Photos: Eric Molina Drills, Retires Tomasz Adamek HUGE Gallery

By Alexey Sukachev, photos by bokser.org

Krakow, Poland - Former light heavyweight and cruiserweight world champion Tomasz "Goral" Adamek (50-5, 30 KOs) announced his retirement after getting knocked out by heavyweight contender Eric "Drummer Boy" Molina (24-3, 18 KOs) at the Krakow Arena, with the IBF Intercontinental heavyweight title at stake.

Adamek was caught with a huge right hand in the closing seconds of the tenth round (like a second before the bell) and went down very hard. He was unable to beat the count and the fight was waved off.

The long journey of Adamek, arguably the greatest Polish prizefighter in history, would have easily defeated a fighter like Molina a few years ago.

Adamek, 39-years-old, is far beyond the prime of his career. He's had dozens of hard battles inside the ring and there was also a lot of ring rust tonight. Adamek was last seen in the ring in September of 2015 with an irrelevant stoppage win over fellow veteran Przemyslaw Saleta, which came after a disastrous 2014 (two losses to Vyacheslav Glazkov and Artur Szpilka). Molina, 33-years-old, was coming off a solid effort and a hard loss to Deontay Wilder in June 2015 for the WBC heavyweight title.

Nevertheless, the Pole was better in the first with his potent left jab. Molina wasn't doing much, but waiting for his chance. It came in the second round when the American (with Mexican roots) countered Adamek with a hard right hand, visibly shaking him. Adamek came back to his business in the third and looked superior to Molina for nearly the entire fourth round - but Molina shook him up again with big right hands at the end of the stanza.

Molina tried to be more aggressive in the fifth but it turned out that he shouldn't have, as his activity was lost thanks to Adamek's footwork and elusiveness. The American had a very successful sixth round, forcing Adamek to exchange blows but in the seventh the Pole did much better by showing guts and courage against the bigger man. However, in the eighth round Molina started to take over his fatigued opponent. Adamek stood his ground, and both combatants produced a memorable ninth round, when Adamek, clearly shaken, engaged into a war with the American and had the upper hand.

In the tenth, Molina chose to wait and look for his puncher's chance instead of boxing against an opponent with superior skills. Molina secured his moment with a perfectly timed right hand - which connected a second before the bell. And down Adamek went - this time for the count of ten.

ON THE UNDERCARD

Rising Polish cruiserweight Michal Cieslak (12-0, 8 KOs) added another sound name to his resume. The 26-year old fighter of Radom, Poland, stopped faded former two-time world-title challenger Francisco Palacios (23-4, 14 KOs) in four rounds.

Cieslak forced Palacios. 39, to feel his power in round one but the Puerto Rican remained dangerous till the end of the third, using his experience to smother Cieslak's attacks. Still, Palacios was being hit at will and looked like a victim. And a victim he was, which was proven in the fourth when he was dropped down hard after landing a left jab of his own by a powerful right hook of the Pole. Palacious barely beat the count but was soon tagged a couple more times, prompting the referee to wave it off.

In a battle of two Polish heavyweights, former world title challenger Andrzej Wawrzyk (32-1, 18 KOs) scored his best win since a crushing loss to Alexander Povetkin in May 2013 - against 38-year old veteran Marcin Rekowski. Wawrzyk was 4-0, 4 KOs, after that but either against extremely faded celebrities (Frans Botha and Danny Williams) or against nonames. Marcin Rekowski (17-3, 14 KOs) was still dominated in the fight that ended in round seven.

Wawrzyk, 28, dropped Rekowski in the first and continued to look dominant after that. Rekowski was trying his best but Wawrzyk proved his skills were superior to those of Rekowski. Wawrzyk used solid jab to redden Marcin's face, then added power shots to underline his advantage. Rekowski tried to be aggressive after a mid-point and paid a price in the sixth, when he was down after a cracking counter left. He was still shaky at the beginning of the seventh, and Wawrzyk used it, landing several bombs, including a left hand which put Rekowski on a queer street - a point, which triggered a stoppage by referee Leszek Jankowiak.

Long-time cruiserweight contender Mateusz Masternak (37-4, 26 KOs) came back into a winning column with a solid win over American import Eric Fields (24-4, 16 KOs) in a scheduled ten-rounder.

Not a walk in the park but still easy work for the WBC #10, IBF #14 and WBO #14 rated Polish cruiserweight. Masternak, 28, was fighting an opponent, who hasn't been seen in the ring for two years since his latest defeat to Yunier Dorticos. Masternak was off to a bit shaky start, while the American was still dangerous. Masternak, however, was in full control of the fight, using his jab to keep Fields at bay, while risking less than he should against a faded opponent. Still, Masternak was considerably better in almost every round, except of a brief span in the seventh stanza.

After ten one-sided rounds, Masternak was awarded a win with almost identical scores: 100-90, 100-90 and 99-91.

Having waited for it for four lengthy months, once-defeated Polish prospect Michal Syrowatka avenged his December stoppage loss to veteran Rafa Jackiewicz, outpointing him unanimously over ten close rounds in the opener of a huge night of boxing at the Tauron Arena in Krakow, Poland.

After a cautious start, Jackiewicz started to deliver heat to Syrowatka in round tow but the latter was prepared this time, smothering punches, ducking some of them and taking more on his arms. Jackiewicz, 39, looked solid during the first minute of every round till the mid-point but faded to the end of the round. In the third, Syrowatka, 28, relaxed and started to fight loosely. The veteran boxer did better in the fourth. In the fifth, Syrowatka landed a solid body punch to momentarily rock Jackiewicz, then opened a cut over his left eyebrow.

Jackiewicz did his best to find a spot for a knockout punch after the mid-point but his younger opponent was fresher and faster, avoiding any serious danger. "I cannot cath him", complaint the veteran boxer after the eighth. And his inability to tag Syrowatka was even bolder during the closing round. Final scores were: 96-94, 96-94, and 98-93 - all for Syrowatka (14-1, 4 KOs). Former European champion and world title challenger Jackiewicz slides down to 48-15-2, 22 KOs.