Adamek ahead of Klitschko showdown; photo - PAP/ Maciej Kulczyński
“I want to win, no matter how. I know I will be champion – you'll see,” Tomasz 'the Highlander' Adamek told Poland's top sports magazine, Przeglad Sportowe ahead of the first ever world heavyweight boxing bout to be staged in the country.
Around 40,000 fans are expected at the stadium in Wroclaw, south west Poland, especially built for next year's Euro 2012 football championships.
Born in Zywiec in southern Poland, Adamek is a two-times world champion at light heavy and cruiser weights.
In 2009, now fighting out of New Jersey in the US, Adamek stepped up to heavyweight.
The Polish boxer is famed for his quick hands and silky boxing technique. But many boxing experts think that he will have trouble beating Klitschko, a genuine heavyweight.
"Vitali to lose? Never. Mentally and physically he is so strong that absolutely nothing can go wrong there," the 40 year-old Ukrainian's trainer Fritz Sdunek said at the pre-fight press conference.
The world's top boxing Ring magazine notes that many think that the bout is a “gross mismatch” and that Klitschko will win easily, though Adamek will have the advantage of fighting on home ground.
Whatever the result, Saturday night, Adamek is certain of the biggest purse of his career. Besides takings at Wroclaw stadium, the TV rights will bring in many more dollars.
“This is the first ever event to be shown on pay per view in Poland,” Kathy Duva of Main Events promotions said this week.
"If you have Canal+, Polsat, UPC, TOYA, INEA, or Vectra, you’ll be able to see Pay Per View. It’ll be 40 PLN, so everybody get together and have a party,” she said. (pg)