Two of boxing's most exciting fighters, former undisputed cruiserweight champion O'Neil Bell and former light heavyweight titleholder Tomasz Adamek, will hook up in a title elimination bout April 19 in Katowice, Poland, handlers for both fighters told ESPN.com on Tuesday.
Seminole Warriors Boxing, representing Atlanta-based Jamaican Bell, and Main Events, for Poland's Adamek, cut a deal Tuesday to avoid an IBF-ordered purse bid that had been scheduled for Tuesday but was pushed back on Monday to Feb. 15 because they were so close to an agreement.
The winner of Bell-Adamek will earn a mandatory shot at titlist Steve Cunningham, who, coincidentally, won his title in Katowice last spring in a rematch with Krzysztof Wlodarczyk, a Warriors fighter.
Bell (26-2-1, 24 KOs) claimed the undisputed championship of the 200-pound division when he unified the three major titles by knocking out Jean-Marc Mormeck in the 10th round Jan. 7, 2006 in New York. Besides Evander Holyfield, Bell is the only fighter to become undisputed cruiserweight champion in the division's 28-year history.
However, after defeating Mormeck, Bell didn't fight again until facing Mormeck in a rematch last March in his native France, where he lost a close decision in one of the most action-packed fights of 2007.
The bout with Adamek will be Bell's first since that defeat.
"I think it's a classic kind of fight," said Leon Margules of Warriors Boxing. "They're both terrific fighters and punchers, but I don't believe Adamek's power will affect O'Neil. Adamek is not as strong as Mormeck and O'Neil is the best puncher in the division. I think O'Neil will be too big and too strong, but you never know."
After two successful defenses of his light heavyweight belt, Adamek, 31, lost a decision to Chad Dawson last February. After the defeat, Adamek (33-1, 22 KOs) moved up to cruiserweight, where he has won two bouts in a row.
There is no scheduled American television coverage of the bout yet, but the promoters said they are talking to U.S. outlets and believe they will make a deal.