ADAM KOWNACKI VS. ROBERT HELENIUS MEDIA WORKOUT QUOTES
BROOKLYN (March 4, 2020) – Undefeated Polish star and Brooklyn native Adam Kownacki and Robert Helenius took part in a fight week media workout Wednesday before they meet in a WBA Heavyweight title eliminator headlining FOX PBC Fight Night and on FOX Deportes this Saturday, March 7 from Barclays Center, the home of BROOKLYN BOXING™.
Also participating in the workout were heavyweight sensation Efe Ajagba and Razvan Cojanu, who battle in the co-main event, plus rising heavyweight Frank Sanchez, who takes on Joey Dawejko to open the night of heavyweight action at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT.
Tickets for the event, which is promoted by TGB Promotions, are on sale now and can be purchased at Ticketmaster.com and barclayscenter.com. Tickets are also available for purchase now at the American Express Box Office at Barclays Center.
Here is what the fighters had to say Wednesday from world famous Gleason’s Gym in Brooklyn:
ADAM KOWNACKI
“It’s been a hard camp and we’ve been doing extra strength and conditioning to make sure I’m ready. We also worked hard on our skills like we always do. It’s all going to add up to a great fight on Saturday.
“It’s great to be headlining on FOX. We’ve done a lot of promotion and I love doing interviews with the media. I definitely want to make the most of being on this stage.
“Right now I’m just focused on Robert Helenius. It’s going to be a tough test and a tall test. I have to be ready to exact my game plan and pass the test.
“His jab is the main thing I’m focused on. If I can get past his jab, I think I’m going to have a lot of success. When I get inside, I’m going to punish him and If I get the chance, I’ll be ready to end the fight.
“I want to fight the best. My team will talk about what’s next for me and what kind of step up I can get. Right now I’m just focused on March 7 and what’s going to be in front of me.
“The support here in Brooklyn keeps getting bigger and I love it. It shows that if you’re a kid from Brooklyn, you can make your dreams come true. Hard work is all it takes.
“Of course there’s pressure on me fighting at home. But if you want to be great, you have to perform in those situations. It’s going to keep getting bigger and bigger and I’m going to keep putting the work in get better and better.”
ROBERT HELENIUS
“I’m going to stick and move and show off my boxing skills. We’ve been training to take advantage of the flaws in his defense and if the opportunity comes for the knockout, we’ll take it. We’ve trained hard to make sure I have the stamina to take advantage even if it’s the final round.
“Adam had a tough fight with Chris Arreola and he’s getting getting more and more experience. He’s a hungry fighter and I think that’s going to make it a great fight for the fans.
“I have a lot of experience in the pros and amateurs from 20 years of being in the sport. I’ve spent a lot of time in the gym and in the ring and it’s going to help me on Saturday.
“I can’t let him get too close to me. I’m going to try to control the distance. I’ve done everything I needed to in training so that I’m at my best on Saturday.
“I’m only focused on this fight against Kownacki. I’ve made the mistake of looking ahead to future fights and overlooking an opponent. That’s an easy way to lose. I’m not going down that road.
“The jab will be my biggest weapon. I have to use it to setup the hard right behind it. I’ve had so many rounds in sparring working on everything, I don’t even know how many rounds it is.
“Every heavyweight hits hard, but I think that Adam is more about volume. I have to be ready for the knockout punch, but he’s more focused on breaking down an opponent and overwhelming them with punches.”
EFE AJAGBA
“I’m very excited for this opportunity to be here for this fight. This is another big opportunity for me on Saturday night. I’ve watched the mistakes of my last fight and I worked hard to get better for Saturday night.
“Every fight is good experience for me. I wasn’t happy with my performance in my last fight. I want to deliver the best that I can every time I fight.
“Ronnie Shields is the best in the game. Sometimes I forget to follow the game plan but he’s good at getting my attention and making sure I get back on track. He knows what I have to do to win each fight.
“My head movement and footwork are the big things I’ve focused on since my last fight. I know I have to put them together to be as good as I can defensively. I also need to make sure I’m throwing combinations, instead of just one punch at a time.”
RAZVAN COJANU
“It’s been a long journey for me training the last six or seven weeks for this fight. I sparred in camp with Charles Martin and with Frank Sanchez and it’s been great. I couldn’t ask to be in better shape than I am right now.
“This is heavyweight boxing, so nobody is invincible. People talk like Efe like he’s supernatural, but I saw his last six or seven fights, he’s a strong fighter, but I think that I’m going to give my best performance Saturday night.
“I really sacrificed myself in this training camp and for this fight. I’m 100 percent mentally focused and I’m going to be 100 percent ready on fight night.
“My experience should help me on fight night. I’ve been unlucky in some of my past fights, because I had almost no training camp before fighting. Right now I’ve had a great camp and I have an important fight in front of me.
“My night is coming this Saturday night. I believe it’s all come together toward this moment. Boxing is not easy, we suffer in training camp. I did everything necessary to have my best camp and have my best fight against Ajagba.”
FRANK SANCHEZ
“We’ve done amazing work in camp with Eddy Reynoso and his team. It’s been fantastic. They welcomed me with open arms and have taught me a lot already.
“I’ve watched Dawejko fight and seen what he likes to do in the ring. The only thing I can say for sure is that he doesn’t have the conditioning that I have.
“This is another step in my career onto bigger things. I need to look sharp and I plan on taking the work from training camp and putting it into my performance.
“I feel like I’m ready for a world title fight right now. I can’t look past this fight though. This is a big platform for me and I know that I have to take care of business.”
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ABOUT KOWNACKI VS. HELENIUS
Kownacki vs. Helenius will see undefeated Polish star and Brooklyn native Adam Kownacki look to thrill his hometown crowd when he takes on Robert Heleniusin a 12-round WBA Heavyweight Title eliminator in the main event of FOX PBC Fight Night and on FOX Deportes Saturday, March 7 from Barclays Center, the home of BROOKLYN BOXING™.
FOX PBC Fight Night begins at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT and features undefeated heavyweight sensation Efe Ajagba facing former title challenger Razvan Cojanu in the 10-round co-main event and rising heavyweight Frank Sánchez stepping in to face Philadelphia’s Joey Dawejko in the 10-round televised opener.
Viewers can live stream the PBC shows on the FOX Sports and FOX NOW apps or at FOXSports.com. In addition, all programs are available on FOX Sports on SiriusXM channel 83 on satellite radios and on the SiriusXM app.
For more information: visit www.premierboxingchampions.com, http://www.foxsports.com/presspass/homepage and www.foxdeportes.com, follow on Twitter @PremierBoxing, @PBConFOX, @FOXSports, @FOXDeportes, @BrooklynBoxing, @TGBPromotions, and @Swanson_Comm or become a fan on Facebook at www.Facebook.com/PremierBoxingChampions, www.facebook.com/foxsports and www.facebook.com/foxdeportes.
