Neven “No Surrender” Pajkic successfully defended this Canadian Heavyweight crown Wednesday night under the bright lights of Casino Rama, defeating the same man whom he took the title from 3 months earlier, one Greg Kielsa. As in their initial encounter, Pajkic dominated Kielsa from the outset, punching his way to a lopsided (100-90, 99-91, and 99-91) decision victory.

Prior to the start of the contest, the expression on the faces of both men told a different story. Kielsa, fight out of Brampton, Ontario, looked both nervous and anxious as he bounced around his corner waiting for his conqueror to arrive. Pajkic, who weighed in at a trim 238lbs, looked confident, almost arrogant, as he climbed through the ropes to the loud cheers of a sell-out audience.

As the bell sounded to start the rematch, Pajkic (13-0, 5Kos) took the fight right to Kielsa, putting the Polish fighter on his heels early. As the Toronto heavyweight advanced, he landed a punishing jab which was usually followed by a straight right. Even when Kielsa (11-2, 5Kos) managed to block the punches, the strength behind them pushed him back a couple of steps as a result.

Kielsa was on his toes to start the second round. Upon eating a Pajkic jab in the early moment, Kielsa finally woke up and let this hands go. Planting his feet long enough to throw a 3 punch combination, Kiesla quickly returned to his jab and move plan while Pajkic followed. The Kiesla jab was only being used as a method to keep his tormentor at arm’s length and nothing more.

Pajkic picked up the pace through rounds 3 and 4, landing 1-2 combinations throughout each round. Kielsa was reduced to backpedalling while trying to catch the forward moving Pajkic with something that would deter him from his relentless pursuit. An uppercut snapped Pajkic’s head up, the punch doing nothing more than infuriate him further. Gone was that look of arrogance from Pajkic’s face, replaced by a angry sneer. With 10 second remaining in round 3, Pajkic cornered his foe, a drilled him with a hard left jab to the gut and a straight right hand to the chin at the bell.

Kielsa, deciding to stand between rounds, listened to his corner scream their instructions to let his hands go, which he did to start the 4th round. Problem was, he didn’t maintain any kind of momentum. When he did land a punch or two, he immediately bounced out of harm’s way, hoping not to receive any retribution from Pajkic. To his credit, Pajkic simply kept moving forward, chasing down The Steel Pole until he found him. When Kielsa’s back hit the ropes or corner, he was greeted by powerful jabs to the body, and the occasional hook thrown to the head.

Round 5 was a big round for Pajkic. Throwing punches in bunches, the Canadian champ had Kiesla on the defensive for the full 3 minutes. A right hook to the chin pushed Kielsa into the ropes where he found no sanctuary. Pajkic bore in, pounding Kielsa ribs with thunderous hooks that echoed when they landed. Kielsa, hands up always, tried in vain to land something big that would change to course of the round. That something never came. Whenever Kielsa attempted to clinch or hold, Pajkic would simply push him off and continue the onslaught. Both fighters seemed winded at the sound of the bell, both for completely different reasons.

With the contest half over, Kielsa found himself in a pretty big hole. A case probably could have been made to give him the second round based upon Pajkic’s inactivity but that was about it. If the fight was to turn around in his favour, he’d have to do something and something big.

Given Pajkic’s big output in round 5, he appeared gassed to start the 6th round. He left his corner slowly, breathing heavy, mouth wide open, walking right into Kielsa, not worrying about what would come his way. Kielsa picked up on it immediately and connected with a side uppercut, right through the guard of Pajkic. Kielsa began to throw his jab with authority, this time, following it with a right hook. Pajkic covered up and simply kept moving forward, not throwing anything in return. Kielsa was having his best round of fight until he lazily threw out a jab which was countered with a slow (albeit powerful) right hook that landed to the ear. The shot was enough to invigorate Pajkic, who threw caution to the wind for the remaining 10 seconds of the round to close out the 6th.

The pace slowed in the 7th, a round filled with lots of holding and clinching. Both fighters were now feeling the effects of 6 tough rounds. Both were now looking for their second wind to carry them through the remaining 4 rounds. Kielsa bounced around on tiring legs, throwing the occasional jab then tying up Pajkic as he bore in. Pajkic abandon his jab altogether, choosing to throw his clubbing hooks to the body whenever the target presented itself.

Fireworks erupted early in round 8. Seconds into the round, Pajkic came out throwing bombs and whether it came from a punch or a shove, Kielsa found himself on the canvas early. The referee was quick to rule it as a slip, wiped Kielsa’ glove accordingly, and allowed the action to continue. Pajkic continued to apply the pressure, changing his attack from the body to head. A jab weakly hit the gloves of Kielsa did nothing however, the right hook that followed it bucked his (Kielsa) knees and sent the Polish fighter tumbling into the ropes. If not for the ropes, Kielsa was heading for the canvas. Luckily for him, the ropes propelled him forward into Pajkic, where he immediately clinched, holding on for dear life. To his credit, Kielsa tried to fight back, the two fighters going toe-to-toe for the final 15 seconds of the round but the damage was done, Pajkic had his second big round of the night.

The results of round 8 changed something in Kielsa. No longer was he there to win, he was there only to survive. Throughout round 9, he offered little in the way of action. He moved, he clinched, and when he elected to, he jabbed. If Pajkic got too close, Kielsa would tie him up or lean on him in hopes that it would sap Pajkic’s remaining strength. In reality, all it did was draw the ire of the crowd and multiple warnings from the referee.

As the bell sounded for the 10th and final round, both fighters touched gloves out of a sign of respect. After 9 action filled rounds, both fighters had very little left in the tank. Kielsa bounced around on tiring legs, using the entire ring while Pajkic, huffing and puffing, followed. The number of punches thrown in the round could be counted on 2 hands, the number a clean punches landed on a couple of fingers.

As the judges’ scorecard were being collected and tabulated, the verdict was never in any doubt. The only question was by “how much”. To their credit, the judges were almost unanimous in their scoring. Two of them gave Kielsa a single round while the other saw it as a clear shutout by Pajkic. FightNews Canada was a little more generous towards the former champion, scoring the bout 98-92 for Pajkic, giving Kielsa rounds 2 and 6.

The winner was gracious in victory calling Kielsa “a good tough guy” and wishing him all the best in the future. Pajkic told the audience that he didn’t know what the future holds for him, leaving that decision up to his management team. Speculation is that he’ll probably seek some fights on the international scene, perhaps in the US or overseas. “The title will be mine until I vacate it” Pajkic was quoted when questioned whether or not he’ll defend the national title or look for opportunities on the world scene. Wherever he does decide to fight, one thing is for sure, there will be No Surrender in Neven Pajkic.

If you wish to contact the author of this article, email Dave Baggs at FightNews Canada