I'm one of those people who has a strange affection for Golota. But then I think about Lamon Brewster and Ray Austin, two guys less talented than Andrew who blew him out. The Brewster fight seemed so winnable and could've made him a champ...I haven't gotten over it. Andrew needs to warm up better. I don't think he should come back. If you're getting your ass kicked at 37, 40, 41...you're not going to be much better at 43. If he does come back though, I think a Chicago battle between him and Fres Oquendo would be good. At least one of these hard-luck guys would get a win, presumably. Knowing them it would be a controversial draw. The winner could fight McCall.
I won´t say no to that, but notice people said the same thing when he lost to Ishe. Heck, I said it too. And yet he managed to progress. IMO if Wolak elevates his accuracy from what we´ve seen in the DL fight (and yes, straightening out his punches and being a little more efficient would do that) he can progress further, based on his toughness and extreme punch output, alone. With no amateur experience, he´s still learning on the job and these types of fighters tend to peak a little later. And if its true and he´s hit his ceiling, no problem, I will relish watching his future wars on ESPN, because they are in love with him and he´d be a good test for anyone. And from what I understand, good ol´ Golota is the reason Pawel got into boxing in the first place.
Another great post. You write really well! So Golota inspired Pawel? Hell, he made me so crazy, I almost wanting to start fighting pro when I was 45 yrs old! :!:
... but there is another path .... Chagaev-Povetkin winner for a regular WBA belt ... its just a fake belt so no pressure on Golota, he can just relax & fight his fight.
The word I don't like is "rigid". It's so true. He needs to practice being be more flexible and fluid. Conditioning is key also.
He can learn some tricks, introduce some quirks here and there, but the truth is his offense is his defense, along with his chin of course. On the positive side, I saw a fair bit of upper body movement in the last fight, but he wasn´t consistent with it all the time.
That is my biggest concern too. He was rigid with both his upper body movement and punches and rigid in the legs. Just looked like he came back from a marathon and everything was aching and shot.
I'll watch it gladly but he really needs to be fighting bums. He's shot as **** but deserves a last win.