By Jake Donovan

It's the house that Tomasz Adamek built in terms of relevant boxing events at Prudential Center. The run began with his unforgettable 12-round war with Steve Cunningham in their Dec. '08 cruiserweight championship and continued throughout his reign and into his run as a heavyweight contender.

Fast forward nearly seven years later, where the same venue bore witness to a new Polish star in the cruiserweight division. His name is a bit tougher to spell and pronounce, but Krzysztof Glowacki gave the boxing world plenty of reason to brush up on its Polish in his most recent performance.

The unbeaten contender became a champion in highlight reel fashion, denying Marco Huck a piece of boxing history in the process. An off-the-canvas 11th round knockout Friday evening turned Glowacki into an overnight sensation in the latest installment of Premier Boxing Champions (PBC) on Spike TV.

Glowacki was down and nearly out early in round six, and trailing on all three scorecards through 10 rounds in a fight that served as the stateside debut for both fighters.  There was no shortage of action at any point, as each combatant sought to win over the crowd.

The belief going in was that Glowacki and his team would be able to tap into the large Polish contingent in the Northern New Jersey area that for years supported Tomasz Adamek through his cruiserweight and heavyweight runs. Huck had his fair share of supporters for his first fight abroad, as the Serbia-born, Germany-based cruiserweight champion was a win – or draw - away from a divisional record-breaking 14th successful title defense.

A win would have also allowed Huck to once again revisit another dream – capturing a major title in the heavyweight division. He came dangerously close to turning that trick in Feb. ’12, going tooth and nail with Alexander Povetkin in settling for a split decision loss.

It was just the second defeat of his career, with the only other o ccasion coming way back in 2007, suffering a 12th round knockout loss to Cunningham, who was also on Friday’s card in heavyweight action versus Antonio Tarver.

For eight years, the fight with Cunningham was Huck’s only loss at cruiserweight. Glowacki came in undefeated, not knowing what it’s like to taste defeat, but also not knowing what it was like to fight on the championship stage.                                         

The challenger saw it as advantageous in the pre-fight build-up. 

“Marco just said that he basically has won everything,” Glowacki (25-0, 16KOs). “I think this is my strength because he's got everything he wanted and I'm a more hungry a guy, a guy with bigger motivation versus the fighter who is basically achieved the maximum what he could achieve.

“So, motivation and being hungry and hungrier will be a number one (advantage).”

It didn’t play out that way from at least the sixth round onwards towards the championship rounds. Neither fighter really seemed to have a clear-cut edge, but Huck was able to provide breathing room in flooring Glowacki in the opening minute of round six.

Neither fighter had ever been on the canvas prior to that point. In addition to never having to contend with defeat or for a major title, a dazed Glowacki found himself dealing with a number of firsts at that moment. His hand clutching his head as if to squeeze out the fog and cobwebs, the visiting challenger made it to his feet just as referee David Fields was reaching the count of nine.

The ensuing sequence spoke to the true heart and character of a challenger who had momentarily appeared to be in way over his head. As Huck moved in for the kill, he was met with consecutive overhand lefts, a precursor of what would come later in the fight.

In between, Huck used the time to reestablish his presence as arguably the best cruiserweight on the planet. The only fighter who could challenge such a claim is reigning World lineal champion Yoan Pablo Hernandez, Huck’s former promotional stable mate during his time spent with former promoter Sauerland Event. An impressive enough stretch in the middle rounds helped Huck return to the lead on the scorecards and slowly towards the point of respectability he carried into the fight.

As the action shifted to round 11, Huck was up 96-93 on two cards and 95-94 on the third. With a three point lead and just two rounds to go, all the reigning champ had to do was cross the finish line in order to claim the divisional record for successful title defenses all to himself. Huck entered the fight with 13 defenses, tied with Johnny Nelson on the all-time list of cruiserweight titlists.

Less than three minutes later, he would also leave stuck on that number.

Glowacki – feeling the overwhelming support from his throng of fans on hand screaming “Glo-Wa-Ski” (how his name is pronounced) – turned a competitive round into a time capsule moment in his boxing life. Huck was having a heck of a round, but doubly paid the price by both dropping his hands and leaning back as Glowacki sought to respond.

The open target was met with an overhand left to put Huck on rubber legs, with Glowacki crashing home a right to put Huck on the deck for the first time in his illustrious career. He somehow managed to beat the count, a feat in and of itself especially with just 30 seconds to go in the round.

Glowacki didn’t want to find out of Huck was able to make it to the 12th. A barrage of punches left the defending titlistm with a final pair of left hands providing the icing on the cake. Huck was draped through the middle strand of the ropes when he was rescued by the referee at 2:39 of round eleven.

Even if Huck had made it to the 12th and final round, a three-point swing on the scorecards would have the fight very much on the table. Glowacki wasn’t concerned about taking a decision; it was knockout or bust at that point, and the 29-year old southpaw had long ago made up his mind.

“What I want is a hard fought battle and winning by KO in the final round. This is my dream.”

It might not have been the final round, but close enough for Glowacki’s dream to come true. Given where the career-best win took place, it was also a much needed win for that corner of the world long thriving for a major Polish star in Adamek’s absence.

Jake Donovan is the managing editor of krikya360.com. Twitter: @JakeNDaBox