This content is protected Probably the 3rd best polish fighter behind Jerzy Kulez (two time Olympic gold medalist) & Dariusz Michalkzewski.. Finished 53-6 & fought over 3 weight classes, winning titles at LHW & CW & challenging at HW.. really sound fundamentals & fought in some entertaining fights.. Beat the likes of Cunningham, Briggs, Arreola, Grant, Bell etc.. Best weight was probably CW. Probably just misses out on future HOF status but a bit of a forgotten fighter IMO.. What are your thoughts on him?
One of my favourite fighters of all times. Him vs Cunningham, Briggs and Bell are among my favourite fights. I think the old CW limit(190 lbs) would've been his optimal weight class,, which further suggests that he had no business at HW.
Was a big fan of this guy. I wish he would have stayed at cruiserweight a little longer and kept adding to his legacy their, but then again, why not make that extra $$$ at heavyweight beating up guys like Golata and Michael Grant? It got kind of hard to watch Adamek after a while though. The guy has taken some EXTREME damage in his career and he fought on for far too long. I was hoping he would hang up his gloves after losing to Vitali.
ATG light heavy and cruiser; his run at HW is an embarrassment, best forgotten. Yeah, he 'contended', but in a weak era, never looking all that good h2h. It was a bad move. He could have been in the historical conversation with the likes of Holyfield and Usyk for cruiser GOAT (and outshone near-contemporary Haye, at the very least, as their era's best) if he just stayed instead of greedily chasing the paydays and becoming a glorified tomato can at heavy.
Imagine him having stayed at cruiser and having a trilogy with Cunningham and duking it out with Huck, Lebedev, Jones, Fırat, Hernandez and maybe even his countryman Diablo. He’d probably come out on top against the most and would’ve had a much better legacy.
Wicked fighter, great heart and grit that ruined himself by competing at a weight that was too high for his body to accommodate. Like others said, his best weight was CW, and had he stayed there and maybe moved up to HW every now and then for a few easy paydays he would be considered a much greater fighter than he is. As it is he's kind of a what if at three weights, enough to show that he could hang with the best at LHW and CW and even at HW when he beat Arreola, but never really stuck around long enough to establish any sort of dominance or legacy. I'd still consider him a potential Hall of Famer, though not a first ballot one.
No he didn't, but at the time he was considered a potential title challenger. And regardless, for a guy as small as Adamek to go up two weight classes and outpoint him is impressive any way you cut it.
They should be what Paul is best remembered for; unfortunately he pissed all over his own legacy with that Danny Green debacle..
Not by me. I kept telling everyone he sucked, and never believed the people that said he showed promise in the amateurs which he could have capitalized on if he "took it seriously" and came in shape. His ceiling with maximum conditioning wouldn't have been much higher than what he reached as it stands. He just wasn't that good a fighter, period, IMO. Eh, any cruiser with an iron chin and even moderate skills ought to be able to beat a lump of goo like Cristobal.
