Adam Kownacki makes 3rd straight trip to Golden Gloves finals

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Watching Adam Kownacki , a 19-year-old amateur heavyweight from Greenpoint , can have an almost hypnotic effect.

Kownacki is a boisterous, non-stop punching machine who turnssomersaults in the ring after he wins and pitches a fit whensparring partners don't show up on time.

The 6-3, 245-pounder met Nurpais Torobekov in a Daily News Golden Gloves semifinal bout at Aviator Sports Complex on March 28, and theyprobably threw more punches than the combined total of the other 22boxers on the card.

Kownacki dropped Torobekov with a body shot and won a hard-fought,4-1 decision. His trainer, James (Country) Thornwell, admitted hewas caught feeling like a fan who had bought a ticket for thefight.

"You just sit there and watch," Thornwell said. "Sometimes you'reabout to yell out something for him to do and you just stop becausethe action in the ring is going on. He never stops."

In an era of heavyweight ennui - one that recently saw Wladimir Klitschko and Sultan Ibragimov turn in one of the most lethargic professional heavyweight titlefights in recent memory - Kownacki brings welcome relief.

"He loves to fight," Thornwell said of Kownacki. "This kid gets madif you set up sparring and the other guy doesn't come. He says tome, 'Country, Country, where is he?' I tell him he has to work onhis defense, but all he wants to do is fight."

Kownacki will face Tor Hamer in the Gloves super heavyweight finalat Madison Square Garden on Friday. It is Kownacki's third consecutive appearance in thefinals; he won the novice title two years ago and lost by decisionto Nagy Aguilera last year.

"I'm going to make the fight into a war," Kownacki said. "Tor likesto box, he's kind of mechanical, and I'm going to turn it intosomething he doesn't want."

Kownacki was born in Lomza, a town in eastern Poland , and his family moved to Brooklyn when he was seven. His father works in construction and his mothercleans rooms at a hotel.

His dream is to turn pro within two years and buy his parents ahouse. Promoters and managers have contacted Thornwell aboutturning Kownacki pro, but he is being patient.

"That is my dream," said Kownacki, who attended Lincoln HS in Coney Island . "I want to get them a nice house, not a rental. I don't want tojust turn professional. Anyone can do that. I want to be achampion."

Kownacki, currently attends LaGuardia Community College , and said he hopes to attend a four-year college and major inbusiness. "I know boxing doesn't last forever," he said. "I needsomething to fall back on."

Thornwell believes that Kownacki could have a bright future if hedoesn't get "too crazy" in the ring; the boxer has a penchant fordoling out punishment and not worrying enough about defense.

The use of "crazy" in reference to a Polish fighter conjures imagesof Andrew Golota , the talented and incorrigible Polish-born fighter who was knownfor his low punches and other self-destructive tendencies in thering.

Unlike Golota, Kownacki keeps his punches high, though outside theropes he sometimes lets his guard down. While training for the USA Boxing Metropolitan Championships in November, he was jogging and randirectly into a signpost as he tried to avoid bumping into abystander, sustaining a gash on his forehead that required fivestitches. He missed the tournament and spent two weeks on theshelf.

"Boxing is an emotional sport and sometimes you can lose youremotions in the ring," Kownacki said. "Sometimes when I get hithard, I say, 'What? Is that all you have?' and I go kind of crazy.

"My trainer tells me to relax, but I don't know. I kind of gohead-first when I fight," he added. "Maybe I was a gladiator in myformer life."