Issue #1 – Nov 4, 2008
GOING ONCE, GOING TWICE ... According to the New York Post, the world middleweight championship belt Rocky Graziano lifted from Tony Zale on July 17, 1947, will be auctioned off on Nov 15 at a Louisville, KY sports memorabilia show. It is expected to sell for as much as $75,000. Just 11 months after winning the belt, Graziano would return it to Tony Zale in the rubber match of their epic trilogy. Ironically, that June 10, 1948, bout at Ruppert Stadium was the last world championship fight in Newark, NJ—that is until Dec 11, 2008, when Philadelphia, PA native Steve "USS" Cunningham defends his IBF Cruiserweight Championship against Jersey City's "Polish Warrior" Tomasz Adamek at the Prudential Center. VERSUS will broadcast the Cunningham-Adamek bout and a co-feature contest beginning at 8:00 pm ET ... The NY Post article can be found at this link.
STEVE CUNNINGHAM
On training camp:
· The Philadelphia Phillies fan is a constant fixture at the James Shuler Memorial Gym in West Philly and the Rock Ministries Gym in Kensington. But despite his intensity he and his team keep the atmosphere relaxed with practical jokes: "We like to have fun in camp. Last week when my trainer [Anthony Chase] landed in Philly we told him we rented a nice apartment for him. We took him to the ghetto to a house where the grass was over-grown and the windows were boarded. I walked over to the car with a straight face and gave him the keys and his jaw dropped. I couldn't stop laughing."
· Chase has trained Cunningham since the amateurs; although the two did separate for a few years before reuniting. Chase has also trained Cedric Boswell, Sam Reese, Dorin Spivey, Owen Beck, and Dave Hadden
· Chazz Witherspoon and Eddie Chambers are two of the fighters Cunningham is using for sparring because he wants "bigger, stronger guys"...
On Adamek:
· "From what it seems I think I've fought tougher guys [than Adamek], like Guillermo Jones, Kelvin Davis, and Sebastian Rothmann. But I see a decent fighter in Adamek—solid, pretty strong. I'm expecting a tough fight "
· "I think he's been in there with good opposition. He fought Chad Dawson. But I'm different than Chad. I'm bigger. That's what makes this fight so good. Both of us have been there, done that"
· "Adamek was bigger than I thought. We were about the same size. But size doesn't mean much. Some of my toughest fights were against smaller guys."
On His Naval Career
· Cunningham served four years in the U.S. Navy and finished as an E-3.
· For the first 2 1/2 years of his service he was an aircraft re-fueler for the U.S.S. Enterprise and the U.S.S. America. "I re-fueled everything from F-18s, F-14s, helicopters, you name it." He visited many places such as the Strait of Gibraltar, the Suez Canal, Greece, Italy, and Malta
· The last 1 1/2 years of his tour were spent boxing for the Navy.
· Cunningham is proud of his service and would like to serve as a spokesman for the Navy
TOMASZ ADAMEK
On Training
· Adamek's co-trainer Mike Skowronski is stunned at how good Adamek looks at this stage of training camp: "He looks awesome and he keeps getting better each day. It's our inside joke that after every workout he tells me, ‘Wait till next week" ... Fighting at cruiserweight has made all the difference according to Adamek: "I feel better than I did at light heavyweight. I'm not tired. I feel stronger" ... Among his training rituals is 45 minutes of road work, four times per week ...
· Skowronski is particularly impressed by Adamek's speed and with "the way he's putting together his combinations and working off his jab. His balance is great. I wish the fight was in two weeks to be honest with you. He is as steady as a rock."
· Adamek is using top-10 contender Shaun George, former champion Al Cole, and three-time Golden Gloves champion Patrick Farell for sparring. So far he has already logged over 40 rounds of sparring, predominantly with George. Skowronski expects Adamek to spar a total of 60 rounds before they break their Passaic PAL training camp in Passaic, NJ.
On Cunningham
· "Cunningham is a good boxer. He's a champion. But I think I will win this fight because I feel so much stronger at cruiserweight." Skowronski adds: "Tomasz knows it's going to be a tough fight," says Skowronski. "He expects to catch up with Cunningham and wear him down. He's looking at this as a 12 round war."
Miscellaneous
· Adamek has been living in Jersey City, NJ for about two years. In August his wife and children joined him in America.
· Adamek says he might consider moving to heavyweight in the future, but "not to fight the real big guys." For now all he is concentrating on is Cunningham: "This belt is very important to me. I would like to win this and then unify the titles."
Tickets
Tickets, priced at $303, $153, $78, $53, $38, are on sale now and can be purchased by calling TicketMaster at 201-507-8900.
