04.05.09 – by James Slater – The talked about fight between Tomasz Adamek and Bernard Hopkins would have been infinitely more interesting, but now that that fight has fallen through, Poland’s IBF cruiserweight champion is set to meet Matt “Too Smooth” Godfrey next instead. Scheduled to fight on July 10th at The Prudential Centre in Newark, New Jersey (the site of Adamek’s last two bouts) the champion and the challenger will hopefully put on an exciting and fan-friendly fight..
Most people right now call the 32-year-old champion with the iron jaw the best cruiserweight in the world. It’s unlikely too many fans or experts would refer to the 28-year-old Godfrey as the best available cruiserweight contender, though. Still, the man from Providence, Rhode Island who is currently 18-1(10) as a pro is a good fighter and he might be able to give the 37-1(25) champion some problems when they meet in the ring.
Never stopped, the man who was originally supposed to meet Britain’s Herbie Hide in a WBC cruiserweight title fight elimination bout has been in with some good fighters. Godfrey’s 1st round stoppage of Shaun George back in May of 2006 immediately jumps out when one looks at the 28-year-old’s record. Wins over Felix Cora Junior (TKO 2) and the dangerous Emanuel Nwodo (TKO 4) are also noteworthy.
Make no mistake about it, though, Godfrey will be taking a very big step up in class come July 10th.
Adamek, nicknamed “Goral,” is as tough and as brutal a 200-pound fighter you could name today. Hit him with your best shots and he just keeps coming, make a single mistake and he makes you pay with a hard punch delivered with deceptive speed. Godfrey has been knocked down before (against Nwodo) and he has also been beaten – losing a UD against Rudolf Kraj, in a WBC cruiser eliminator that took place in Germany in March of 2008. “Too Smooth” really will have to fight the fight of his life if he’s to have a chance at beating the older man.
Adamek has big plans. Having spoken even of moving up to heavyweight one day, the former WBC light-heavyweight champ will not want to let Godfrey spoil his marketability by putting a second loss on his resume (the current sole loss coming on points at the hands of unbeaten 175-pound star Chad Dawson).
With no disrespect aimed at Godfrey, this upcoming fight is somewhat a mark-time type of bout for the massively ambitious champion. Adamek seeks bigger fights, and it would be one enormous shock if Matt Godfrey were to derail his chances of getting them.
Look for Adamek to stop Godfrey inside eight rounds.