Ringside in Kolobrzeg, Poland - Kotai, Rylik and Sosnowski win

By Stephen Noble

31.10.01 - An evening of explosive action in Kolobrzeg for the near capacity crowd in the Millenium Hall. A world title was at stake as local heroine Agnieszka Rylik put her world junior welterweight belt on the line. The rest of the card was of a similar quality, with Albert "The Dragon" Sosnowski looking to continue his successful comeback. The Hungarian Tornado, Mihaly "KO"tai was also in action, as were a number of rising stars from the Polish Boxing Promtion stable.

The evening began with a lightning knockout from Albert Rybacki. The super-middleweight bout, which was scheduled for four rounds, barely lasted a minute. "Kommandos" blasted out Hasa with perhaps the best punch thrown all night. A crashing overhand right dropped the visitor face first to the canvas, as if he had been hit by a hammer. Fortunately he was able to walk back to the changing rooms, although he was clearly still shaken. The second fight, almost as dramatic as the first, ended by technical knockout. Rimovsky, looked ready to rumble as he entered the ring. Ondricka his opponent looked a little apprehensive. Just how ready he was, Rimovsky demonstrated, when a truly savage body shot dropped his opponent to the canvas. Although in obvious pain, his opponent bravely took the count and even tried to fire back as the Hungarian bored in looking to finish it. Unfortunately Rimovsky was able to walk through Ondricka's punches and land yet more punshing shots to the ribcage. After dropping his opponent twice more in quick succession the fight was stopped on the three knockdown rule.

There was a good display of boxing skills in both the fights which actually went the distance. Mihaly Kotai, noted for his fearsome punching power, and boxing skill, was up against a relatively unknown opponent. Postigo, a Spaniard started his professional career late in life, at thirty three. Few gave him much hope of lasting, particularly as Kotai won his last fight inside the first round. Postigo weathered the early storm, and although he fought almost the entire fight on the defensive, showed great courage and a granite chin. He took some of Kotai's best shots, and as the fight wore on, even began to fire back a few of his own. He didn't win a single round, but he won himself some rousing applause from the crowd, who appreciated his showmanship. In one of the lower key bouts of the evening Viora a stylish southpaw won a clear points victory over his limited opponent. Varheygi was unable to come to terms with the Pole's left cross, which left it's mark on his face on numerous occassions. By the end of the bout Varheygi was clearly frustrated at his inability to land cleanly.

In one of the feature bouts of the evening Albert Sosnowski was looking to re-establish himself after the shock defeat to Cook in his challenge for the youth title. Albert looked desperate to get at his opponent, and established control of the fight from the opening bell. Working behind a jolting left jab he built a solid points lead. Magureanu from Roumania was akward, with a dangerous overhand right. His main tactic was to hurl this, and then try and tie Albert up. Sosnowski had clearly been working on his boxing skills and his footwork. He was able on several occassions to avoid the punch and open the Rumanian up by ripping uppercuts through his guard. By the third and fourth rounds the visitor was taking heavy punishment to both the head and body. He appeared to have cuts around both eyes, and a broken nose. His corner threw in the towel, but the referee really should have stepped in before then, as Sosnowski was hitting his oppnent pretty much at will. A limited opponent, but a dominating performance, particularly given Albert's youth. The Dragon is very definitely back, and he looked very pleased about it as he acknowledged the crowd at the end.

A world title fight is never a forgone conclusion. Lewis vs. Rahman proved, that regardless of the pre-fight predictions, anything can happen. Kada Omerovic, Agnieszka Rylik's Bosnian opponent, had a solid record, and came to fight. Omerovic did not appear to have any problem with fighting in Rylik's hometown. It was quickly apparent though, that she was going to have problems with Kolobrzeg's "Tyson in a skirt". Agnieszka was shorter and lighter than her opponent, but no-one would have realised this from the ringside. Her crouching style allowed her to move in under the long lead of her opponent. On the inside Agnieszka's lethal hook combinations were clearly hurting her opponent. The Bosnian had little option but to try and smother her opponent' rushes. At several points in the opening rounds, Agnieszka appeared to have her opponent in trouble on the ropes. Kada hung on grittly and the Pole was unable to land the decisive blow. Clearly in trouble, the Bosnian girl retired on her stool with an elbow injury unable to answer the bell for the fourth. In some ways an unsatisfactory ending for the crowd, who had looked for Agnieszka to knock her opponent out. A sensible decision from the Bosnian team though, who would only have sent their girl out to an unecessary beating.

Understandably the final bout, Krol's professional debut, was something of an anti-climax for the crowd. Against the experienced Flachbart, Krol was always going to have to produce a special performance. He was dropped for a count in the second, which was ultimately decisive. He was brave and showed some good skills, so his time will come. The night just belonged to someone else. Those people were Agnieszka Rylik and Albert Sosnowski.

All Photos: Polish Boxing Promotions

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