Tomasz Adamek: 'I'm 36, but I'm still learning'

Tomasz Adamek is set to return on August 3 against Tony Grano, and says that he's still got plenty left after a rocky 2012.

Tomasz Adamek will make his 2013 debut on August 3, when he returns to the NBC Sports Network for a main event fight against heavyweight club fighter Tony Grano.

It's not exactly what was expected of Adamek, who competed in and then withdrew from an IBF mini-tournament that was to lead to a shot at Wladimir Klitschko. Adamek's controversial decision win in December over Steve Cunningham was to lead to a final eliminator fight with Kubrat Pulev. Adamek passed on that fight, saying that he had a big opportunity in Poland for far more money.

That, of course, has not panned out. Instead, he's fighting Tony Grano (20-3-1, 16 KO) in Uncasville, Connecticut. Grano is coming off of a loss to Eric Molina.

Adamek (48-2, 29 KO) says he's "still learning," and trainer Roger Bloodworth hopes that time off will help the fighter:

"I'm still learning. I'm 36, but I'm still learning. My talent is not yet at 100 percent," said Adamek. "But after that last fight, I have rested a few months and I've worked on my technique. I'm in better shape. I'm ready for this comeback."

"We had four rough fights last year, and Tomasz looked a little tired in that [second] fight [with Cunninigham.] I think that it was good for him to take a little break," said Bloodworth. "Sometimes, it's just good for a guy to get out of the gym and to get away from it for a while. But we haven't been idle. We've worked on distance, defense and combinations and some other skills."

Adamek also had major problems with Eddie Chambers last year, though Chambers fought the bout with one hand, basically, and had a bit of a scare with Travis Walker, too. Even Nagy Aguilera put up a better fight than one might like to see.

Does Adamek really have much left as a serious contender at heavyweight, or has his window closed?

source Bad Lef Hook