CUNNINGHAM vs. ADAMEK
NEWARK , N.J. —International Boxing Federation cruiserweight champion Steve “USS” Cunningham (21-1, 11 KOs) will meet Polish-born former world champion Tomasz Adamek (35-1, 24 KOs) at the Prudential Center in Newark , N.J. on Thursday, Dec. 11.
Tickets priced at $303, $153, $78, $53, $38 go on sale on Monday at 11 a.m. and can be purchased by calling TicketMaster at 201-507-8900.
The event, with full undercard, is being co-promoted by Main Events and Don King Productions.
A classic boxer-puncher, Cunningham will be making the second defense of his IBF 200-pound limit crown, which he won by defeating Krzystztof Wlodarczyk in Poland on May 26, 2007. Six months earlier, Cunningham suffered the sole loss of his career in a controversial split decision won by Wlodarczyk when the two squared off for the vacant IBF championship.
Cunningham also scored notable wins against former IBF cruiserweight champion Kelvin “Koncrete” Davis and Panamanian strongman Guillermo Jones, who recently took the World Boxing Association cruiserweight championship from Firat Arslan on Sept. 27.
Adamek burst upon the boxing scene in his first fight in America against Australian Paul “Hurricane” Briggs for the vacant World Boxing Council light heavyweight championship at the United Center in Chicago on May 21, 2005. Their 12-round slugfest, which Adamek won by majority decision, was one of the better fights of that year.
The inevitable rematch came the following year and rivaled the first match in its brutal intensity. Again, Adamek won by majority decision.
Adamek’s lone loss came against undefeated “Bad” Chad Dawson in Kissimmee , Fla. , on Feb. 3, 2007. The slick Dawson built a scorecard lead that Adamek came close to erasing when he landed his vaunted right-hand power shot and sent Dawson to the canvas in the 10th round. Dawson literally held on to Adamek to narrowly escape the round and survived to win the match by decision.
Adamek catapulted himself into position to face Cunningham by scoring an eighth round technical knockout on April 19 over O’Neil “Supernova” Bell, who in 2006 became the first undisputed cruiserweight world champion since Evander “The Real Deal” Holyfield held that distinction in 1988.
About Prudential Center
Prudential Center is the first new, state-of-the-art facility built in the New York/New Jersey metropolitan area in over 25 years. As home to the NHL’s New Jersey Devils, Seton Hall University men’s basketball and indoor soccer’s New Jersey Ironmen, Prudential Center serves as a cornerstone of New Jersey sports giving fans all over the state convenient access to their favorite teams. The venue sits three short blocks from Newark Penn Station and is accessible via seven major New Jersey highways making it easy to experience major music acts, sporting events and family shows in the state’s largest and fastest growing city.
About Main Events
Main Events was founded in 1978 by Kathy Duva's late husband Dan
Duva. In addition to the hundreds of world title bouts it has
promoted, Main Events has promoted some of the biggest PPV events in
history like “Showdown” the 1981 undisputed welterweight unification
bout between “Sugar” Ray Leonard and Thomas “The Hitman” Hearns;
“The Battle of the Ages” 1991 undisputed heavyweight championship
between Evander Holyfield and George Foreman; the “Miss Howard Stern
New Year's Eve” pageant, and the 2002 Lennox Lewis-Mike Tyson
heavyweight showdown which at the time set the record for the
highest grossing PPV event of all-time.
About Don King Productions
Don King Productions has promoted over 500 world championship fights with nearly 100 individual boxers having been paid $1 million or more. DKP also holds the distinction of having promoted or co-promoted seven of the 10 largest pay-per-view events in history, as gauged by total buys, including three of the top five: Holyfield vs. Tyson II, 1.99 million buys, June 1997; Tyson vs. Holyfield I, 1.6 million buys, November 1996; and Tyson vs. McNeeley, 1.58 million buys, August 1995.
DKP has promoted or co-promoted 12 of the top 20 highest-grossing live gates in the history of the state of Nevada including four of the top five: Holyfield vs. Lewis II, paid attendance: 17,078, gross: $16,860,300 (NOTE: Also second-highest live-gate gross for any event in the history of the world.), date: Nov. 13, 1999; Holyfield vs. Tyson II, paid attendance: 16,279, gross: $14,277,200, date: June 28, 1997; Holyfield vs. Tyson I, paid attendance: 16,103, gross: $14,150,700, date: Nov. 9, 1996; and Tyson vs. McNeeley, paid attendance: 16,113, gross: $13,965,600, date: Aug. 19, 1995.
CONTACTS: Donald Tremblay, Main Events (973) 200-7050 dtremblay@mainevents.com
Alan Hopper, Don King Productions (954) 418-5839 alandkp@hotmail.com
