Andrew Golota vs. Filip Hrgovic.

Golota that fought Bowe probably had considerably better stamina than Itauma.

 

I chose to talk about Golota from 2003 to 2005 because he became mentally stronger as a fighter. He didn't just give up when the going got tough, but he was physically in decline.

Golota in his prime mainly gave up for two reasons: he got knocked down and didn't want to continue, or he simply didn't want to fight anymore. I imagine that if a tough, relentless guy like Hrgovic just absorbed shots for the majority of the fight or even knocked him down (as Golota did have a great chin) Golota could give up.

Stamina-wise, though, Golota isn't going to have any issues.

 

Hrgovic from the Itauma fight would probably take over enough in the second half to win in one way or another.

The incarnations of him with crappier conditioning would lose.

 

Mismatch. Who is Golota's best win? Danell Nicholson?

Hrgovic's 4th best win Adeleye would have a good chance against Golota.

 

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Emanuel Stewart explains here that Hrgovic (who is a world champion) would beat Golota.

 

Agreed. Although, Hrgovic isn’t anywhere as big of a puncher with the likes of Lennox Lewis, Mike Tyson and Riddick Bowe.

Michael Grant was probably a bigger puncher than Hrgovic despite his huge flaws technically.

 

Probably Golata

 

Stewart is right, but you have to make the quitter quit. Tyson, despite being the undisputed champion, was a quitter, but it took a guy like Hoilfield to bring the quit out of him. Does Hrgovic have the tools in the toolbox to make Golota quit? In my personal opinion, no.

 

Golota's best wins are Chris Byrd and John Ruiz back to back, even though he was physically shot at that point and still got robbed. Hrgovic's resume is thinner; he's just the flavor of the month.

 

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I'd dispute the idea that Golota became mentally stronger later in his career. He was more relaxed against Byrd with him being a cagey, smaller non-puncher and Ruiz being a limited toiling mauler whose standing had taken a shagging at the hands of RJJ. As soon as he came up against a semi capable hard-hitter willing to wade in (Brewster) he promptly folded again like a mars bar over a barbeque.

It's largely pointless speculating about him vs any relative world level heavy of a decent size who was mentally tough, had good power and was able to take a reasonable punch when he repeatedly made Chan-Hee Park look like Saad Muhammad.

 

But how does that lead up to that? Golota didn't lose all of his fights. I don't think Hrgovic would be the one to make Golota quit.

 

The Brewster fight proves that he was mentally tougher. He got knocked down twice in the first round and continued; he just couldn't survive the first round. Hrgovic isn't a puncher. He's a volume pucher he is not Tyson, Lewis, Brewster, or even Grant-level puncher.

 

I dunno Pop, he looked to me like he just froze up deer in the headlights style as soon as Brewster got into range and started throwing. Upright, static, shocked and not even able to cover up properly against wild swings despite having his hands up. I'm not saying he deliberately quit, he was indeed out of it. The first hard punch maybe caught him off guard. But he instantly looked like he couldn't cope and had no survival instinct. Byrd and Ruiz in the same zone, old past it Spoon etc, he just looked far less nervous. The fact that he was always so poor and stiff defensively didn't help him mind.

Hrgovic is similarly very poor at avoiding punches but never looks daunted or panicked under fire; he adjusts quickly to taking hard punches and tries to either defend himself or punch back and is very determined. Night and day despite him being offensively sloppier than Golota.

 

Golota would see that Hrgovic has a better chin than him, and then he would bite Hrgovic like a vampire:

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