Heavyweights Knyba and Wawrzyk hope to bring Adamek days back to Newark

For the first time in more than 10 years, Polish heavyweight boxing is set to return to Newark’s Prudential Center.

On February 1, Damian Knyba and Andrzej Wawrzyk meet over 10 rounds, harking back to the heady days when Tomasz Adamek, one of the best Polish-born fighters, filled the venue in a number of thrillers that eventually took him to a heavyweight title shot with Vitali Klitschko. 

Top Rank-promoted Knyba, a pro for three years who stands 6ft 7ins, is 14-0 (8 KOs), Wawrzyk is 34-4 (20 KOs).

“I don’t feel any pressure fighting in a big arena in front of thousands of fans,” said Knyba. “However, I do feel more motivated. I love to fight in front of large audiences on big time shows and this will be no different. I hope a lot of people come because I am going to put on one hell of a show.” 

Wawrzyk, who is 6ft 5ins and who challenged Alexander Povetkin for the WBA heavyweight title in 2013, has defeated the likes of Danny Williams, Frans Botha and Albert Sosnowski.
In the co-main, 25-1 (15 KOs) middleweight Fiodor Czerkaszyn will box in an eight-rounder, while former IBF bantamweight and WBO junior bantamweight world champion Miyo Yoshida (17-5) meets Beata Dudek (5-5, 4 KOs) in an eight-round bout. Yoshida, who is promoted by DiBella Entertainment, is fighting for the first time since losing her world title last October.

“This event is the culmination of the past few years of hard work we have put in to resurrecting Polish boxing. We are on a mission to bring back the days of Tomasz Adamek and Andrzej Golota and it starts with Damian Knyba,” said promoter Eryk Rachwal, of PrimeTime Promotions.

 The rest of the undercard will feature talent from around the New Jersey and New York area, including Ghandi Romain (6-1-1, 4 KOs), Jean Pierre Valencia (3-0, 2 KOs), Elise Soto (7-0, 7 KOs), Christopher Houston (1-0), Lorenzo “Truck” Simpson (14-2, 8 KOs), John Vallejo (5-0, 2 KOs), Michal Soczynski (8-0, 5 KOs), Mateusz Bereznicki (1-0, 1 KO) and more.