:14	4 Oct 2003	Baltic Hall, Mariehamn, Finland	Won vacant IBF Inter-Continental light heavyweight title
24	Win	24–0	Roberto Coelho	UD	8	30 Aug 2003	Olympiahalle, Munich, Germany
23	Win	23–0	Zoltán Béres	UD	6	6 Apr 2003	Palacio de Deportes, Benidorm, Spain
22	Win	22–0	Andrei Karsten	TKO	2 (6)	15 Feb 2003	Töölö Sports Hall, Helsinki, Finland
21	Win	21–0	Varuzhan Davtyan	RTD	4 (6), 3:00	14 Dec 2002	Telewest Arena, Newcastle, England
20	Win	20–0	Laverne Clark	TKO	3 (12)	18 Oct 2002	Sport Hall, Kozienice, Poland	Won vacant Poland International light heavyweight title
19	Win	19–0	Mihai Iftode	UD	8	27 Jul 2002	Hala Milenium, Kołobrzeg, Poland
18	Win	18–0	Siarhei Karanevich	UD	10	24 May 2002	Płońsk, Poland	Won vacant CISBB light heavyweight titles
17	Win	17–0	Willie McDonald	TKO	3 (6)	6 Apr 2002	Łódź, Poland
16	Win	16–0	Dzianis Salomka	TKO	5 (6)	23 Feb 2002	OSiR, Włocławek, Poland
15	Win	15–0	Ruslan Hladkykh	UD	6	29 Dec 2001	Sport Hall, Konin, Poland
14	Win	14–0	Zdravko Kostic	UD	10	10 Nov 2001	Sport Hall, Włocławek, Poland
13	Win	13–0	Timofey Maklakov	TKO	3 (10)	11 Aug 2001	Sport Hall, Jaworzno, Poland
12	Win	12–0	Ion Voica	KO	1 (6)	18 May 2001	Sport Hall, Warsaw, Poland
11	Win	11–0	Rudi Lupo	UD	10	2 Mar 2001	Sport Hall, Warsaw, Poland	Won IBC Inter-Continental light heavyweight title
10	Win	10–0	Nino Cirilo	TKO	3 (8)	3 Nov 2000	Sport Hall, Nowy Dwór, Poland
9	Win	9–0	Stanislav Schreiber	TKO	3 (10)	14 Oct 2000	Sport Hall, Dębica, Poland
8	Win	8–0	Glenn Odem	TKO	4 (6)	10 Jun 2000	Sport Hall, Elbląg, Poland
7	Win	7–0	Terry Ford	TKO	3 (6)	25 Mar 2000	Białystok, Poland
6	Win	6–0	Mark Lee Dawson	TKO	3 (6)	21 Feb 2000	Elephant and Castle Shopping Centre, London, England
5	Win	5–0	Melvin Wynn	TKO	3 (6)	10 Dec 1999	Warsaw, Poland
4	Win	4–0	Kevin Whaley-El	TKO	4 (6)	22 Oct 1999	Legia na Bemowie Hall, Warsaw, Poland
3	Win	3–0	Milko Stoikov	TKO	3 (6)	26 Jun 1999	Hala Ludowa, Wrocław, Poland
2	Win	2–0	Smokey Enison	TKO	2 (4), 2:50	29 Apr 1999	York Hall, London, England
1	Win	1–0	Israel Khumalo	TKO	1 (4), 2:15	13 Mar 1999	Bowlers Exhibition Centre, Manchester, England

Date	Fight	Viewership	Network	Source(s)
22 December 2012	Tomasz Adamek vs. Steve Cunningham	3,200,000	NBC Sports	[27][28][nb 1]
	Total viewership	3,200,000

Date	Fight	Pay-per-view buys	Country	Network	Source(s)
10 September 2011	Vitali Klitschko vs. Tomasz Adamek	200,000	Poland	Cyfra+ PPV	[29][30]
8 November 2014	Tomasz Adamek vs. Artur Szpilka	100,000	Poland	Cyfrowy Polsat PPV	[31]
	Total sales	300,000

• List of light heavyweight boxing champions
• List of cruiserweight boxing champions
• List of WBC world champions
• List of IBF world champions
• List of The Ring world champions

• Official website
• Boxing record for Tomasz Adamek from BoxRec (registration required)
• Interview with Tomasz Adamek at BoxingInsider
• Tomasz Adamek profile at Cyber Boxing Zone
• Tomasz Adamek - Profile, News Archive & Current Rankings at Box.Live

Sporting positions
Regional boxing titles
Vacant Title last held by Joe Gatti	IBC Inter-Continental light heavyweight champion 2 March 2001 – October 2003 Vacated	Vacant Title next held by Prince Badi Ajamu
Vacant Title last held by Milorad Dukovic	CISBB light heavyweight champion 24 May 2002 – June 2002 Vacated	Vacant Title next held by Andrey Shkalikov
New title	Poland International light heavyweight champion 18 October 2002 – 2007 Vacated	Vacant Title next held by Grzegorz Soszyński
Vacant Title last held by Vadym Safonov	IBF Inter-Continental light heavyweight champion 4 October 2003 – January 2004 Vacated	Vacant Title next held by Vadym Safonov
Vacant Title last held by Zsolt Erdei	WBO Inter-Continental light heavyweight champion 17 April 2004 – May 2005 Vacated	Vacant Title next held by Stipe Drews
Vacant Title last held by Alexey Soloviev	IBF International heavyweight champion 24 October 2009 – September 2011 Vacated	Vacant Title next held by Kubrat Pulev
Vacant Title last held by Brian Minto	NABO heavyweight champion 24 April 2010 – August 2011 Vacated	Vacant Title next held by Amir Mansour
Vacant Title last held by Amir Mansour	IBF North American heavyweight champion 16 June 2012 – 15 March 2014	Succeeded by Vyacheslav Glazkov
Vacant Title last held by Mike Mollo	Poland International heavyweight champion 18 November 2017 – April 2019 Vacated	Vacant Title next held by Martin Bakole
Minor world boxing titles
Vacant Title last held by Carl Thompson	IBO cruiserweight champion 9 June 2007 – 27 February 2009 Stripped	Vacant Title next held by Danny Green
Major world boxing titles
Vacant Title last held by Antonio Tarver	WBC light heavyweight champion 21 May 2005 – 3 February 2007	Succeeded by Chad Dawson
Preceded by Steve Cunningham	IBF cruiserweight champion 11 December 2008 – 18 October 2009 Vacated	Vacant Title next held by Steve Cunningham
Vacant Title last held by David Haye	The Ring cruiserweight champion 11 December 2008 – 10 February 2010 Vacated	Vacant Title next held by Yoan Pablo Hernández