Adam Kownacki vs. Robert Helenius - March 7, 2020

[Finkel]

It's Brezeale.

Interesting if so, as they can play on a redemption arc of Breazeale returning to the Barclays Centre where Wilder KO'd him brutally.

[Heretic]

Ortiz and Ruiz would both beat him so it is not going to be either one.

Probably going to be soft opponent.

Wilder match looms on the horizon they are not going to risk that. They have paid top dollar for that inflated rank.

Kownacki is half step ahead of way over the hill Arreola. Hes not fighting anyone good.

[Verdi]

Christian Hammer.

[joshj909]

It's Brezeale.

I've heard the same. He's the best of the bad PBC guys I suppose.

[Ruthless-RKO]

“We should lock someone in the the next couple of weeks,” Kownacki said. “It will be someone from the top 20.”

“I wouldn’t mind beating up Dominic Breazeale for all the shit he’s been talking,” Kownacki said. “After the Wilder knockout I thought he would learn to be humble. Guess some cats never learn. I heard Christian Hammer’s name being mentioned. Sam Jones, the manager of Joe Joyce, keeps bringing up my name.”

OK, wow, Joyce, OK. Does AK Babyface think the Brit wants that sort of step up?

“I don’t know, he knows my manager’s number! Probably should call him, not post about it on Twitter,” he postulated.

And a Hammer fight appeals to him?

”He is currently ranked No. 6 in the WBA, so a win against him would probably move me closer to a title shot.”

So, he will stay in shape, work on the craft, and enjoy more time with lil’ Kazimierz Kownacki, born on Aug. 25, as an ultra mini-flyweight, eight-and-a-half pounds.

“It’s been a blessing,” Adam shared. “He talks our ears off every morning. He is our alarm clock. Yapping for a couple of hours in the morning!”

A cheery boy, then?

“100%. Stubborn, too, though.”

Ohhhh — like him,or like the mama?

“Both,” he said, cracking up.

https://www.badlefthook.com/2020/1/3/21 ... oxing-news

[Lackeos]

We all know really, he's just waiting on a Deontay Wilder fight..

Who should he fight now though?

Well, if he's in waiting for a title shot, he should be taking the kind of fights that would add a little tiny bit to his contender chances without posing much risk. Btw, Kownacki is ranked top 3 in each of the WBA, IBF, and WBO rankings; much higher than his #8 WBC ranking. Some safe ABC-ranked opponents he could fight are...

Trevor Bryan (#1 WBA) - An opportunity to leapfrog someone in line. But I doubt Bryan wants to jeopardize his eventual shot.
Christopher Lovejoy (#11 WBA) - honestly a total waste of time and credibility
Kyotaro Fujimoto (#14 WBA, #15 WBO)
Tom Schwarz (#13 IBF, #12 WBO)
Junior Fa (#6 WBO)
Zhilei Zhang (#10 WBO)
Frank Sanchez Faure (#11 WBO) - nobody wants to see this sh*t. Nobody.
Demsey McKean (#14 WBO) - seriously, where the f*ck do they come up with these randoms?

If he wants slightly more risk, there's...
Sergey Kuzmin (#12 WBA, #14 IBF)
Mladen Miljas (#14 WBA)
Otto Wallin (#15 IBF)
Evgeny Romanov (#8 WBO)

[armageto]

It's Brezeale.

This

[Ruthless-RKO]

Between Breazeale who is the actual favourite and Christian Hammer.

[KiwiRider]

Brazeale
It's a sorta step sideways not forward.
Mind you, going on how Kow performed against Chris "shot to sh*t" Arreola, I suppose they don't want to risk or prove much.

[margaret thatcher]

Breaz might be his best opponent tbf, and not like loads of guys have better wins than DB would be. Two crude, easy to hit guys, with DB being more of a threat than the last opponent who fit that mold. Should be fun.

[Ruthless-RKO]

Breaz might be his best opponent tbf, and not like loads of guys have better wins than DB would be. Two crude, easy to hit guys, with DB being more of a threat than the last opponent who fit that mold. Should be fun.

Yeh, plus Breazeale lost to 2 of the best HW’s. Not lower tier guys.

And he beat Ugonoh, was a good scrap that. Was he even supposed to win that.

[joshj909]

Breaz might be his best opponent tbf, and not like loads of guys have better wins than DB would be. Two crude, easy to hit guys, with DB being more of a threat than the last opponent who fit that mold. Should be fun.

Yeh, plus Breazeale lost to 2 of the best HW’s. Not lower tier guys.

And he beat Ugonoh, was a good scrap that. Was he even supposed to win that.

Ugonoh was proven to not be as tough as expected. The credit for that win has since dropped in my opinion. Fair enough for taking it but the credit for winning is less significant.

[Bandog]

To me Breazeale as an opponent would do nothing for Kownacki. He has proven to be nothing more than a gatekeeper at heavyweight. He was losing clearly to Mansour before it was stopped, and was no contest at all for Joshua or Wilder. Kownacki needs someone better to raise his status, unless he just wants a stay busy win. If he struggles with Breazeale, which he could, it would do nothing other than lower his status, killing the possibility of future bigger fights.

Otto Wallin would at least give him a common opponent with Fury, so there is a plus taking on that fight since Fury somewhat struggled with him.

[Finkel]

It wouldn't do him any favours to look mediocre against Breazeale, but if he is within the WBC top 15, PBC would still use him as a voluntary for Wilder. The road map has been planned out for him for some time. Breazeale will be the 4th of the former challengers to Wilder he will have faced.

Though I agree it would be worthwhile hedging his bets by getting a common opponent with Fury, but Wallin is no slouch.

[walter5]

Looks like the opponent is changing to Helenius.

[Enlightened-One]

It'll either be Breazeale, Hammer or Helenius. All of them have tasted defeat recently.

The German and the Finnish heavyweights aren’t good to watch, but at least the defenisevly irresponsible and slow as a molasses Breazeale guarantees an entertaining highlight reel KO victory for Kownacki, which would suitably market a bout between himself and Deontay Wilder.

[franio]

I heard his opponent will be Helenius but I would have preferred Breazeale or Pulev.

[Stuarty]

I heard his opponent will be Helenius but I would have preferred Breazeale or Pulev.

Helenius isn't worth a fukk nowadays! Was never that good to begin with! Hopefully it'll be Breazeale. Looks like Pulev will get the AJ fight so that rules him out...

[jujigatame]

Ugh, Helenius is maybe a slight step up from Arreola but a step down from Washington. Lame fight.

[joshj909]

Apparently he was looking at Breazeale and Hammer but they've decided on Helenius, who is actually the worst of the three. I guess they're hoping Helenius is just going to stand there and eat shots so they can talk about volume again.

[joshj909]

Looking like Helenius will be announced soon.

[Ruthless-RKO]

Undefeated Polish star and Brooklyn native Adam Kownacki will headline a night of heavyweight showdowns and look to thrill his hometown crowd when he takes on Robert Helenius in a 12-round WBA Heavyweight Title eliminator headlining FOX PBC Fight Night and on FOX Deportes Saturday, March 7 from Barclays Center, the home of BROOKLYN BOXING™.

The heavyweight action begins at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT and features heavyweight sensation Efe Ajagba in a 10-round fight in the co-main event, plus rising heavyweight Frank Sánchez steps in to face Philadelphia's Joey Dawejko in a 10-round attraction.

"Heavyweights always bring excitement and on March 7 fans are going to get non-stop hard-hitting action from these fighting giants," said Tom Brown, President of TGB Promotions. "Adam Kownacki has established himself as a fan-favorite at Barclays Center and with each victory he puts himself closer and closer to becoming the first Polish heavyweight champion in history. He'll be given all he can handle by the tough and experienced Robert Helenius. Highly regarded rising contenders Efe Ajagba and Frank Sánchez will share the stage with Kownacki and look to continue to show off their credentials as future heavyweight champions. You're not going to want to blink when these heavyweights step into the ring in primetime on FOX and FOX Deportes."

Tickets for the event, which is promoted by TGB Promotions, are on sale now and can be purchased at Ticketmaster.com and barclayscenter.com. Tickets are also available for purchase now at the American Express Box Office at Barclays Center.

Kownacki (20-0, 15 KOs) is noted for his tenacity and has been progressing towards a world title shot with knockouts in five of his last seven fights. The 30-year-old Kownacki, who was born in Lomza, Poland and moved to Brooklyn when he was seven, was an accomplished amateur in New York City before turning pro. He most recently bested veteran contender Chris Arreola in an action-packed fight on FOX in August. His previous two fights had seen him score an impressive unanimous decision victory over former world champion Charles Martin in 2018 and a devastating knockout victory against Gerald Washington in January 2019 on FOX. This will be his fifth straight and tenth overall fight at Barclays Center, where he has routinely brought out the area's passionate Polish sports fans.

A winner in three of his last four fights, Helenius (29-3, 18 KOs) will fight in the U.S. for the second time on March 7, after establishing himself as one of Europe's top heavyweights for several years. Born in Sweden and fighting out of Mariehamn, Finland, Helenius knocked out Erkan Teper in September 2018 to rise up the rankings before dropping his U.S. debut to Gerald Washington in July 2019. Prior to the Washington fight, the 36-year-old had won six of his last seven fights, with his lone blemish coming against Dillian Whyte. He most recently stopped Mateus Roberto Osorio in November 2019.

Nigeria's Ajagba (12-0, 10 KOs) has increased his opposition in his recent fights and passed those tests by getting off the canvas to stop Iago Kiladze in December and defeating fellow 2016 Olympian Ali Eren Demirezen by 10-round unanimous decision in July, both on FOX. The 25-year-old Ajagba gained widespread notoriety in August 2018 when his opponent, Curtis Harper, walked out of the ring after touching gloves to start the first round. Ajagba won the fight without throwing a punch as Harper was disqualified. Living in Stafford, Texas and training with Ronnie Shields, Ajagba will make his 2020 debut and third career appearance at Barclays Center on March 7, after four victories in 2019.

A former amateur standout from Cuba, Sánchez (14-0, 11 KOs) now lives in Miami, trains in San Diego with Eddy Reynoso and is unbeaten since turning pro in 2017. The 27-year-old scored knockouts in his first six pro fights, and picked up nine victories in 2018. In 2019 he added four more triumphs, including three stoppages and his first 10-round victory when he bested Jack Mulowayi in October to win by unanimous decision.

Dawejko (29-7-4, 11 KOs) has been tested against a slew of tough contenders in his career that dates back to 2009. Fighting out of Philadelphia, he has crossed paths with perennial contenders while establishing himself in the heavyweight division. The 29-year-old most recently defeated Rodney Hernandez in July.

[funso banjo baby]

set for some ok scraps

kownacki v helenius is ok (given that there really wasn't anyone around worth risking against)

ajagba on the bill too.. hopefully with a half decent opp?

and Faure v dawejko which looks like a great little scrap.

lets hope this card doesn't fall apart

[Heretic]

Helenius by KO

[Ruthless-RKO]