Polish big man Damien Knyba won again last night, this as he stopped countryman Marcin Siwy in a battle of undefeated Polish heavyweights. Knyba, who could go on to be a big factor in the division over the coming months, really did administer a beating last night in Newark, New Jersey, this on the Vito Mielnicki-Kamil Gardzielik card.
Knyba, all 6’8” and around 255 pounds of him, pumped out his powerful jab to good effect, while he hammered Siwy to the head and body. Siwi was bleeding profusely from his left eye and although he was gamely hanging in there he was a beaten man.
Finally, the referee, Harvey Dock, stopped the fight after the eighth round, awarding Knyba the TKO win. Knyba is now 16-0(10), while Siwi loses his unbeaten record in going 25-1-1(12).
Knyba, who is quite mobile for such a big man, and has decent hand speed, had his way in last night’s fight, this the 29 year old’s second outing of the year. Last time out, back in February, Knyba won another all-Polish showdown, this as he hammered Andrzej Wawrzyk to third-round stoppage defeat. And though last night’s fight lasted quite a bit longer it’s possible Knyba has not lost a single round so far this year.
Knyba later said that he wanted the out and out knockout, but that he was reasonably pleased with his overall performance.
“I think I could’ve done a bit better, but overall I’m not mad about it,” a victorious Knyba said when speaking with The Ring. “It was solid. It was very easy for me in there. I got injured very shortly before the fight (Knyba suffered a cut a week prior to the fight, this in sparring), and it was tough to overcome. But I wanted to fight anyway. I wanted to be in there and nothing was gonna stop me.”
Certainly Siwi was unable to do anything to Knyba, with his toughness alone allowing him to stay in there as long as he did. It will be interesting to see who Knyba is matched with next, but again, he really is a heavyweight to keep an eye on.
