The Barclays Center was packed on March 7, 2020 as Adam Kownacki hoped to extend his unbeaten streak to 21 fights. Despite Kownacki being a heavy favorite heading into the fight, Robert Helenius has other plans. After falling behind in the early goings of the fight, Helenius managed to rally and stop Kownacki in the fourth round. More than a year later, the two men shared the ring yet again in Las Vegas, Nevada. This time around, the result was the same and more decisive. Helenius battered Kownacki for five rounds until the fight was stopped in the sixth round. Following his second consecutive loss, the former heavyweight contender went back to the drawing board and set up a fight with Ali Eren Demirezen.
“I have to win this fight,” Kownacki told Bad Left Hook heading into his fight with Demirezen.
“If I don’t then, sh*t, there ain’t going to be many big options for me left in the sport. I’ll have to do some real heavy thinking about my career.”
Unfortunately, things didn’t go as planned for the heavyweight contender. While he was much more competitive against Demirezen than he had been against Helenius, the end result was similar. Demirezen landed 53 more power punches than Kownacki from the second round on and earned a close, yet unanimous decision.
“I truly love fighting in the U.S. and I love New York so I said before you will see me more on SHOWTIME and PBC,” Demirezen said.
As for Kownacki, this may be the last time we see him fight on Showtime. After the fight, he said that he would discuss his future plans with his family.
“I have two kids, I’ll have a long talk with my wife to see what I want to do. I’ve had so many fights here, so many great memories,” Kownacki said.
“I don’t want to go out like a loser. I would like another fight to leave my fans with a win.”
What a fight ?
Ali Eren Demirezen picks up a huge UD win over Kownacki ?#KownackiDemirezen #GarciaBenavidez pic.twitter.com/XhqkzX5aau
— SHOWTIME Boxing (@ShowtimeBoxing) July 31, 2022
