Were you shocked to see Lewis destroying Golota so easily?

I think the fight with Golota is Lewis' masterpiece.
Since that fight came right after the most bizarre rivalry with Bowe, I thought that fight was the reason for Bowe's retirement.
Later I was convinced that it was not so.
P.S. I knew little about boxing when I joined the forum, now I know more, but it's still little.

 

Not sure if there's a typo here, but Golota quit late vs. Grant, after having Grant down early. It was the fight that spurred Lennox to pursue a fight w/ Grant ASAP.

On the surface, he was a well-rounded fighter w/ good technical skill & power, but he lacked the mental &/or physical fortitude to hang w/ big punchers. That's how he was able to perform well vs. fighters like Byrd & Ruiz when past his prime, but couldn't survive more than a round or 2 vs. Lennox or Tyson when much younger.

Incidentally, I've always thought he would've had a shot at beating the version of Tyson that he fought if he could've just stayed the course & taken him into deep waters, but it just wasn't in his makeup to do that.

 

When he started to get his act together he just wouldn't be considered over anybody in decision wins.

 

Golota would've had a great chance if he wasn't prone to quitting after getting hurt. He would've won the Grant fight if he had just kept fighting, and of course, he would've won against Bowe if he didn't have his breakdowns, but what's done is done.
In all fairness, Golota was right to quit against Tyson, he suffered a concussion, a broken cheekbone, and a herniated disc, but it doesn't look good on his record in context.

 

I've always felt it marked a distinct turning point in Lewis' career.

Heading into the fight, he was coming off a string of inconsistent &/or bizarre performances, & it was unclear what kind of future awaited him. The Golota KO put him on the path to the unified title & eventually the HoF.

 

Golota was the equivalent of playing russian roulette... you never knew when he would go off...
You never knew what version would be stepping into the canvas: stud or dud, and everything between.

 

I remember watching the fight live. The answer was yes, I was definitely surprised!

 

No, with that right hand if his opponent stands within range and does not move his head much to get under it, Lennox would test the chin.

 

I wasn't that surprised. I never thought all that much about Golota. It was pretty clear watching the Bowe fights that Bowe wasn't the same guy anymore and with Bowe being beatable, Golota still found a way to lose those fights.

 

Lewis is arguably the #1 H2H boxer in history. Him beating somebody like a drum ought not to be a great surprise, especially a guy as inconsistent as Golota. Golota could be great, but he could also come in flat and look bad.

 

Nothing surprised me where Golota was concerned.

And it's not like we hadn't seen Lewis blow out perceived threats early and with relative ease before then - especially when Lewis wanted to make a statement.

 

My bad.

 

Hindsight is always 20/20. From what we came to learn about Golota over the years, not a shocker. But if I am being honest, and hearkening back in time, following Golota's two DQ losses to Bowe, in which Golota essentially badly brutalized Bowe, I thought he was going to give Lewis a heck of a fight and thought he was a very live underdog. That Lewis blew through him in 1 round, after he went 16 competitive rounds with Bowe, was very surprising and unexpected.