Do you feel Roy Jones lost to Griffin, or was he clearly the better fighter that night and just got carried away?
Except the fact that Golota NEVER fought with the same kind of fire and skill again. Nothing even close to approaching that.
Golota ruined Bowe _________________ Yes he did. But talk about snatching defeat out of the jaws of victory. Those two fights take the cake in that department.
After the Tyson debacle, Andrew Golota campaigned a successful comeback effort up to and including his title fight with Chris Byrd. Golota fought his heart out against one tough opponent in Byrd. What many people do not know is that Andrew was involved in a car accident in 1999 in which he permanently injured his left shoulder. The crash diminished his once great left jab (the same jab that took him all the way to the Olympic medal rounds in the 1988 Seoul Olympics). The car crash was really bad, Andy’s best friend was killed in the passenger side. I saw a picture of what the wrecked Mercedes Golota was driving looked like following the crash. The vehicle was absolutely devastated. I thought to myself "wow, one person actually came out of this alive?” Andy reached his mental prime after he was past his physical prime, and the time period he fought Byrd was when he was of sound mind. That said, I believe the reason some say Golota never fought with the same kind of fire and skill as he did against Bowe is because the Pole was not physically superior anymore (he had trouble unleashing the left jab the same way he did it against Bowe). But I think the fire was there burning inside him and he had the heart to fight, just not the same physical power. Golota’s mental prime was there in the 2000s, he was not quitting anymore but instead fighting until the end, yet his superb physical tools were gone. Injuries from the car accident sped up the end of Golota’s physical prime, unfortunately. The Polish iconic figure even said in an interview that after his ’99 accident he was able to box using only one hand, which was his uninjured right hand.
Three fights with Holyfield and a deep aversion to training ruined Bowe. He was a dead man before he stepped into the ring with Golota. But man what heart! It really looked like Golota was going to be the man after those two fights. Too bad he fought Lennox.
When Golota was throwing those low blows, he was not doing it as a technique, like Salido hitting Chenko on the hips to slow his movement for instance. He was doing it because he was HURT. Look at photos of Golota's face, especially after the first fight, remember, he had to get off the canvas and he in almost as bad a condition as Bowe. Golota looks like he still has a few fights left in him though. [url]http://www.ibhof.com/pages/inductionweekend/2017/Photos/bowe_golota.jpg[/url]
He did it because he was frustrated that Bowe would not drop once and for all. All he had to do to beat Bowe was fight from behind the jab and set his shots up. He couldn't keep it together.
Golota had a mental problem, but even without the low blows he would have ended Bowe's career. Eddie Futch was angry with Bowe, esp. in the second fight, he dumped Bowe them, Bowe was lazy. However, you have to declare Golovkin as the winner if you go by SOB Ward's rules, Tony Weeks..................SOB should have been disqualified, for those who think SOB won, then they should claim Golota as the winner. This content is protected
If anything, it was a combination of the three fights with Holyfield and Bowe's slovenly nature when in between fights (blowing up in weight and barely training if at all) which ultimately ruined Bowe. Golota got the remnants in his two fights with Riddick, and merely added to Bowe's physical decline. This content is protected
Bowe ruined himself way before the Golota fights. He was fat, unmotivated and lazy. Now he's begging for handouts to pay off his mortgage. A real pity he was too lazy and dumb when he had a way to make real money.