The True Legacy of Andrew Golota

No, it is not hitting Bowe below the belt, quitting against Tyson, or being one of the dirtiest boxers ever.

Andrew Golota was the first white professional boxer who began to break the hegemony of dominant black heavyweights. Golota initiated the decade-long era of Eastern Bloc heavyweight dominance. True, Jack Dempsey certainly had no match in his heyday, but he avoided fighting his black heavyweight contemporaries. While the accomplishments of Max Schmeling and Ingemar Johansson were very impressive and noteworthy, their campaigns were short-lived and therefore dubious. The first Bowe-Golota fight marked the birth of a new era in the heavyweight division which prompted other former Soviet-bloc heavyweights such as Wladimir Klitschko to burst onto the scene shortly after. Once Golota showed the ability to compete with black heavyweights, it gave others faith that they could do the same. But Andrew should be given credit as being the first.

Sure, at the time of Bowe-Golota I on July 11, 1996, we did not yet know that Wladimir Klitschko would embark on a decade-long reign in boxing's glamour division. And sure, Golota officially lost both battles against "Big Daddy", but not before he showed he was talented enough to dominate Bowe and completely outbox and outpunch a man who – at that time – was regarded by many as the best heavyweight boxer in the world. Poland's white heavyweight Golota turned in his career-best performances against Brooklyn's African-American fighter Bowe and in the process, he made American promoters really take notice of guys who at one point would not have been able to compete as pros because of living behind the Iron Curtain. When U.S. promoters saw Golota, they thought: this is the real deal white heavyweight, one who up until now we could only dream of. The two 1996 encounters between "Big Daddy" and "Powerful Pole" symbolize a passing of the torch, a switch of eras at heavyweight: from Black Americans to Eastern European Whites.

Do not get me wrong, Golota was not the only heavyweight from the former Eastern Bloc competing and making noise in the 1990s. There was also Axel Schulz, Alexander Zolkin, and Zeljko Mavrovic, among others, but none of these guys were as superior to a black heavyweight inside the ring as Golota was to Bowe. The Pole was so superior that his dominant performances earned him a world title shot in a losing effort. He was that good.

 

I think it is a premature statement that Golota will never be fondly remembered. Andrew put Poland on the world boxing map and was the country's first professional star in the sport. His impact inspired the ring success of future Polish boxers. Recently, he was named the most popular Polish Athlete of the last quarter century. He made millions of dollars in his finest hour inspiring millions of his loyal fans to dream big. He has a larger-than-life national hero status in Poland, natives do not adore any other fighter more than Andrew. The scale of Golota's achievement, including its impact on the growth of professional boxing in Poland, will be appreciated only from a historical perspective, 20-30 years from now.

Yaqui Lopez retired in 1984 which means thirty years have passed, hence the reason fans can appreciate his ring feats more today than they did three decades ago. The same thing will transpire with Golota at the appropriate time for reasons that I detailed above.

 

The biggest name win on Golota's record is Tim Witherspoon despite Tim being way past his prime at the time. This bout took place in Golota's backyard (Poland) where he kept his composure and did not succumb to the pressure of fighting in front of thousands of his home fans in a sold-out arena. The live television broadcast of the Golota-Witherspoon fight garnered 12.5 million viewers, setting a record for the most-watched professional boxing event on TV in Poland (a record which still stands). "Terrible" Tim – who in his career fought the likes of Larry Holmes, Ray Mercer, Pinklon Thomas, and James "Bonecrusher" Smith – later said that Golota was the hardest hitter and strongest fighter that he has ever faced.

 

Thanks for taking the time to comment. In terms of doping, Antonio Margarito, Shane Mosley, and James Toney have been linked to steroids. But Golota? Never.

And Andrew was not blown away by Tyson. The pair tangled over the course of two rounds before Golota said "No Mas" prior to the bell sounding for round three. Golota legitimately feared for his health; following the bout, a neurosurgeon confirmed the Pole's injuries and we learned that through quitting Golota saved his health and maybe even his life. A fighter's health always takes priority over continuing a boxing match.

 

Thanks for your input. True, Lennox was on top until 2003 when he retired as champion. But immediately following Lewis's retirement, the Klitschko brothers started cleaning out the heavyweight division. The Bowe-Golota battles set the tone or gave way for the Klitschkos to burst onto the scene. That's what I meant by "passing of the torch", I meant that a new era was in waiting, you could just see it and sense it.

As for your other remarks, what people need to realize is that if "Big Daddy" Bowe was indeed physically finished by only age 28, then that was only his own fault because he failed to carefully watch his diet between fights. That is way too soon for a boxer to be shot or past his prime. I think both Bowe-Golota fights are underrated and I also think that Andrew is underrated. Golota proved that the talent we were watching was not a fluke or a one-off, because he went on to show the same talent against Corey Sanders, Tim Witherspoon, and Michael Grant.