How would've Andrew Golota fared if he was mentally stable?

I think Chris Byrd was envious of golota. He called him the best physical specimen at hw, but also called him a dummy for his mental makeup. I previously learned from an old poster that it wasn't his fault, he had ptsd. Then again, that's a whole different subject lol. Not to start an argument at all.

 

He definitely got the varsity of a champion

 

It’s difficult to say. Him being mentally stable doesn’t mean he would have heart that he clearly lacked (he lashed out with illegal punches when the going got tough, a way of quitting basically) and not being a whack job might not have changed that..

And him being unstable might be what led him to boxing in the first place, the reason he put in the training and the background as an amateur and working his way up the ranks as a pro. Boxing isn’t a place for ‘normal’ folk, really,

So there’s no way to know.

 

I think he gets the 2 wins over Bowe, and may have held on to decision Grant. Not sure much else changes though.

His being a slow starter, and his chin failing him had everything to do with the Lewis/Brewster 1st round blowouts, and his mental instability never came into play.

In his fight prior to facing Tyson, Golota struggled against the light hitting Orlin Norris. Norris couldn't have been in the best shape, weighing 230 for that fight, which was really heavy for him. Not sure Golota at 100% was going to beat even the faded version of Tyson in 2000.

My guess, not much changes. Maybe some flashes of excellence, but still would have come up short of grabbing one of the belts.

 

He should’ve been champion anyway, he should’ve got the decision against Byrd and John Ruiz.

 

He coulda been a contender, instead of a bum which, let's face it, he was.

 

It’s sort of like asking how fast some Olympic swimmer could swim if he was a barracuda.

A thing is what it is. It is not something else.

Golota was a headcase. He was never going to be anything other than a headcase.

 

Beats Bowe and Grant, still loses to Lewis.

He also had that car accident which injured his shoulder and affected him.

 

If Golota didn't have an unstable self destructive quit minded mentality...than he gets up from the Tyson knockdown and makes Mike quit 7 one sided rounds later. He obviously beats Grant...he beats Ruiz and Byrd more convincingly...the Bowe fights he wins 2 close decisions in all time classics.

Lewis it's hard to say since we didn't see too many fights where Golota fought with self confidence

 

Andrew Golota was one of the most talented boxers of his era, and his technique, jab, and physical attributes placed him among the best. If he had been mentally stable, he would have had a real chance at winning championship belts.

In the fights against Bowe (both the unprepared, overweight version and the more ripped version in the rematch), Golota dominated. He broke Bowe down both technically and physically, showing that his skill level was at the very top. The disqualifications were due to a lack of composure, not a lack of ability.

Against Lennox Lewis, mental pressure played a key role, as Golota simply wasn’t himself that night. Even with a stable mindset, his chances against Lewis would have been slim, but he could have been far more competitive.

The fight against Grant was another example where Golota’s stability could have led to a points victory.

The Byrd and Ruiz fights were outright robberies. I’m not sure even Golota’s mental stability would have influenced the blind judges in those cases.

He had a real chance against Tyson. Tyson didn’t beat Golota in the proper sense the fight was technically invalid since Mike Tyson, as he admitted in his autobiography, was under the influence of marijuana. Tyson himself said he used it because he was afraid of the Polish boxer.

 

Still does not improve his defense any.

 

He would’ve played power forward in the Euro league.

 

Golota had quite good defense, actually- He just didn't always utilize it. His training from Benton gets shown off pretty heavily against Orlin Norris.

 

I'd agree with all of this and add the way he technically broke down Bowe who knows what he could've done. Andrew could really box there was so much hype towards him after the first Bowe fight. I think he appeared on Jay Leno.