There was a changing of the guard, yes and no, during an entertaining boxing card Saturday night at The Sands Events Center in Bethlehem, PA. In one case, the young warrior was too much for the grizzled former champion; while in the other, a close decision loss, the former world champion's experience was just enough to get by.
The main event on Saturday night featured former light heavyweight and cruiserweight champion of the
In the main event, both Adamek and Glazkov were busy boxing throughout the 12 round affair for the IBF North American heavyweight title, however there was one noticeable difference; Glazkov was beating Adamek to the punch. While Adamek remained busy throughout using his jab and throwing combinations behind it, Glazkov did the same and in the end the difference was noticeable. While Glazkov came away with a noticeable mouse under his left eye, Adamek had the same under his right eye only worse.
By the fourth round Adamek's eye was on it's way to swelling near shut and by the seventh round and each succeeding round in between till the end, the ringside physician and referee were in his corner checking his status. However, the eye was just the worst of it as Glazkov's continuous pressure and non-stop punches in bunches attack were turning Adamek's face into a distorted mess. In the end it was a clear-cut unanimous decision for the Ukranian who now becomes the number two-ranked heavyweight in the world.
There were heavy contingents for both fighters last night as chants in both Polish and Ukranian could be heard ringing throughout the arena the entire fight. However, when it was all over, the pro Glazkov fans were the only ones to be heard rejoicing. Yet, much credit to the pro Adamek Polish crowd in attendance; they stayed and cheered their fighter all the way up until he left the ring. When asked in his post fight interview if he would consider retirement, Adamek said, "I don't know right now. I have to take some time off and think."
Now before the Polish and Ukranian fans were being heard, it was all Puerto Rico in the house as both Cruz and Cintron were not only fighting for national pride, but for eastern Pennsylvania bragging rights as well. Cintron, who is from Reading, PA, only a one-hour drive from Bethlehem had his own crowd of fans who made their way to The Christmas City. However Cruz, the hometown favorite who literally lives about 10 minutes from the ring he fought in, had the majority of Boricuas on his side. This was a big step up in class for Cruz, but right from the start he showed no signs of intimidation.
From speaking to him and his trainer Lemuel 'Indio' Rodriguez before the fight, their game plan was to pressure the former champion. Ronald was going to put his head in Cintron's chest all night and constantly pressure him with body shots and hooks to the head. It sounded like the perfect plan and to Cruz's credit, he executed it, as best he could. There were two problems though.
One problem was Cintron himself; to his credit, unlike in previous bouts, Cintron showed no emotion. He appeared calm throughout the entire fight and worked his way out of Cruz's pressure; well sort of. This is where the other problem for Cruz came in. At no fault of his own, he got stuck with the worst type of referee for the fight and plan he was trying to implement.
Veteran referee Gary Rosato worked the Cintron/Cruz fight and did his job fairly; however therein lies the problem. Every referee has their own style in working fights, Rosato's style is to be quick to jump in and break the clinch, while other's, like Steve Smoger for example, tend to let the fighters work themselves out of the clinch. Rosato's style was a detriment to Cruz all night as every time he worked his way inside Cintron's guard where he wanted to be, the referee would immediately separate them instead of letting them duke it out.
The pro Cruz crowd caught on to this by the third and fourth rounds and could clearly be heard voicing their displeasure with chants of "Let them fight" and "What are you doing" every time Rosato would step in to break the clinch. No excuses, just that the term "Styles make fights" was never more prevalent than in this case. A different style referee may have made the difference between Cruz losing a unanimous 96-94 decision across the board and possibly winning an extra round or two in the judge's eyes, thus changing the outcome.
In the end, both Cintron and Cruz remain contenders, only one is back at the top of the rankings, while the other remains on the outside looking in for now. Cintron was gracious in victory stating in his post fight interview, "Cruz is a tough fighter who would give anyone in the division problems. I told him to keep his head up and keep working because he has a lot of potential."
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