KRZYSZTOF Wlodarczyk is the new WBC Bridgerweight champion after stopping Polish compatriot Adam Balski in Kalisz. The emotional winner was in tears as he took the mic and spoke passionately to the assembled crowd just moments after rolling back the years.
Entering the ring to ACDC’s ‘Thunderstruck’, the Polish veteran came out firing heavy shots as herky-jerky Balski tried to feint and fiddle through the opening portion of the first round. Balski grew in confidence, letting rip with an overhand right to test Wlodarczyk’s timeless beard.
Boxing with the custom temporary back tattoo, Wlodarczyk upped the aggression in round two, releasing left jabs and right hands in bursts. Balski regained control in the third using greater activity to keep the older man guessing.
Referee Daniel Van de Wiele warned Balski for holding in the fourth. The local man did get a little ragged when put under pressure, resulting in his frenzied grabs.
Things heated up during a wild round five that saw Balski drop Wlodarczyk heavily with a left hook. A head clash left Wlodarczyk with a cut right eye, complaining about the heads, while Balski suffered a cut on the scalp. Heads were bumping and bopping again in the sixth.
Wlodarczyk was doing little clean work, using his time to rough things up on the inside, trying to land an uppercut. Balski’s work was cleaner. His face wasn’t though. Round eight saw blood dripping from his left eye as Wlodarczyk indulged in some extracurricular head and elbow work. His fists forced a breakthrough knockdown at the close of the round. This time it was Balski’s turn to be stunned and dropped by a left hook.
Balski staggered to the bell and came out for the ninth, switching stances to ride out the crisis storm. The clouds gathered once again in round 10 as Wlodarczyk found the same left hook once more just as the pair scrapped out of a clinch.
Balski was badly hurt and correctly stopped by the referee. The loser falls to 20-3 (12 KOs). Receiving a new lease of life at 43, ‘Diablo’ Krzysztof Wlodarczyk is now 66-4-1 (45 KOs).
