by James Slater – We still await official confirmation about who IBF cruiserweight champion/heavyweight contender Tomasz Adamek will fight next February, but BoxRec now have Jason Estrada’s name listed next to the 33-year-old Polish warrior’s. According to internet whispers (nothing gospel, you understand), Hasim Rahman, a one time contender for the Feb. 6th date in Newark, New Jersey, has decided against the fight because Adamek and his team were not offering enough money..
Not being privy to any information regarding the financial offer the former heavyweight champion received, it’s tough to know whether “The Rock” has been smart turning the fight down or not. It’s also unknown how happy Estrada was/is with the offer he got to face the iron-chinned Pole. But, assuming the talented boxer known as “Big Six” is all set to take the fight that will take place in a little over two months time, we must ask ourselves – what kind of fight can we expect?
Estrada, 16-2(4) is a 29-year-old former Olympian with good all-round skills, a fine boxing brain and excellent experience, particularly at amateur level. Also having hung tough with some known heavies as a pro – Alexander Povetkin, Lance Whitaker and Travis Walker being the three best names Estrada has met since turning pro in late 2004 – the man from Providence, Rhode Island has shown he can fight.
One win removed from his competitive loss to Russia’s Povetkin (L UD 10, April 2009), Estrada will be entering the Adamek fight while coming off a TKO win over the durable Zuri Lawrence. Looking at the 29-year-old’s record (as Adamek and his team have surely done), it’s clear to see Estrada is no big puncher with just those four stoppage wins. Is this why Adamek has taken the fight (assuming, of course, that it does go ahead)?
But even if Adamek is relatively safe from being hit and hurt bad by Estrada, he could still wind up being out-boxed. It would be quite a surprise to see any fighter other than a Klitschko or maybe a David Haye knocking Adamek out, and Estrada will know that attempting the scoring of a stoppage is not the best bet for him. But with his experience and his cleverness, Estrada could shock the once-beaten warrior known as “Goral” and make him look clumsy by comparison.
If he comes in at a good weight, as he did when, having trained hard, he came in at 241-pounds for the Povetkin fight, “Big Six” could give the slow starting approx 215-pounder problems. Not yet proven as a heavyweight despite his impressive-looking stoppage of the ancient Andrew Golota in his debut at the new weight, Adamek has been out-boxed before – down at 175-pounds and by Chad Dawson (the UD being Adamek’s only loss). Also, until he was caught and hurt, Jonathon Banks’ boxing skills gave Adamek a few problems back in February of this year.
But – and it’s a big but – Adamek is no longer a relatively crude light-heavyweight, and he has also proven many times that after a slow star in a fight, he comes on strong to win. An in shape Estrada can win some early rounds, possibly quite a few; but can he hold on to the tenth and final round and win the decision?