Was just watching the highlights from Golota vs Bowe I & II. Thought I'd throw a hypothetical out there. So Golota from the Bowe fights versus whatever the best version of Joshua is. Thoughts?
Golota handles AJ for 10 rounds after having knocked him down twice in the 4th and in the 8th. He leads also in the 11th but one minute before the sound of the bell Golota decides to hurl three stunning uppercuts in the nuts of AJ who crashes to the canvas and implores (with female voice) someone who can help him. The audience go bananas but the ref immediately realizes the critical state of Joshua, so he throws up on Eddie Hearn whos at ringside but just when hes about to pass out he finds the strength to raise the AJs hand giving him the win of the bout. Lol
If Golota could box without punching the nads he would humiliate Joshua and knock him out. His words were "fight is fight not daycare."
AJ by KO. The punchers that Golota faced all stopped him. AJ can crack and I think once he landed on Golota, Golota would look for a way out in the fight.
Golota man, he could have been one of the best ever at HW if he took boxing seriously and didnt have weak mentality.
It's hard to pick Golota in any h2h matchup. He has the ability to beat lots of great fighters but was a complete headcase who could implode at any moment in all sorts of ways.
Golota is just famous for two wins over a Riddick Bowe who didn't want to be a boxer anymore and getting battered by shot Tyson and ko'd in 5 seconds by Lennox (edit, those bowe wins weren't even wins were they) I'm sure if Golota was around today the loma/usyk/Hrgovic crew would be saying he was a killer.
Golota at his best was pretty darn good and he might well be one of the top 3-4 fighters today. That said, he tended to self-destruct and flush whatever gains his talent got him, down the crapper.
Golota was a front runner and a mental midget. If he is leading he will lead with momentum. If he freezes he will choke and get blasted out. Joshua has that killer instinct and Golota would be one big target to tee off on.
As we know Golota turned out not very good, although he retired Bowe which for me says a lot more about Bowe than Golota. If Golota could keep his low blows on or above the belt line I'd give him a fair chance. Joshua doesn't take a good body shot and Golota in the Bowe fights of 96 was still prime and had fear factor intact.