30 Year's Since Bowe Vs Golota 1

A crazy event for boxing that year. Bowe by that point was already so out of it that he just didn't care enough to train and just saw Golota as just another bum but didn't realize that he would end up being on the receiving end of a beating. He was fortunate that Golota was a mental case who didn't know how to control himself with the low blows. The post fight riot was just insane to watch. Even George Foreman was trying to tell the rioters to stop but to no avail.

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More so than the riot at the end, the shocking thing to me was how shot Bowe was. That trilogy with Holyfield had completely ruined him and it showed. Bowe vs Golota two was even worse. His legs were completely gone and it was obvious that he was a diminished fighter.

Listen to him talk today and you hear a man suffering from CTE. I believe he was already dealing with CTE when he fought Golota and just didn't know it.

 

Time flies. Boxing went backwards in those 30 years.
The fights were good, but Golota showed for the umpteenth time that he is a freak.
Bowe twice won fights in which he would have lost to another opponent.
Consequences? It's good that it wasn't worse after the second fight.

 

Quite possibly the most impossible set of results in sporting history. All Golota had to do was act like a normal person. That's why I will never stand for any revisionist history around him.

 

I've got both fights on DVD. Riddick Bowe underestimated Andrew Golota the first time and he brought back his conditioner Mackie Shilton ( who was Michael Spinks and later Roy Jones Jr and Bernard Hopkins conditioner too) Shilton had worked with Bowe for the first and third Evander Holyfield fights and Bowe was inconsistent with his nutrition and training. Bowe reportedly lost 40lbs for the rematch and the second fight was much more competitive. Mike Tyson and Andrew Golota were capable boxers but both disgraceful in the 1990s for fouls. Riddick Bowe was also like to foul too watch Round 2 (which often gets overlooked because of Round 10) of the first Evander Holyfield fight Bowe hit Holyfield low and Holyfield abandoned his boxing and started to go toe to toe with Bowe forgetting his game plan.

 

If that was the strategy - then it worked.

 

Full moon that night.. as you can see from the proceedings in and out of the ring. Wacked

True story.

 

My memory is Foreman sayvng Jim Lampley from thugs .. you heard Foreman on the mike telling kids to stand down..Whil;e all hell was breaking lose Old George from the Fifth Ward kept his cool but still had more than enough of an ominous presence to keep people in check ..

 

I remember me and my pals rolling on the floor laughing when Golota took down Bowe's family jewels.

 

Sure made Andrew Golata look good, didn't he? Who else did Andrew ever look that good against?

 

It's an underrated fight and performance from Bowe and Golota. Golota at that point is a very very good fighter. I think that version of Golota would be champ today. He had very good handspeed and his overall defence and athleticism is elite. He was unbeaten and had very good amateur pedigree. He wasn't coming in fighting like a typical European fighter. He was also extremely tough. This fight took everything out of both men. Bowe was always going to have less longevity than most elite champs because he couldn't help himself but to get involved in pocket brawls when he had good outside skills so he was always taking flush shots going back to the amateurs. Well in this fight Golota had his best performance in his career. The problem was that Bowes heart was too big for Golota and Bowe would always come back from being hurt.

Golota would get hurt and then he made a critical decision, which effectively ended his career as far as a top fighter goes - he decided to cheat. It was a lack of heart and a cowardly response to being hurt every time. I don't think Golota ever got over that. He was getting lit up by Bowe at times and then he would resort to low blows to get a break. He had to live with himself knowing what kind of person he was (lacking heart) and I honestly think he lost respect for himself that he could never get back. Bowe showed tremendous heart and will to win in this fight. He was getting destroyed at times but never gave up. Eddie Futch had a heart attack in this camp because Bowe was putting him under too much stress the way he was eating and not training. I actually think Bowe Golota 1 is one of the most iconic fights of all time. If you look at the skills and athleticism Golota has, I think he is the best offensive fighter in the division at this point, but he lacks in defence and more importantly, heart. This fight took his heart completely. He was petrified going in there against Lewis and Tyson after this but he was in a totally different mindset going into this fight against Bowe, who was seen as an even more formidable opponent than those two, at this time.

 

It was a good fight, though it ended up in disgrace. Golota beat the brakes off Bowe but kept fouling like a complete moron, then thugs at ringside decided it was time do thug stuff and it ended up really stupid. Racial animosity dripping all over it at the end really stupid.