Just watched the full fight again - Golota was hammering Bowe and really the only one that looked like winning in my book (one big haymaker aside). What i can't understand though was did Golota deliberately throw the low blows? He obviously meant a few but i don't think all of them. After he got the 3rd point taken off even an idiot would know that the next one was a DQ and he must have known he was winning (perhaps level or 1 round down due to the point deductions), so did he deliberately throw the fight or was he just trying to hurt Bowe?
Golota was a huge headcase. The longer the fight goes on, the less his chances are to win. The atmosphere, magnitude of the fight and all the other implications overwhelmed him mentally. Bowe took a tremendous amount punishment and when Golota realized he couldn't knock him out, he panicked and quit.
He basically quit. However it's analysed, a huge misconception is that golota should be seen as unofficially the victor in these two fights. He quit both times and it can't really be argued otherwise. Whether it's quitting on his stool v tyson, quitting on his feet v grant or quitting on his foul v bowe, the guy didn't have the mentality required to cope when he went into deep waters. He could fight bowe 100 times and barring the anomaly flash ko scenarios, he loses every time.
I watched it again recently and there is no doubt he quit and was throwing low deliberately. Like has been said already he was a total nutter who couldn't handle pressure, even in a fight he was handily winning. Golota had a lot of talent but not the mental make-up required to succeed at the top or when the going got tough. It's as simple as that.
Haven't seen it in a long time but as I recall it the first low blows was by accident, and then after being warned and having points taken it was as if he just had to do the exact thing he shouldn't do, mental case this guy. I think it was kinda like when you go close to the edge of a really high cliff with sharp rocks below you get scared you might freak out and jump but of course you never would no normal person would, Golota would jump.
at the bit in bold, yeah he probably would jump. Nice analogy. I used to think the first low blows where an accident but watching it recently i think he meant to do all of them.
Golota was beating Bowe up. Why? Because bowe was too stupid to deal with a double jab. Golota outjabbed him and made him look bad. The low blows, in the first fight, I thought a bunch of them were accidental. Remember, though, that Golota had a history of fouling when it got tough for him. Watch the fight with Samson Pou'Ha. He bit him when stunned by a punch.
Remember the fights well. What folks forget is that getting hit really hard can cause some folks to react differently. What most fans saw was that Golota was winning and beating up Bowe. What they forget to see or overlooked was that Bowe was showing massive heart and still landing some really hard blows on Golota too. Bowe was a very big strong guy with underrated power. Golota was not thinking about the fact that he was winning but the fact that no matter what he hit Bowe with, Riddick was still firing back and landing some nice powerful shots that certainly hurt and also had a cumulative effect over many rounds. Boxing sometimes is about who can take more punishment and stay cool under fire. Add fatigue in there as well, given that Golota was doing most of the work, and those big blows both hurt and frustrated him. Like someone said, Andrew is more of a disher than a taker, as we've seen in fights before and after that. So Golota lost his mind, as he did over and over and over again. His fouls were obviously intentional. I have no doubt whatsoever about that. Just way too flagrant to think otherwise. Plus he did it two fights in a row. Bottom line is he simply cannot take Bowe's blows for 10 rounds without losing his mind, no matter how often he hits Bowe in return.
Yes similar in Bowe Golota 2. Bowe looked shot but still hung out their even when he was out on his feet. A prime Bowe stops a Prime golota in about 5
I agree w Adam here ... Golata managed to quit both Bowe fights, against Michael Granrt in a fight he was winning, against Lennox Lewis watch him after the first knockdown, he wanted out of there ... against against Tyson he wanted out ... the man was a steroid pumped thug and a first rate bully ..
^ A referee would have been justified in stopping the 2nd fight during or after the 2nd round. The DQ in the first fight was worse, he was miles ahead and bashing Bowe up badly, but sometimes no matter what you throw and land, the opponent stays there.... just box smart and take the clear decision win. The 2nd.... they just hammered each other, Golota of course landing more frequent, and perhaps harder shots, but Riddick certainly had his moments despite the hiding in the 2nd round. Again, I think a switch was just flicked in his mind.... couldn't cope. But he'd already got form for strange behaviour, both biting and headbutting - so really it shouldn't have come as too much of a surprise. When Lewis put it on him he was gone in little over a minute. Says it all about his ability to handle pressure. Zero.
Didn't Bowe literally punch a hole in Golota's cheek in this fight -- I mean all the way through? As noted by the quoted poster, I don't think Golota was thinking about scorecards. He was dealing with more adversity than he was mentally capable of dealing with and fell apart.