Adama Trainer Joseph Awinongya Interview: How Patrick Majewski Can Beat Curtis Stevens
By Robert Brizel, Head RCM Boxing Correspondent
In an international Real Combat Media interview exclusive, Joseph Awinongya, the trainer of world ranked middleweight Osumanu Adama of Ghana who will fight Gennady ‘GGG’ Golovkin for the World Boxing Association World Middleweight title in February 2013 in Monte Carlo, Monaco, explained his game plan for how middleweight Patrick Majewski can beat Curtis Stevens in their upcoming ten round matchup in Atlantic City later this month.
On Friday evening, January 24, 2013, at Resorts Atlantic City, New Jersey, on the USA NBC Sports network, world ranked middleweight Patrick ‘The Machine’ Majewski, a Polish fighter now out of Atlantic City, New Jersey, will fight the opportunity fight of a lifetime against contender Curtis ‘Showtime’ Stevens. Majewski, who stands six feet tall to Stevens 5’7″, will also enjoy considerable reach advantage. How well Majewski converts on his height, reach, and his experience fighting in his adopted hometown of Atlantic City as advantages will depend on how well Majewski executes his game plan, and how well Majewski can follow corner directions from his trainer Arnold Robbins.
Majewski, age 34, 21-2 with 13 knockouts, Atlantic City, New Jersey by way of Radom, Poland, is in a career crossroads bout against Stevens, age 28, now 25-4 with 18 knockouts, Brownsville, New York. Majewski is coming off a 12 round decision loss to 20-0 Patrick Nielsen in Frederikshavn, Denmark in September 2012. Stevens is coming off a failed WBA world middleweight title challenge against 28-0 Gennady ‘GGG’ Golovkin in November 2012 at Madison Square Garden in New York City, a bout in which Stevens was down in the second round. Stevens only has a 60% win ratio in bouts which have gone eight rounds or longer. Majewski has won five of the six bouts he has fought which have gone eight rounds or longer, an 83% win ratio. Stevens lost a point for low blows and was stopped in the eighth round in a 2007 WBC regional title bout thanks to being outboxed by off beaten journeyman Marcos Primera, a Venezuelan fighter who has then lost his last 13 consecutive bouts since beating Stevens.
Real Combat Media: “What’s the biggest thing Patrick Majewski has to do the Curtis Stevens camp won’t expect?”
Adama Trainer Joseph Awinongya: “They won’t expect Patrick Majewski to be in charge of the fight! If Patrick goes in and takes charge of the fight, the Stevens camp gonna be shocked. Patrick has to follow up with that (approach). He doesn’t have to run away from Stevens. Patrick has to use a game plan, and take charge. Everything he does has to work on in the gym, and do it over and over and over again. Majewski has to be strong, physically strong. In Curtis Stevens’ last fight, Gennady Golovkin won because he was physically stronger than Stevens.”
Real Combat Media: “Why do you think the Curtis Stevens camp turned around and took this fight so fast after the Golovkin loss?”
Adama Trainer Joseph Awinongya: “The Stevens camp thinks Patrick Majewski’s punches are not effective, and Curtis can walk to him inside anytime they want to.”
Real Combat Media: “Patrick Majewski is a good inside and outside fighter.”
Adama Trainer Joseph Awinongya: “Seemingly, this is a good fight for the Stevens camp, because they feel like when they watch footage of Majewski, they feel you can walk to Majewski and punch him when you want to. Stevens is not afraid of this guy, because he believes Majewski doesn’t have any punches which can match Stevens’ power punching.”
Real Combat Media: “What can Patrick Majewski do to shake up the Stevens game plan?”
Adama Trainer Joseph Awinongya: “Patrick needs to surprise them. Patrick needs to do strength and conditioning work superior to Stevens. Not the boxing so much-Patrick can box. Patrick needs to do strength training. This will get his body and legs strong! Patrick’s power punching ability will increase, superior strength and conditioning work will get everything (every part of Patrick’s body more) solid.”
Real Combat Media: “Does Majewski have to fight Stevens on the inside?”
Adama Trainer Joseph Awinongya: “Majewski doesn’t have to run from Stevens, he has to have arms distance. If Patrick runs away from Stevens, then Stevens will have an easy fight as Patrick is gonna get tired.”
Real Combat Media: “Does Patrick have to do damage on the outside with power shots?”
Adama Trainer Joseph Awinongya: “When you are punching at the level of punch, the level of where you throw your hands, if your hands are outside you can reach the target and do damage. You don’t have to run away from Stevens, you have to have that level of punches to create all of the damage.”
Real Combat Media: “What is the best defense against Curtis Stevens?”
Adama Trainer Joseph Awinongya: “Make sure Curtis Stevens doesn’t get inside. With every punch he throws, Patrick Majewski has to turn him around.”
Real Combat Media: “How can Patrick Majewski disrupt the Curtis Stevens game plan?”
Adama Trainer Joseph Awinongya: “Majewski has to keep turning Stevens around. Every time Stevens comes in, if he steps one step in, Patrick has to step one step back. If Stevens steps two steps forward, Patrick has to turn Stevens around.”
Real Combat Media: “What’s the best game plan for trainer Arnold Robbins to use for Patrick Majewski to win?”
Adama Trainer Joseph Awinongya: “The best game plan is for Patrick Majewski to let Curtis Stevens know he’s been beaten. Majewski has to take charge of the ring right away like Gennady Golovkin did. That will set Stevens back. Like some fighters who don’t have the mindset, Stevens will go back to the mindset of his last fight with Golovkin. Patrick’s gonna make him confused.”
Real Combat Media: “Majewski is a late round fighter who likes to go into rounds nine and ten.”
Adama Trainer Joseph Awinongya: “Yes, but Patrick must take charge of Curtis Stevens from the very beginning.”
Real Combat Media: How dangerous an opponent is middleweight Curtis Stevens?”
Adama Trainer Joseph Awinongya: “Curtis Stevens is a dangerous fighter from the first round to the last round with his power punching. He can take you out at any time. If Stevens lands, you gonna go down.”
Real Combat Media: “How can Majewski best pace himself against Stevens?”
Adama Trainer Joseph Awinongya: “Majewski versus Stevens. This fight goes on strength strength strength……..Patrick has to show Curtis that he’s in charge of the fight! If Patrick does the work and has the correct mindset, everything will go Patrick’s way.”
Real Combat Media: “Is if possible to cut of the ring on Curtis Stevens?”
Adama Trainer Joseph Awinongya: “One thing Patrick Majewski has to be careful of. Stevens is going to set a vicious trap for Majewski. Stevens is gonna try to make Patrick come to him and set him up. Stevens’ game plan is gonna be to make sure Majewski can come to him. Stevens is then gonna step back and catch Patrick with the left hook.”
Real Combat Media: “How can Patrick Majewski make Curtis Stevens come to him?”
Adama Trainer Joseph Awinongya: “Patrick has long arms, far longer than Stevenson. Patrick has to jab Stevens and fight him from the outside, where Stevens will become very frustrated.”
Real Combat Media: “Will that frustration force Stevens to charge inside?”
Adama Trainer Joseph Awinongya: “Yes. If Curtis Stevens come forward and starts jumping inside on Majewski, Stevens is gonna get hit.”
Real Combat Media: “How dangerous a fight is this for Patrick Majewski?”
Adama Trainer Joseph Awinongya: “Curtis Stevens is a dangerous fight for Patrick Majewski. He has to know that. Patrick has to have his game plan. Patrick has time for strength and conditioning. Patrick has time to do the work he needs to do to win.”
Real Combat Media: “One flaw cost Patrick Majewski a win in the past. It was caused by overtraining, by Majewski’s own admission, before his 2011 bout with Jose Miguel Torres.”
Adama Trainer Joseph Awinongya: “I don’t believe in overtraining. It is the confidence a fight acquires from a proper traiing regimen which makes him fight. The trainer has to talk to the fighter and tell him to just rest when the training day is done. Some fighters feel they have to train more, because they feel they have not trained enough. Majewski has to listen to his corner.”
Real Combat Media: “Arnold Robbins is a good trainer, but his welterweight fighter Shamone Alvarez lost to Doel Carrasquillo because Alvarez kept slugging it out with Doel, standing in front of him and got nailed. Alvarez did not listen to Arnold Robbins or his other cornerman Bill Johnson (father trainer of the late IBF World Lightweight Champion Leavander Johnson). Joseph, you trained Osumanu Adama in his last fight against the very same Doel Carrasquillo. Did Adama listen?”
Adama Trainer Joseph Awinongya: “Adama listened. I told him to stay from Carrasquillo, and (eventually) Carrasquillo got tired and more frustrated. We stopped him. Arnold Robbins told the same thing to Shamone Alvarez, but Alvarez didn’t listen, that was the problem. Sometimes some things the coaches want a fighter to do, they have to do it in training a lot. The same game you have to work with a lot of times all over again. Then if you have to, you can change it. It’s like a car. You can go fast, slow it down, or change it if you want to.”
Real Combat Media: “Majewski had a problem when he did not have his regular cut man in his 2012 main event bout against Latif Mundy at Resorts in Atlantic City, and Patrick had to fight his way through the blood from a nasty gash over his left eyes for ten rounds.”
Adama Trainer Joseph Awinongya: “I think Majewski’s fight with Curtis Stevens will not reach that level because Majewski is a much taller fighter than Stevens. Patrick can beat Curtis Stevens, (but to do so) he’s got to jab him from distance.”
Real Combat Media: “Can Stevens be knocked out?”
Adama Trainer Joseph Awinongya: “Yes.”
Real Combat Media: Would Curtis Stevens have to be careless to get knocked out?”
Adama Trainer Joseph Awinongya: “Stevens likes to cover his face with both of his gloves. Patrick Majewski has to punch through Stevens’ gloves when he covers his face. Or just punch at the gloves, and keep punching, and he’ll get a charge, he’ll drop his gloves.”
Real Combat Media: “Is there anything else Patrick Majewski can do to beat Curtis Stevens?”
Adama Trainer Joseph Awinongya: “Just don’t go inside. Stay away from Stevens.”
Real Combat Media: “Can Patrick Majewski beat Curtis Stevens on points?”
Adama Trainer Joseph Awinongya: “It will be difficult to beat Curtis Stevens on points. Stevens can take a punch. Without proper conditioning, Patrick can’t take a punch like that. To win over Stevens, Patrick has to let his hands go more, including the power punching, and he’s gonna win the fight. Strength training………Patrick needs that. It will give him increased hand speed, and the power to knock Stevens out. Patrick has to use his hand reach and keep Stevens arm’s distance away from him, and keep Stevens away with his arm reach every time Stevens comes in. Patrick needs to work on strength and conditioning so he can keep Stevens way from him. Patrick’s got to turn Stevens around. When he does this, Stevens is gonna miss with his punches. Every baby step Stevens takes (forward), Patrick’s gotta do the same (backward). Before Curtis Stevens figures out what to do, the fight will be over. With proper training and conditioning, the proper mindset and the correct game plan, Patrick Majewski’s gonna win.”
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