By James Slater – Philly’s Eddie Chambers had to fight tough Pole Tomasz Adamek without the use of his left arm in last Saturday’s important heavyweight clash, Chambers injuring his jab hand in the early going of the 12-rounder he ultimately lost by wide UD (a number of fans and experts had the fight much closer than the three judges).
Eddie, now 39-3(18) is currently and understandably downbeat right now, yet he was still kind enough to speak with ESB yesterday evening. Encouragingly, the slick contender says he plans to “get right back in there” once his arm has healed up.
Here is what Chambers had to say:
j.s. thanks for talking to ESB, Eddie. First of all, how is your arm?
E.c. well, its ok, not as great as I was hoping – I’m still waiting for the MRI actually. I’ve seen my family doctor, and he says the arm has a significant tear. We’ll see in time how the healing process goes..
J.s. Have you watched a tape of the fight, and do you think you won?
E.c. Yeah. Initially, I was sure it was a close fight and whenever you leave it in the hands of the judges, you never know what weird scores they might turn in. Now that I’ve watched it, I’m certain it was a horrible decision. I controlled the action, and when a guy (Adamek) throws like a hundred punches but only lands one, and the other guy (Chambers) throws ten and lands all ten, who should win the round?
j.s. You feel you were the victim of a bad decision? And there have been some bad ones just lately.
E.c. It was ridiculous really, yes. Even with my (arm) handicapp, I dictated the action. One card in particular really bothered me, that 119-109 card. I mean, I won just one round! That was ridiculous. I landed the cleaner, harder more showy punches.
J.s. What are you hoping to do in the near future, Eddie?
E.c. I’ll see where my stock has gone. TV are still interested in showing my fights, definitely. I just want to get right back in there, and be as active as I can. But I need fights that mean something, with something at stake. At age 30, 31 next year – even though I feel like I’m in my early twenties – I can’t waste time on less than big, important fights. I’m still excited, there’s a lot to look forward to, even after this painful loss and a bad decision.
J.s. You came in at a low 202-pounds for the Adamek fight. I know people have asked you this before, but would a move down to cruiserweight interest you?
E.c. It’s not totally out of the picture, and there are some great fights down there. (laughs) I’d probably make more money down there. Maybe I could drop down, get some big wins and improve my ranking, and then come back up.
j.s. How highly do you rate Adamek and his chances of winning a belt at heavyweight?
E.c. Like I said to people who listen, he’s not a boxer – he’s a tough, tough guy. But whenever he faces a real boxer such as myself, and Chad Dawson or Jonathan Banks, his deficiencies show really badly. His speed is not what I thought it was, but I still do think he’s a good fighter. He makes up for things with his ton of determination and his sheer aggression. He throws a major number of shots. But like I say, skills win fights 90-percent of the time. It’s just that the judges didn’t see it that way this time.
j.s. You’d love a rematch with him?
E.c. I would love it, but it’s not gonna happen. Any bad decision makes you wonder, but I fought Adamek in New Jersey, which is like a little Poland! There is a huge Polish population there. And he’s a moneymaker. He’s a huge draw, even when he fights against lesser names. He’s too valuable to lose. Me? Why would I be given a decision over him? I knew my only chance was to KO him. I hoped it wouldn’t be that way, but with one arm – I had to lose! That’s just the way it is. But I hope this bad decision loss raises my stock, and makes the fans want to see more of me.
j.s. I certainly do, Eddie. You’re still one of the best heavyweights in the world, the fastest, cleverest boxer at heavyweight.
E.c. Thank you. And thanks for having me on. I like to put my side of the story across.