by Ben Mercado, Jr. This content is protected From the UIC Pavilion, May 29th, 2010 - TOP RANK LIVE!/8-Count Productions On the train ride in to meet my father who was joining me for the fight card at UIC on May 29th, I sat amongst a sea of Blackhawk jerseys. While I set up in the corner with my laptop plugged into the sole outlet on the car, I overheard a couple mention "this big Polish heavyweight, fighting at UIC". Of course, my ears perked up, and I had to ask; "Are you going to the fight tonight? They told me they weren't, but they were interested in this boxer because of his hometown (they were both Polish, and couldn't attend because they were taking their kids to the museum). We continued talking about anything from the 'Hawks to Lincoln Park Zoo...but I had to reel back and bring up Krzysztof Zimnoch. I asked what they thought of him...and they looked at each other, puzzled. A few moments later, they admitted they knew nothing about him...other than the fact that he was Polish. Surprised, I then asked if they've ever heard of Art Binkowski, Tomas Adamek, or even Andrew Golota...and their eyes glazed over as if I had just described cell mitosis. "Is this the only Polish fighters you've heard of?" They answered; "There's more?" And therein lies the sadness I feel for the sport of boxing. With such an ethnically diverse pool of fighters, you would think fans would be able to find a site, look up a fighter's name (or country) and learn all about them. But that's not where we're at...yet. If Ricky Spilotro and I have our way, we're going to make sure any fan of any fighter from any country, especially of they come to Chicago, will have all the access they need to learn about their favorite fighter. But onward I go I have fights to watch and an interview to write up... The epic Ivan Popoca vs. Jose Luis Soto-Karass fight was just about to begin, and I found myself in the hallway...chatting up the Polish Heavyweight, Krzysztof Zimnoch while he was savoring a beer, celebrating his third professional win, in four fights. Krzysztof was kind enough to give Chicago Boxing News an exclusive interview. I started by commending Krzysztof on his victory, and asked if he would mind if I recorded our conversation for a Chicago Boxing News write-up. He mentioned he had no problem, but asked if he could send for his friend to interpret, as he was not comfortable being recorded in English. Krzysztof Zimnoch May 29th, 2010 UIC Pavilion (via interpreter). 4 Rounds Vs. Michael Moncrief I asked Krzysztof how he felt about the fight being that from the very first round, he seemed to want to establish his jab, and his follow-through right. Krzysztof, 2-0 (1 draw) looked determined to showcase his skills against what he knew was a mediocre opponent, Michael Moncrief (2-5-1). I wanted to start out strong I did not know much about [Moncrief], but I knew I wanted to get him out of there. After an impressive first round that saw Krzysztof continually land one-two combos against the already-apparently out-classed Moncrief, I was sitting in the blue corner, listening to Moncriefs corner men. They were frenzied and confused, and simply asked Moncrief to set up the jab. In the second round, Moncrief found Kristoff with a nice right hand, and began throwing a decent left hook Krzysztof then went to the body, threw a left hook and uppercut on inside, and Moncrief backed up. Moncrief then came back in, throwing overhand rights and left hooks, and while he looked gassed, Krzysztof continued his basic one-two pressure. On my card, despite the increased activity from Moncrief, Krzysztof ended up wining the round. I asked Krzysztof, being that round 2 was a little more even (and given that his mouth was WIDE open the entire round), if he felt gassed and if he was ever hurt by any of Moncriefs punches. He said that he felt he needed to reestablish his one-two combos, as he let Moncrief get a little too much confidence. I asked him if he was ever hurt in that round, and he smiled, looked at the interpreter, and just said; No theres no way that guy could hurt me this was practice This content is protected Photo Credit: Chicago Boxing News Immediately, I admired Krzysztofs candor heres a guy who knows where he is at, and knows exactly what to expect. He wasnt bashing Michael Moncrief by any means, but rather, he was just speaking the truth. This match was made for him to gain experience. I knew this, Top Rank knew this, his trainers knew this and Im glad he was able to acknowledge this. Look Ive got a long way to go, I know this but my job right now is to take out whoever they put in front of me and learn in the process. Seems like this cat had it all figured out or was this just a pre-rehearsed response? No it wasnt, I learned as I might just be m the first Chicagoan to interview him (he claimed). Suddenly, I heard bells ringing and Krzysztof was still talking. While I wasnt necessarily going to do a story on the Ivan Popoca vs. Jose Luis Soto-Karass fight, as a fan I still needed to see it so I needed to wrap this up. But I had more to ask In round 3 Krzysztof opened up with a huge right. Moncrief wobbled and looked gassed. Krzysztof landed another big right hand and continued pressure. Moncrief fired back, trying to make a fight out of it but his efforts, while admirable, were futile. Krzysztof continued pressure, landed a big right to knock Moncrief off of his feet, and the bout was soon over. When I mentioned this third round to Krzysztof, and asked at which point he knew he was in control of this fight, he mentioned that after the second round, he knew he hurt Moncrief a few times. To him, it was just a matter of time and he figured itd be over in the third. Of course, he was right. He said he had prepared well, and knew what he came to do. At this, I had to ask one more question despite the round starting in the background, this was the one question I wanted to ask, had I only limited time. And ask I did. In Chicago, weve seen some mighty popular and entertaining Polish Heavyweights from Art Binkowski to Tomas Adamek and Andrew Golota. What opinion do you have on any of those fighters, and where do you see your goals in comparison to their accomplishments? Krzysztof smiled once again, and said; These are all great fighters. For now, it would be foolish to compare myself with them, being that Im so new. I just hope to continue learning and growing in the sport, and one day I would like to accomplish what [Adamek] has. Adamek what a good fighter. Its refreshing to speak with someone so down to earth, and someone with such realistic expectations of his career. Krzysztof seemed surprised that I was even interested in interviewing him but I explained that at Chicago Boxing News, were covering boxing from the ground up. We want to know what our fighters eat for breakfast, what movie they saw last weekend, which authors they read and which painters they admire. I told him that Im just as interested in a Chicago fighter with only four professional bouts, as I am with a foreign fighter with 30. At this, Krzysztof smiled, shook my hand and thanked me. Lets wish this humble and honest fighter, the best in his career. CBN looks forward to speaking with him again. This content is protected Photo Credit: Chicago Boxing News This content is protected Photo Credit: Chicago Boxing News
I really like how they are bringing up Zimnoch, hopefully after the next 8 fights they throw a bigger challenge for Zimnoch.
