Riddick Bowe vs Andrew Golota 2. Why prime Riddick Bowe would have destroyed Golota

Riddick was getting beat up in rounds 1 and 2 of this fight but he didn't look as coordinated as he did in the early 90s, and as we know he was already showing signs of brain damage by this point due to the Holyfield trillogy and likely the first Golota fight where he showed up very overweight and got punished for it. In their second fight he slimmed down to his prime fighting weight at 235 pounds although he still wasn't the same Bowe regardless

I happened to slow down the footage of this fight and scored the fight myself. I counted every single punch landed

Round 1 10-9 Golota clear round.

Round 2 9-8 Golota. Due to Bowe getting knocked down heavily and the obvious headbutt from Golota. Utter domination. But Bowe survives the onslaught

Round 3: 10-9 Bowe. This is where things get interesting. Bowe was actually having some success getting on the inside against Golota in spots and outlanded him overall.

Round 4: 10-7 Bowe. Bowe actually outlands Golota before landing a big right hand that stuns Golota and Bowe lands a few punches when he's swinging on a hurt Golota aggressively before dropping him. Golota gets up and Bowe continues to outland him easily. They then exchange in the pocket and Golota throws a 2 punch combination to Bowes nuts but Bowe didn't seem that bothered at first. This was the beginning of the end. Golota was always a nutcase and it was clear he wanted out. Golota throws 2 more low blows when its slightly over 1 minute remaining and gets warned for it. Golotas face looks battered, and they exchange afterwards with Bowe still outlanding him. Golota ends up lowblowing Bowe for a 3rd time and throws an absolutely brutal 3 punch combination to his balls and puts him down. Bowe takes some time to try and recover and they exchange. The round ends

And the rest is history. Bowe looked drained and slower from those constant lowblows in the rest of the rounds and got beat up and fouled. Bowe was ahead on my scorecard and judges as well before they happened. People do not realize how much a 1 nutshot can take out of you and how long it takes you to fully recover, let alone a combination from a 240 pound powerpunching world class boxer. Yes boxers wear cups but they dont nullify all of the pain. Also realize it may have been on Bowes mind that he could get lowblowed again which could make it even harder to concentrate.

Bowe was boxing better and better as the early rounds went and he had succes when he got on the inside multiple times. It wasnt some one off thing. The momentum was shifting in his favor just as the commentator said. Had Golota not fouled him while he was getting beat up, Bowe likely would have beaten him convincingly and a peak Bowe would have handled Golota comfortably. Golota himself got robbed against John Ruiz and Chris Byrd and as a matter of fact he did better against Chris Byrd than Vitali did so he was a decent fighter.

Conclusion:
Claims that Bowe got exposed by Golota, claims that Bowe was a hypejob, or claims that Bowe couldn't fight people his own size are absurd.

 

Riddick Bowe from the Coetzer fight and the first Holyfield fight would have outclassed Golota. possibly even the Bowe from the last Holyfield fight although that Bowe may have gotten dropped once or twice.

Even THIS clearly slower and more uncoordinated version of Bowe was beating Golota until the low blows. Bowe is overrated but at his best he really was elite. Those Golota fights really had people questioning him. But after really studying the second bout i have no doubt in mind that he was going to win that fight convincingly had those low blows not occurred.

 

He clearly wasn't commited to the sport as much as other champions past and present but at his best he was an elite level fighter. His lack of discipline was what got exposed when he showed up fat as hell for the first Golota fight and he got brutalized for it. but that doesn't mean he was a hypejob in his prime. In the second fight when he slimmed down, he weathered the storm in round 1 and 2, started to box well in round 3 and eventually started beating Golotas ass in round 4. He was likely going to win if Golota didn't continuously foul him, the amount of lowblows was absurd.

And keep in mind that was a slower, sloppier version of Bowe.

 

Dont understand this logic. Are you saying Coetzer is pillowfisted ? He came to fight and showed some world class skill and he took massive shots from Bowe as well. Bowe was winning almost every round and Coetzer himself said Bowe was the best fighter he had ever faced. Im not sure he even took Coetzer seriously though

His lack of discipline was definitely revealed though.

 

Well that logic applies, if he didn't have a solid chin he would've gotten KO'd ealier. Coetzer came to fight and showed some toughness and excellent and relentless infighting