North Bergen’s Mariusz Wach came quite a long way on his journey to the Garden State; from Krakow, Poland to be exact. The 6’7 260 lb heavyweight sports a perfect 22-0 record with 10 KO’s and was a crowd favorite in his native country, where he racked up 15 victories. This still wasn’t enough to satisfy him.
Wach, whose surname is pronounced vahk, entered the United States in September 2010 with his sights set on becoming the first Polish heavyweight champion. Dubbed as the “Polish Giant”, Wach is working tirelessly at becoming a more complete fighter under the watchful eye of Paterson’s Aroz “Terrific” Gist at Global Boxing Gym. I had the opportunity to catch up with the soft spoken big man, who fights this Saturday at the Prudential Center in Newark vs Kevin Burnett.
Garden State Fight Scene: On Saturday you will be taking a fight against an experienced opponent in Kevin Burnett. What do you know about him?
Mariusz Wach: I know the basics about him such as his height and weight. I also know he has fought some good opponents.
GSFS: Have you seen any tapes?
MW: Yes I saw his fight with (Odlanier) Solis.
GSFS: You have had most of your fights in Poland however there is a large Polish community in North Jersey. Are you going to feel like you’re at home at the Prudential Center even though its more than 3,000 miles from Poland?
MW: Yes, I expect a lot of people to come to the fight because Polish people love boxing and sports in general.
GSFS: You’ve been boxing since 2005 and are closing in on becoming a contender. Do you think that a fight against a former world champion or contender type opponent will come in the near future?
MW: The most important thing right now is the fight against Burnett. After that, I will see what is next.
GSFS: Since moving to New Jersey from Poland you’ve been training at Global Boxing. A lot of guys come in and out of this gym to workout. Compare the training here to how it was in Poland.
MW: There are a lot of different boxers here so I have to train hard to prove how good I am. In Poland there were only a few different fighters to train with so (the training) wasn’t as hard. In Poland when you lose four fights it’s like the end of the road, but in the US, if you lose four fights against great opponent it's not that big of a deal.
GSFS: Describe your style and why fans should look forward to seeing you fight.
MW: I would say I have a style a bit like Klitschko. The jab is a very important part of my fighting.
GSFS: I’m sure that you are well aware that Tomasz Adamek is widely regarded as the best Polish heavyweight. Adamek fought Andrew Golota in Poland and it was a huge fight. If the two fought in Newark, it would have been big as well. Can you see yourself fighting Adamek or do you two have a friendship that would prevent that?
MW: If they made me an offer to fight Adamek, I would take it! This is business and this is boxing. I think Tomasz is going to fight (one of the) Klitschko’s soon, so why would he fight me?
GSFS: What can fans expect from you against Kevin Burnett?
MW: I am very confident about this fight and am going to give the fans a good show. I hope all my fans are there to watch the fight.
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