The undefeated streak continues for Adam Kownacki (20-0, 15 KOs) but it took him longer than he thought against Chris Arreola (38-6-1, 33 KOs).
The two heavyweights didn’t waste anytime the the first round bell rung and they went at it with power punches, hooks and combos. Round after round Kownacki was sneaking in uppercuts but 38-year old Arreola took them. Kownacki and Arreola both lost gas in the fifth and sixth round but even when Kownacki picked up energy in the last rounds, Arreola wouldn’t go down.
So much for Kownacki beating Arreola faster than Deontay Wilder who won in eight rounds.
The judges, Lou Moret, Kevin Morgan and Con Trella, gave the win to Kownacki with scorecards 118-110 and two cards for 117-111.
“I thought it was a good fight tough 12 rounds,” Kownacki said in the ring after the win.
Now, the next move for Kownacki is to be he first Poland heavyweight champion.
“I have a mission to be the first Polish born heavyweight champion of the world, and that’s my goal. You’ve got to stay humble because a lot of times you know it could drop you down back to earth real quick.”
This means the 30-year is looking to fight Deontay Wilder or the winner of the Andy Ruiz-Anthony Joshua rematch. He claims he will be the one to give Wilder his first loss.
Arreola left the ring with a smile and great sportsmanship. Is this the smile of retirement or joy for lasting more rounds than what people thought?
“I gave my all in this fight – just needs some time off and with my family. Thank my fans, hate or love me, thank you,” Arreola said.
Overall, a good fight and you can see the highlights on the next page.