Adam Kownacki suffered a fourth straight loss in a career capitulation not seen for some time for a fighter tipped as a future heavyweight champion.
After beating Chris Arreola in 2019, Kownacki was 20-0 with 15 knockouts. The pandemic hit in early 2020, and before long, Kownacki’s career was in tatters.
Future heavyweight champion
Predictions Kownacki would be mixing it with the big names in the division have since looked eyebrow-raising at best. Those who tipped Kownacki as a possible world ruler have since gone quiet.
Back-to-back losses against Robert Helenius were followed up in 2022 by a points defeat against Ali Eren Demirezen. Last weekend, that tally hit four in a row when Joe Cusumano battered the Pole into submission.
Kownacki was still at shorter odds for the Helenius rematch loss and the Demirezen fight. Against Cusumano, Kownacki was favored by the bookies meaning all four losses were classed as shocks.
However, “The Sicilian Nightmare” pushed his record to 22-4 with a 20th career stoppage. He made his dream by beating “Babyface” and announcing himself on the world stage.
His Polish rival succumbed to an eighth-round knockout at a packed Madison Square Garden Theater. The bout was shown live on DAZN as the co-feature to Edgar Berlanga’s decision victory over Jason Quigley.
Joe Cusumano beats Adam Kownacki
After the most incredible night of his career, Cusumano was thankful to his corner and gym squad for making it happen.
“I’m just so happy. My team at Champs Boxing and I worked so hard for this moment. Jesus Christ helped me regain my momentum in life through boxing and training. I have a great team now. We worked hard, and it showed tonight.”
Only two years ago, the 35-year-old Italian was pondering his future after a disappointing first-round knockout loss to top contender Daniel Dubois.
Instead of retiring, Cusumano changed his life and training team, moving to Connecticut to train at Champ’s Boxing Gym with coach David McDonough.
During his workouts, he flew to the Costa Rican jungle for conditioning work at Gareth McCloskey’s Farmer Strength training camp. Both decisions paid off in abundance.
Cusumano made critical adjustments during the fight and had incredible stamina to weather the storm his opponent would bring. Kownacki also sought to resurrect his career after losing those three straight bouts.
The 34-year-old recently signed a new promotional deal with Matchroom Boxing and enlisted ‘Sugar Hill’ Steward as his head trainer.
It all fell apart for Kownacki as promoter Eddie Hearn contemplates a disaster for his new heavyweight.
Kownacki could even walk away from the sport, leaving Hearn’s decision to take a gamble on the Brooklynite on the scrapheap.
