Despite being born in Poland, Adam Kownacki calls Brooklyn his home and is excited to finally get headline a boxing card there.
After countless fights competing on the undercard of boxing shows at the Barclays Center through his climb up the heavyweight rankings, Kownacki finally gets his shot in the main event. Just days away from a showdown against Chris Arreola on FOX, Arreola told Fightful in a recent media call about his excitement getting to be on this big of a stage.
"I grew up there. I grew up in Brooklyn. So it's a great feeling being the headline and having all my friends, all my family, the whole community there and having my back and supporting me making something of myself. Growing up in Brooklyn, it's very tough but it's very rewarding. But yes, this is just the beginning. I feel this is the step in making something even bigger and greater," Kownacki said.
Heading to this fight against Arreola, Kownacki has always been viewed as a potential title contender that is perhaps a few fights from a title shot. Given how Kownacki is victorious in all 19 of his pro bouts with 15 of those wins coming inside the distance and is already highly ranked by multiple sanctioning bodies, a title shot could be coming soon.
But sometimes, that alone might not be enough and one way to entice a champion like WBC titleholder Deontay Wilder would be making a statement in his next fight. Wilder once faced Arreola years ago with Wilder stopping him after eight rounds. A win over Arreola in quicker fashion would be the type of statement that could reward him with a title shot sooner rather than later.
“I think [beating Arreola quicker can give me a title shot]. I know Chris isn’t going down easily. It took Wilder seven or eight rounds to beat him and I want to do it in half the time. [It will be] a big statement beating a tough guy like Chris Arreola,” Kownacki said.
Kownacki vs. Arreola will headline the August 2 PBC on FOX card from the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. Also on tab for the card is Marcus Browne vs. Jean Pascal for the interim WBA light heavyweight title and Curtis Stevens vs. Wale Omotoso.
