By: Rich Lopez
Premier Boxing Champions returned back to FOX with three fights in the heavyweight division. The card was staged at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. A huge Polish crowd was on hand hoping for another great performance from their countrymen Adam Kownacki. However, his challenger Robert Helenius did not follow the script.
In the main event, Robert “The Nordic Nightmare” Helenius(30-3, 19 KO’s) shocked the world and scored a TKO overAdam “Babyface” Kownacki (20-1, 15 KO’s) in the fourth round. This fight was a WBA World Heavyweight Title Eliminator. In the opening round, Helenius started to use his jab in long range but Kownacki wasted no time coming forward. Kownacki got close to Helenius and landed body shots. In round two, the action picked up. Kownacki came forward and was able to land a right hand on the chin of Helenius. Helenius then backed up Kownacki with two right hands on the chin. Kownacki then finished the round coming forward and both men traded shots.
In round three, Kownacki worked the body of Helenius. He backed up Helenius on the ropes and landed punches to his body and head. Once again, Helenius fired back with right hands that landed on the head of Kownacki. In round four, as Kownacki came forward, both fighters traded punches. In an exchange, Helenius landed a right hand on the chin of Kownacki that dropped him. However, the ref did not rule it a knockdown. Once Kownacki got up, Helenius landed a right hand that dropped Kownacki. Once Kownacki got up, Heleniuswent for the finish. He landed a barrage of punches on Kownacki that prompted the referee to stop the fight. The shocking ending came at 1:08 of the fourth round.
This was another shake up in the heavyweight division. Kownacki was expected to win this fight for a chance at a title shot or land a bigger fight. However, anything can happen in the heavyweight division when you have big punchers hitting each other. For Helenius, he just resurrected his career and is once again a top world heavyweight. Now, he will be lined up for a world title shot. Quite a comeback story for Helenius. Good action fight from both men that ended in a stunner.
In the co-feature, Efe Ajagba (13-0, 11 KO’s) scored a ninth round TKO over Razvan Cojanu (17-7, 9 KO’s). Ajagba stalked Cojanu in the first round. He focused on landing his left jab and his right hand to the head of Cojanu. In the second round, Cojanu came out and put the pressure on Ajagba. Cojanu landed a few hooks to the body of Ajagba. Both fighters stayed close to each other and worked well in the inside in round three. Ajagbalanded good left hooks to the body of Cojanu. Both fighters were busy in round four. Ajagba landed a few overhand rights on the head of Cojanu. Cojanu started to come forward in round five and he worked the body of Ajagba. Ajagba returned the favor and landed his own body shots. Things heated up in round six. Ajagba landed a series of right and left hooks to the head of Cojanu. Cojanu did some good body work on Ajagba. In round seven, Ajagba concentrated on the body of Cojanu and had success. In round eight, a right hand by Ajagba landed on the head of Cojanu. Cojanu went down on his knee and he got up on the count of nine. Ajagba went forward and landed a right hand followed by a left hook to finish the round. In round nine, a battered Cojanu made a final stand and traded with Ajagba. Ajagba threw all power shots to the head of Cojanu and Cojanuwent down on his knee again. The referee saw enough and waived off the fight. The time of the stoppage was 2:46 of round nine.
Ajagba scored another stoppage and against his toughest opponent up to date. It was an impressive performance from Ajagba. Not only did he display his power again but we saw a different wrinkle in his game. Ajagba boxed well throughout the fight. He used his jab well and kept a high guard. He also mixed his attack with body shots that eventually broke down Cojanu.
In the opening bout of the telecast, Frank “The Cuban Flash” Sanchez (15-0, 11 KO’s) dominated Joey “Tank” Dawejko (20-8-4, 11 KO’s) to earn a ten round unanimous decision. The opening round was a feel out round. Both guys started using their jabs. Sanchez out landed Dawejko on jabs in the round. In round two, Sanchez continued to stay busy with his jab while Dawejko relied only on his defense. Sanchez landed a few straight right hands to the body and head of Dawejko in round three. Dawejko was still waiting around to land a counter while talking to his opponent. At the end of the round, Sanchez landed a left jab that popped the head of Dawejko. In round four, Dawejko made an adjustment of coming forward, but Sanchez did not let him get in close. Sanchez used his left jab well and showed good side to side movement. Sanchez landed a good right hand on the head of Dawejko in round five. The fighters ended up bumping heads which cut Dawejko’s left eye. In round six, Sanchez continued to move and box while Dawejko was just following Sanchez around. Dawejko was coming forward inround seven but was not effective. In round eight, Dawejkocame forward and tried to get close again. He landed a body shot on Sanchez but it was not enough. Sanchez continued to popDawejko with left jabs and straight right hands. Sanchez started to land combinations in round nine. At the end of the round, Sanchez landed a right hand on the head of Dawejko and Dawejko landed a quick counter right hand on the head of Sanchez. In the final round, Dawejko had a better round and got closer to Sanchez. In the inside, Dawejko landed a few body shots and Sanchez kept boxing and moving. The final scores of the fight were 98-92, and 100-90 (twice) all for Sanchez.
It was a good win for Sanchez who displayed good boxing skills. He out boxed and outclassed a durable challenger in Dawejko. Sanchez did not get a knockout but Dawejko is a tough guy with a good chin. We should see Sanchez against a tougher opponent in his next outing.
