Filed under: WBA, WBC, IBF, WBO, Boxing Rumors, FanHouse Exclusive, IBO
Bernd Boente, manager of WBO, IBO and IBF heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko, and his older brother, WBC king Vitali Klitschko, has confirmed to BoxingScene.com's Rick Reeno that serious negotiations are taking place to match one of the Ukrainian siblings against Polish-born former light heavyweight (175 pounds) and cruiser weight (200 pounds) titlist Tomasz Adamek perhaps in September.
The match up would take place in a European soccer stadium in Poland that borders Germany.
"Can you imagine what this fight would be? To put this into perspective, considering how big soccer is in Europe, this would be like if we took Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao and put them into the first big fight at the Dallas Cowboys Stadium," Adamek's promoter, Kathy Duva, CEO of Main Events, told FanHouse.
"That's kind of how big this story is in Europe. Right now, today, in Poland, it's the only thing that is in the news. It's happening very quickly, and it's all subject to contracts being completed, but we're all thrilled," said Duva. "We weren't going to announce it until the contracts were done, but Adamek went and told all of his Polish friends and then we started hearing form everybody."
Duva is the one who first hatched the idea.
"The story is that we actually started talking on Wednesday, and, last night [Thursday,] we agreed on the general terms of a fight of a fight between Adamek and Wladimir Klitschko. Or, if Wladimir, for some reason, can not participate, then Vitali will take his place. The deal, of course, is subject to the contracts being executed," said Duva.
"Our lawyers, as we speak, at the moment, are going back and forth over the deal points at the moment," said Duva. "The reason this was able to come together the way that it has so quickly is that I have been speaking with an arena operator in Europe who is managing a stadium in Poland that borders Germany."
Duva said that the soccer stadium seats "62,000," that it is "one of four that is being built and refurbished in Poland right now," adding that it will be "part of the European soccer championships that are going to be held in Poland next year in 2012."
The Klitschkos are extremely popular in Germany.
"A few months ago, when I found out that this building was on the border of Poland and Germany, it occurred to me that it would be a really good idea to put a fight between the Klitschkos and Adamek there. I was put in touch with one of the European contacts, and have been talking to them for a couple of months," said Duva.
"I basically put together a really attractive scenario for that fight to take place there as the main event in that stadium in September," said Duva. "So, on Thursday, I went and proposed this to [Klitschko adviser] Shelly Finkel and the Klitschko people and they liked the idea a lot, so, I think that we're going to do it."
A July 2 match between the 34-year-old Wladimir Klitschko (55-3, 49 knockouts) and 30-year-old WBA king David Haye (25-1, 23 KOs) of England still is being considered if the younger Klitschko gets beyond an April 30 bout opposite 27-year-old Zimbabwe native Dereck Chisora (14-0, nine KOs) of London.
Citing a torn abdominal muscle injury, Wladimir Klitschko had pulled out of last month's scheduled defense against Chisora that was scheduled for the SAP Arena in Mannheim, Germany. Klitscho apparently suffered the injury during a workout with trainer Manny Steward.
The 39-year-old Vitali Klitschko (41-2, 38 KOs) is coming off of October's unanimous decision victory over former titlist Shannon Briggs (51-6-1, 45 KOs), earning his ninth straight victory during a run that has included eight knockouts.
Vitali Klitschko made the fifth defense of the crown that he earned with an October 2008, eighth-round knockout of Nigerian-born former titlist Samuel Peter (34-4, 27 KOs), was coming off of May's May's 10th-round knockout over Polish-born Albert Sosnowski (45-3-1, 27 KOs), and has not lost since being stopped in the sixth round by Lennox Lewis in June 2003.
Vitali Klitschko is slated for a March bout opposite 30-year-old Cuban-born Odlanier Solis (17-0, 12 KOs), a former 2004 Olympic gold medalist who is coming off of last month's 10th-round disqualification victory over Ray Austin (28-5-4, 18 KOs).
The 34-year-old Adamek (43-1, 28 KOs), of Jersey City, N.J., is expected to return to the ring on April 16, after having thrilled the partisan fans with last month's fifth-round stoppage of New York's 36-year-old Vinny Maddalone (33-7, 24 KOs) at his adopted home of the Prudential Center in Newark, N.J.
The win was the fifth straight as a heavyweight and the 13th consecutive triumph overall by Adamek, who has not lost since February 2007 when he was dethroned as WBC light heavyweight (175 pounds) titlist by Chad Dawson (29-1, 17 KOs).
"Wladimir has Chisora in April and Vitali will have Solis in March, and then he may want to fight again in June or early July," said Boente. "If Wladimir beats Chisora, he will probably fight in September, but first is the Chisora fight and then we'll talk about what's next."
Adamek shows no signs of slowing down as he pursues his first crown since winning the IBF cruiser weight belt by split-decision over Steve Cunningham in December 2008 and defending it twice. Adamek is going to return on April 16 against a rival to be determined next week, said Duva.
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Source: http://boxing.fanhouse.com/2011/01/07/wladimir-vitali-klitschko-talks-ensue-to-face-tomasz-adamek/
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