Adam Kownacki Explained

Adam Kownacki
Nickname:Babyface
Weight:Heavyweight
Height:[1]
Reach:193cm (76inches)
Birth Date:1989 3, df=yes
Birth Place:Łomża, Poland
Style:Orthodox
Total:25
Wins:20
Ko:15
Losses:4
Boxrec:512994
No Contests:1

Adam Kownacki (born 27 March 1989[2]) is a Polish professional boxer.

Early life

Kownacki was born in Łomża, Poland. When he was 7 years old, he emigrated to Greenpoint, Brooklyn in 1996 along with his parents and brothers, settling into the large Polish community there. As a youngster, he played a variety of sports, including basketball, baseball, football and soccer.[3] He graduated from Abraham Lincoln High School in Brooklyn in 2007.

He grew up watching Andrew Golota fights, which got him interested in boxing. As an overweight youngster who spoke English with a Polish accent, he was frequently the target of bullies at school and on the streets, which gave him further motivation to enter the boxing gym.[4] Early in his boxing career, Kownacki had to work in construction and security in nightclubs to support himself.

Amateur career

Kownacki started training at Gleason's Gym at the age of 15. He first won the New York Golden Gloves heavyweight tournament in 2006 at the age of 17. He then went on to be the runner up in 2007 and 2008, then won the tournament for the second time in 2009.

Professional career

Early career

Kownacki made his professional debut on 30 October 2009, at the PAL Gym in New York, United States, where he knocked out Carossee Auponte in the first round.His first fight of 2010 was against Tyyab Beale, which he won by knockout in the second round. He went on to fight twice more in 2010, knocking out Yohan Banks and Damon Clement. He fought once in 2013, beating Calbert Lewis by knockout in the second round. Kownacki next fought on 29 March 2014, against Excell Holmes, who he knocked out in the second round. Kownacki went on to get knockout wins against Charles Ellis and Jamal Woods to finish off the year.

His first fight of 2015 was against Randy Easton, who he knocked out in the first round. His next fight took place on 29 May, where he beat Ytalo Perea by unanimous decision over 8 rounds, the first time he had gone the distance in his professional career. His next fight was against Maurenzo Smith on 1 August, at the Barclays Center, New York. He knocked Maurenzo out in the second round. His last fight of 2015 was a unanimous decision win over Rodney Hernandez. Kownacki fought twice in 2016, with a unanimous decision over Danny Kelly and a knockout win against Jesse Barboza. He then went on to face Joshua Tufte on 14 January 2017, who he knocked out in the second round.

Rise up the ranks

On 15 July 2017 at the Nassau Coliseum in New York, he faced former world title challenger Artur Szpilka. Szpilka represented Kownacki's toughest opponent to date. He knocked out Szpilka in the 4th round.[5]

Kownacki's first fight of 2018 was against Iago Kiladze, at the Barclays Center, New York, on the undercard of Errol Spence Jr. vs Lamont Peterson. He won the fight by knockout in the sixth round. On 8 September 2018 he faced former IBF heavyweight world champion Charles Martin. After a close ten round fight, Kownacki won by unanimous decision with all judges scoring the bout 96–94 in favor of Kownacki. The bout was a part of the undercard for Danny García vs Shawn Porter at the Barclays Center, New York.

On 26 January 2019 Kownacki faced Gerald Washington. Kownacki was ranked #5 by the IBF and #8 by the WBC.[6] Kownacki knocked out Washington at the beginning of 2nd round.[7]

In his second bout of 2019, on 3 August at the Barclays Center, New York, Kownacki defeated Chris Arreola by unanimous decision (118–110, 117–111, 117–111), winning the IBF Inter-Continental heavyweight title.[8] The fight broke the CompuBox record for the most combined punches thrown (2,172) and landed (667) in a heavyweight fight.[9]

Kownacki vs. Helenius

On 7 March 2020, Kownacki faced Robert Helenius in a WBA title eliminator. Kownacki was ranked #3 by the IBF, #4 by the WBA and the WBO and #6 by the WBC, while Helenius was ranked #7 by the WBA.[10] While Kownacki was the heavy favorite, Helenius pulled off a significant upset by stopping Kownacki in the fourth round, handing him his first professional loss.[11]

Kownacki vs. Helenius II

After over a year out of the ring, Kownacki returned on 9 October 2021 on the undercard of Tyson Fury vs. Deontay Wilder III, against Robert Helenius in a rematch of their previous 2020 fight.[12] The bout was stopped after six rounds of dominance by Helenius against a clearly overpowered Kownacki. The former had inflicted his opponent with a swollen left eye, before suffering repeated low blows, which caused Kownacki to be disqualified in the sixth round.[13] After the bout, the result was later changed to a technical knockout victory for Helenius.[14]

Professional boxing record

ResultRecordOpponentTypeRound, timeDateLocationNotes
25Loss20–4
Kacper MeynaTKO1 (10), 2 Mar 2024
24NC20–3
Joe CusumanoTKO8 (10), 24 Jun 2023
23Loss20–3Ali Eren DemirezenUD1030 Jul 2022
22Loss20–2Robert HeleniusTKO6 (12), 9 Oct 2021
21Loss20–1Robert HeleniusTKO4 (12), 7 Mar 2020
20Win20–0Chris ArreolaUD123 Aug 2019
19Win19–0Gerald WashingtonTKO2 (10), 26 Jan 2019
18Win18–0Charles MartinUD108 Sep 2018
17Win17–0Iago KiladzeKO6 (10), 20 Jan 2018
16Win16–0Artur SzpilkaTKO4 (10), 14 Jul 2017
15Win15–0Joshua TufteTKO2 (8), 14 Jan 2017
14Win14–0Jesse BarbozaTKO3 (6), 26 Jun 2016
13Win13–0Danny KellyUD816 Jan 2016
12Win12–0Rodney HernandezUD810 Oct 2015
11Win11–0Maurenzo SmithKO2 (8), 1 Aug 2015
10Win10–0Ytalo Perea829 May 2015
9Win9–0Randy EastonKO1 (6), 25 Apr 2015
8Win 8–0Terrell Jamal WoodsTKO4 (8), 1 Nov 2014
7Win7–0Charles EllisTKO5 (6), 2 Aug 2014
6Win6–0Excell HolmesTKO2 (4), 29 Mar 2014
5Win5–0Calbert LewisTKO2 (4), 20 Apr 2013
4Win4–0Damon ClementKO2 (4), 16 Jul 2010
3Win3–0Yohan Banks4 (4), 22 May 2010
2Win2–0Tyyab BealeTKO2 (4), 2 Apr 2010
1Win1–0Carossee Auponte1 (4), 30 Oct 2009

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: BoxRec: Adam Kownacki. 3 May 2023. boxrec.com.
  2. Web site: AK Adam "Baby Face" Kownacki Story . May 29, 2023 . akbabyface.com .
  3. Web site: 2018-08-29. Eagle Q&A: Undefeated Greenpoint-raised boxing sensation Adam "Babyface" Kownacki. 2021-06-10. Brooklyn Eagle. en-US.
  4. Web site: 2014-07-30. Adam Kownacki plagued but not stopped by injuries. 2021-06-10. The Ring.
  5. Web site: Kownacki TKOs Szpilka. 15 July 2017. boxing.com. Robert. Ecksel. 10 December 2018.
  6. Web site: Kownacki vs Washington - News, Tape, Ringwalk, TV, Streaming & Tickets. 2021-02-18. Box.Live. en-US.
  7. Web site: Christ. Scott. 2019-01-26. PBC on FOX results: Adam Kownacki destroys Gerald Washington in two rounds. 2021-02-18. Bad Left Hook. en.
  8. Web site: Kownacki defeats Arreola in slugfest . Garczarczyk . Przemek . August 3, 2019 . Fightnews.com . 2019-08-04.
  9. Web site: Adam Kownacki outpoints Chris Arreola in record-breaking heavyweight slugfest. www.cbssports.com. en. 2019-08-05.
  10. Web site: Kownacki vs Helenius - News, Tape, Ringwalk, TV, Streaming & Tickets. 2021-02-18. Box.Live. en-US.
  11. Web site: Kownacki vs Helenius results: Robert Helenius shocks Adam Kownacki, wins fourth round TKO. Bad Left Hook. March 8, 2020. Scott Christ. March 7, 2020.
  12. Web site: Henschel. Jonathon. 2021-06-09. Helenius-Kownacki 2, Jared Anderson-Tereshkin added to Fury-Wilder 3 PPV on July 24th. 2021-06-09. Bad Left Hook. en.
  13. Web site: Idec. Keith. Robert Helenius Beats Down Adam Kownacki, Stops Him in Sixth. 2021-10-24. BoxingScene.com. 9 October 2021 . en-us.
  14. Web site: 2021-10-11. Robert Helenius Resurrects Title Hopes With Second Straight Stoppage of Kownacki. 2021-10-24. BoxingInsider.com. en.