Krzysztof Glowacki drops Steve Cunningham four times to retain cruiserweight title

NEW YORK - It looks like boxing has another Polish action star.

Following in the footsteps of Tomasz Adamek, who delighted crowds in the New York area for years with his come-forward style, Krzysztof Glowacki is developing his own following, and with good reason.

The 29-year-old can fight, and possesses tremendous power, too.

The native of Walcz, Poland won the WBO cruiserweight title with an upset knockout of Marco Huck in August during one of the best fights of the year.

Glowacki (26-0, 16 KOs) successfully defended his belt for the first time Saturday - scores of 116-108, 115-109 and 115-109 - with a unanimous decision over former champion Steve Cunningham in a PBC on NBC show from Barclays Center in Brooklyn.

And Glowacki did it in impressive fashion with four knockdowns of the veteran fighter from Philadelphia in an entertaining, albeit one-sided, bout.

"The plan from the beginning was to hit him with the left hand and you could tell I was hitting with full power," said Glowacki, who was fighting for the first time since undergoing surgery to repair his left wrist. "I couldn't hit that hard against Marco Huck because of my injury and now I'm hoping to keep that power up in my next fight.

"Power and precision is my trademark. That's always been my game. I was a little bit reluctant because of the surgery but I got more comfortable as the fight went on."

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Glowacki, a southpaw, knocked Cunningham down twice in Round 2, both the result of clean counter overhand lefts. He elected to exchange rather than clinch and held his own.

And he was game and gutsy throughout. At 39 and with the wear and tear of many ring wars, Cunningham's best days are clearly behind him. But he never stopped coming forward in an attempt to get back in the fight.

He actually out-landed Glowacki - 124 to 117 - according to CompuBox, and also connected with greater accuracy, but there simply wasn't much sting on his shots.

Cunningham's last eight fights were at heavyweight, but after a draw with Antonio Tarver (due to be changed to a no contest after the latter tested positive for PEDs), he decided to return to cruiserweight, where he twice held championships.

Cunningham (28-8-1, 13 KOs) developed tremendous swelling above his right eye, the result of numerous left hands on the money. The ringside physician examined his eye before Round 7 and deemed him fit to continue.

But the hematoma grew like a beanstalk and became a clear hindrance as the fight wore on. Glowacki couldn't miss with the left hand and made Cunningham pay each time.

"There was a head butt in the third or fourth round that started the growth on my head," he said. "But I'm a warrior and a champion. That stuff doesn't bother me. If a missile hit me, I'd keep going."

U.S.S. came out like a ball of fire for Round 9 and caught Glowacki with a clean right over the top. Cunningham seemed to know he was down big on the cards and went for broke, but his punches had no effect on Glowacki.

Cunningham, who dropped lineal heavyweight champ Tyson Fury during a loss in 2013, was deposited to the canvas again in Round 10, this time the result of a short right hand.

Glowacki dropped him one final time in the 12th round to stamp an excellent performance and show the cruiserweight division that the upset over Huck was no fluke.

With the passionate Polish fan-base cheering him on, Glowacki should develop into an attraction in the New York area. His career is just starting to take off.

Cunningham, on the other end, should seriously consider retirement after a very good career.

"I feel good," he said. "I just don't want to be that champion that is getting used for a record builder. I'll talk with my team and figure out the next step."

(Photo: Glowacki is declared the winner at Barclays Center. Credit: Getty Images)