Łukasz Różański is 37 years old, but only now is he facing a life opportunity. Late, because the resident of Rzeszów started boxing training relatively late, only as a 17-year-old. Soon after, at one of the amateur tournaments, he met the cult coach Marian Basiak. Iconic, because not only did Basiak learn the trade from the legendary Feliks “Papa” Stamm, but he also had the opportunity to train Andrzej Goot and Tomasz Adamek.
– I went to competitions without a trainer. Sometimes you just asked the local trainers to come to the corner with you. And that’s how I met coach Basiak. At that tournament, I managed to win three fights pretty smoothly, all of them ended with a knockout in the first or second round. I lost only in the final to Krzysztof Głowacki, who then weighed as much as 106 kg. After those fights, I started working with coach Basiak, which continues to this day – recalls Różański in Sport.pl.
Różański’s media springboard
Today, apart from the 82-year-old Basiak, Różański is also prepared by Krzysztof Przepióra, Artur Płonka and Bartek Bosak. The boxer from Rzeszów gained popularity when in 2017 he knocked out Albert “Dragon” Sosnowski, a former contender for the title of world champion. He also easily defeated Izu Ugonoh and Artur Szpilka. He knocked out the latter in the first round during the gala in Rzeszów in May 2021. It was a media springboard for Różański, who by nature seems to be a calm and composed player who does not shine in social media.
– The hall in Rzeszów was occupied by my fans, and there were probably five thousand of them. I still get goosebumps when I remember entering the ring and the uproar in the stands. The fight with Szpilka lasted so short that I don’t even remember if I heard cheering in the ring, but before and after the fight? Definitely. Now there will also be fire in the stands – smiles Rozanski, who in March will fight with Alen Babic (11-0) for the belt of the world champion in the recently created Bridger category (up to 101.6 kg). It’s not a very prestigious division, but a belt is a belt.
If he wins, he will become the first Polish world champion since 2016, when Krzysztof Głowacki lost the belt in a clash with Oleksandr Usyk. And here you can open brackets, because according to Różański, the Ukrainian is the best boxer in the world.
Originally, the Pole was supposed to fight in August 2022 with Oscar Rivas, but the Colombian gala at the stadium in Cali was canceled when it turned out that the announced star of the evening, Jennifer Lopez, who was to play a concert, would not be present at the event. However, the star went on a honeymoon in the summer.
There’s no arguing with a star like that. What does she care that some Rozanski trained hard for many months? And imagine that I have been training since November 2021, because initially I was supposed to have a fight in March – Różański was nervous then.
Today it is known that the gala will take place, but his rival will be Babić, because Rivas first refused to fight, and later suffered an eye injury.
– Rivas seems to be a better technical and definitely more experienced fighter, but at the same time he is more damaged by ring wars. Babić, on the other hand, has his best years ahead of him. The Croatian is a real drummer who lacks neither character nor fuel in the tank. Anyway, he showed it in the last fight with Adam Balski, where they beat each other for 10 rounds. I haven’t talked to Adas yet, but I’ll probably call and ask about his impression from the ring perspective, says the Polish boxer to Sport.pl.
For now, it is not known when the fight between Babić and Różański will take place. Most likely March 18 or a week later. A second date would be better, because the previous weekend is very tight. On March 17, the KSW gala will take place, and on March 18, the freak High League and UFC gala in London. And although these are MMA events, some combat sports fans will choose those events.
And since we’re talking about freaks, it’s worth adding that more and more often real athletes appear at these galas. In the cage, we have already watched the Olympic medalist Damian Janikowski or Szpilka, and on Friday Kamil Łaszczyk (32-0) will make his debut in FAME MMA.
– I heard that Kamil is fighting with some “Ferrari”. The only Ferrari I know is the make of the car. I’m not interested in this world, but I understand that Kamil goes there for big money – says the 37-year-old.
– Will you ever fight at a freak gala? – we ask.
– Never say never. Maybe after my boxing career, when I’m retired from sports? To be completely honest, today there is no such topic at all. I have my boxing dreams and I want to fulfill them – Rozanski replies.
Rozanski dreams of fighting at Madison Square Garden
Różański’s dream is to win the championship belt, but he also has a second one. And that is the struggle in the United States. He would like to fight in the famous Madison Square Garden hall, which he remembers not only from great boxing galas, but also from NBA matches that he watched as a child. But to get there, he would probably have to go back to heavyweight, which is the most media division.
Różański fought 14 fights and won all of them, including 13 by knockout. Fans are happy to watch his fights, because the Rzeszów native presents an offensive style and likes to engage in open exchanges. And we have to keep our fingers crossed that Babić will find out about the strength of Różański’s fist in March.
Source: Sport.PL
Tristin is an accomplished author and journalist, known for his in-depth and engaging writing on sports. He currently works as a writer at 247 News Agency, where he has established himself as a respected voice in the sports industry.
