• With Alabama big man Deontay Wilder's seventh-round stoppage loss to British-Irish heavyweight Tyson Fury, questions were raised over whether the days of the great American heavyweight are no more.
• But after speaking to the Polish-American heavyweight Adam Kownacki and renowned American trainer Joe Goossen, Insider has been told that it may be too early to say for sure.
• Kownacki competes against a European fighter called Robert Helenius this Saturday on a FOX Sports show.
• Victory this weekend could see Kownacki contend for the WBA heavyweight championship, which is currently held by Britain's popular pugilist, Anthony Joshua.
• Between Kownacki's rise and Wilder's potential return, America could still be in a good place when it comes to the world's best big men.
• Visit Insider's homepage for more stories.

It's way too soon to say the days of the great American heavyweight boxer are over.

That's the opinion of Brooklyn bruiser Adam Kownacki, who fights in his city's Barclays Center against Robert Helenius on Saturday, March 7.

Kownacki is Insider's No.8 ranked heavyweight in the world, and victory this weekend edges him closer to a mandated shot at the division's unified champion Anthony Joshua, a Brit.

America does not currently have a world heavyweight champion. However, the United States has been responsible for building many of boxing's most beloved big men — from Jack Johnson, Joe Louis, and Muhammad Ali, through to George Foreman, Mike Tyson, and Evander Holyfield.

It is Europe, though, which has risen in recent decades, producing the world's top tier heavyweights.

Great British fighter Lennox Lewis ruled for much of the 1990s. And while Ukrainian brothers Wladimir Klitschko and Vitali had the world championship titles on lock for many years from the start of the new millennium, those belts now belong to Tyson Fury and Joshua, who are both from the UK.

Since Fury ended Deontay Wilder's run of WBC heavyweight title defenses at the MGM Grand Garden Arena on February 22, a bout which Insider was ringside for, there has been suggestions that American heavyweights are no longer great.

"It's too soon to say that," Kownacki told us.

"Wilder has a big right hand, and he can land that at any time. He can knock anybody down, even Tyson Fury as he put him on his behind [in 2018].

"As for me, I was born in Poland, but America gave me the opportunity to be the fighter I am — it's definitely a great time to be living in the States, and I consider myself Polish-American."

Great American heavyweights may no longer be competing in boxing, one promoter says

Bob Arum, the founder and CEO of the Las Vegas-based fight firm Top Rank, told Insider ahead of the Fury vs. Wilder rematch last month that the fall of the great American heavyweight was because there is generally greater money to be made in traditional American sports like football and basketball.

"One of the reasons for the fall in American athletes who used to dominate the division is because of the affluence and resources in our American football and basketball," Arum said. "Some of those big guys are going into those sports. We're not getting the level of talent that we had in the past … Wilder is the exception."

Joe Goossen, a renowned boxing trainer, and expert analyst on the Inside PBC Boxing show on FOX Sports countered Arum by saying the NFL and NBA have always competed against combat sports for big, athletic, men.

"Football's been attractive to big guys forever and ever," he told Insider. "Basketball as well. But I think we do lose a certain amount of athletes from boxing to the other sports, which need big guys."

Goossen said that in football and basketball, there are teammates on which one can depend. In Major League Baseball, like boxing, there is a process which means you cannot simply join the MLB at 19 years old — you have to start as a pre-teen, go to Little League, high school, college, join a minor league, and then, if you're good enough, get signed by an MLB team.

"In boxing, you're stripped down to a pair of shorts, you're under the lights, [and participating in] a very difficult sport," Goossen told us.

"It's not an easy thing. Boxing's tough, demanding, and you can be eliminated in many ways. You can always play in a team sport where your shortcomings are picked up by other guys. But boxing is for a select few."

'The heavyweight division is on the rise,' according to Kownacki

There is a misconception in America that the Klitschko-era was a cold, dark winter. But the reality is that the division was doing well in Europe — in Germany, specifically, where the Klitschko brothers were wildly popular, where they sold out soccer stadiums, and where live music preceded the main event.

The difference between the Klitschko-era and today's is that the division has once again captivated the attention of fans within multiple countries, America included.

And that is good for Kownacki, who told us there is a clear difference in attention and interest from when he turned professional in 2009 to more than a decade later, in a year where he is regarded as a fast-rising contender within a flourishing weight class.

"The heavyweight division is on the rise," Kownacki said. "There's a lot of top names and a lot of good fighters coming up, so it's a good time to be a heavyweight.

"Back then it was just Wladimir Klitschko who had all the belts, the Klitschko brothers were monsters, and there wasn't a lot of competition for them.

"But now there's a lot more fights and a lot of close competition. Anybody can beat anybody. Tyson Fury and Deontay Wilder had a draw the first time, then Tyson Fury beat him in the rematch.

"Andy Ruiz knocked Anthony Joshua out [in July 2019], then in the second fight [in December], Joshua won on points. Every fight is very competitive. There are a lot more good fights that can be made today, so it's a better time."

Goossen called this a constant changing of the guard. "One thing we have seen recently is the changing of the guard, and it happens often at the moment.

"Joshua has many of the titles and then a day later, Ruiz has got them. Couple months after that, Joshua gets them back. Wilder looks unbeatable, but then Fury comes in, and they have a very close fight. One judge goes for Wilder, one Fury.

"This is a very fluid thing in the heavyweight division right now."

Can Kownacki become a great heavyweight for America?

Considering the fluidity which Kownacki and Goossen both mention, it would not be surprising to see Wilder rise again and reclaim one or more of the heavyweight world titles. His extraordinary power, which has floored or finished every opponent he has ever been in the ring with, could see to that.

But Wilder's Premier Boxing Champions stablemate, Kownacki, is also on the cusp of a world title shot. And Goossen says there are many things about the 30-year-old which show how well-rounded he is as a performer.

Goossen told Insider that his opponent, Helenius, "is a good boxer who has a good style and is very tall, very long, and very rangy. He's going to try and keep Kownacki out at the end of his punches on Saturday."

Goossen called Kownacki a good inside fighter, meaning he likes to punch from close-range. This poses a contrasting style to what Helenius will bring to Saturday's fight, Goossen said, as he's "not the type of guy to bump nose-to-nose and work short uppercuts, short combinations. That's not what he does. He'll tie you up, turn you, and go to work again on the outside [from range]."

And what about Kownacki?

"He takes a great punch! Almost nothing dissuades him from coming forward. He's built like a big tank. He's got thick shoulders, biceps, calves, and ankles. He's a solid guy."

Goossen trained a fighter Kownacki recently beat, Chris Arreola. And Goossen said Arreola mentioned Kownacki's deceiving size, together with his considerable punch to the body.

"He's very hard to stop coming forward. Plus, he hits hard. He's a solid puncher. He's not just an inside fighter, but if he's stalking you and you touch him, he'll touch you back a couple times. He's more than adequate in the counter-punch department.

"He's got a good jab, and he's got a variety of punches. He's a really good body-puncher.

"Chris told me he digs those body shots in really nice, and that's a thing he'll have to do getting in close if Helenius tries to tie him up. He can't just allow himself to be tied up. He'll have to get his hands free, work that body, and slow down the guy who wants to move around and box.

"Kownacki can also hit you at long range. He did that against [Gerald] Washington [in a 2019 stoppage win], as well.

"He may not be the most fluid on his feet — he's more of a plodder — but he never stops coming. So you better be in great shape to back up and box him, because it can get very tiring when a guy is on top of you like a soup sandwich for 10 or 12 rounds."

Kownacki may soon have one great opportunity

Insider has spoken to Kownacki, who has an unbeaten record of 20 wins (15 KOs) in little more than 10 years or pro fighting, multiple times in the last year, and tends to loathe talking about future fights when he already has one lined up.

He told us he could not look past Helenius. "I know he's planning an upset, so that's all I'm focused on right now," he said. "One step and one fight at a time. He provides a lot of challenges, but I've had a great training camp. The idea is to out-jab him, get on the inside, and take him out early."

On the "Inside PBC Boxing" show recently, he did say, should he triumph on Saturday, he hopes to close in on a bout against one of the top four ranked heavyweights — WBC champion Tyson Fury, three-belt champion Anthony Joshua, or one of his PBC stablemates in Deontay Wilder and Andy Ruiz Jr.

And for Goossen, a fight against one of those — particularly Joshua, who holds the WBA, WBO, and IBF world heavyweight titles — could be on the horizon, as this weekend fight could see Kownacki become a mandatory challenger to Joshua's WBA title should he win.

"This fight is a WBA eliminator, so if Kownacki wins, he's a few days away from possibly becoming the No.1 WBA challenger. He's quite close [to a significant fight].

"All he's got to do is take care of Helenius."

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