Poland’s WBC Super Welterweight Champ Ewa Piatkowska: “I Want All the Belts”

By David A. Avila

Poland’s only world champion Ewa Piatkowska likes contact sports and especially likes to fight.

Need proof?

When an offer to meet Aleksandra Lopes for the WBC super welterweight world title arrived in September 2016, it was like a package from heaven and she took it despite generally fighting two divisions lighter as a super lightweight.

She won the world title that day and has defended it twice since.

Now she wants more.

“I want to fight for all the belts,” said Piatkowska, 34.

Recently she read that WBA super welterweight titlist Hanna Gabriels had been seeking her out. Strange she thought, because she has been waiting for an offer.

Piatkowska wants the world to know that Gabriels is on her bullseye too.

“I never had any offer from her. I have a belt and she has a belt and I want all the belts. I want to fight the girl from Canada too (Marie Eve Dicaire) because I want all the belts in the weight division,” said Piatkowska.

But she understands the confusion.

“Boxing is crazy but I like it,” she says.

Pros, not amateurs

Though she fought as an amateur boxer it wasn’t a sport that appealed to her. Not enough contact.

“My amateur career was quite short. Less than 25 fights,” said Piatkowska who lives near Warsaw. “Pro boxing was the only boxing that I liked. I like punching hard without the helmets and I wanted to be a professional boxer.”

But pro boxing for women in Poland was not a viable option so she delved into another contact sport: rugby.

“I started to play rugby for three years on a girls’ team,” she said.

When pro boxing for women opened up in Poland, she saw an opportunity and jumped right in six years ago at age 28.

Prizefighting in Poland has a strong following.

“It’s quite popular,” said Piatkowska about prizefighting. “Football (soccer) is big but boxing is quite popular too, especially when you have a world champion. But I can’t say it’s a national sport.”

One of her goals has been to fight in the United States.

“I think it’s the best place for the athlete of any kind,” said Piatkowska about fighting in the USA and possibly against Gabriels in a unification clash. “I’ve always dreamed about this.”

Piatkowska knows that Gabriels signed with Lou DiBella’s DiBella Entertainment who is based in New York City.

“If I fight with Hanna Gabriels she is going to fight in New York. DiBella does a good job with women’s boxing,” said Piatkowska whose last fight was in November against Ornella Domini in Poland. But she’s more than willing to face Gabriels in New York or anywhere in the US. She’s very familiar with the USA.

“I went to California for two years when I finished high school. I was in the central valley in Coalinga. I love California. I visited some other states and have family living in Missouri,” said Piatkowska who has a Master’s degree in computer engineering. “A few years back I went to New York City with my mother and brother for holiday. I actually always loved the USA. It’s my dream to fight there and show my boxing to Americans.”

She calls her style aggressive.

“I like being offensive in the ring. I like fighting often and fighting toe to toe,” said Piatkowska who is anxious to meet Gabriels hopefully soon. “I want all the belts.”

Meanwhile she trains and waits for the call.

“Sometimes you want to fight but you can’t,” said Piatkowska. “But now I have a mandatory with Hanna Gabriels and I’m looking forward to their call.”

Piatkowska (12-1, 4 KOs) vs. Gabriels (19-2-1, 11 KOs) is a fight worth making.