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October 2000
Each month we bring you a selection of articles from the current and past issues of BOXING MONTHLY. To buy the magazine, see our subscription or back issues pages, or use our world distribution map to find a news-stand copy. Why not use our Interactive Forum to express your own boxing comments and opinions!
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NOT ONE FOR THE WEAK OF STOMACH
Mike Tyson versus Andrew Golota is the ultimate clash of the heavyweight division's bad boys, but it could also turn out to be a thrilling boxing match. GRAHAM HOUSTON looks ahead |
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BLOWING IT AGAINST BOWE: Golota twice had the beating of Big Daddy but blew his opportunities through low punching
- Get Big Pic When Andrew Golota stepped into the ring against Lennox Lewis three years ago, most people expected a tough fight, even though Lewis was favoured. But Golota seemed to be in another place and time that night, a stiff-with-apprehension target, was easily blown away by the heavyweight champion. It is tempting to believe that something similar is going to happen when Golota gets into the ring against Mike Tyson at The Palace, a 20,000-seat arena in Auburn Hills, a suburb of Detroit, on 20 October. There is a feeling in some American boxing circles that Golota will once again be undermined by the demons of self-doubt even before a punch is thrown. But I am not so sure. Golota is such a strange character that, in this fight, one in which his psyche seems most likely to be under siege, he just might astonish everyone by coming out punching. Tyson is the 4-1 on betting favourite but, at this stage of his career, who knows how he will react if Golota refuses to submit to the early pressure? Although everyone in the game agrees that Tyson can still punch very hard indeed, the fact is that he has had easy blowouts in his last two fights, probably expects something similar against Golota, and might not be ready, mentally or physically, for a protracted engagement. And, as we all know, Tyson has a propensity to self-destruction. He could have this fight won; then throw it all away by doing something wild and weird. So there are elements of intrigue in this scheduled 12-rounder that should make it a financial winner on American and British pay-per-view TV. I do not go along with the view that most of the onlookers, whether watching on television or in the big crowd, will have put their money down simply in the hope of seeing something bizarre. This fight has appeal on a strictly boxing level. I feel Tyson is an attraction primarily because of his aggression, not because he is capable of going ballistic in the blink of an eye. But his unpredictability is, I suppose, now part of the appeal. Golota, too, has achieved notoriety with off-the-wall occurrences, but he can also fight a bit. And, if you believe his camp, he has actually wanted the Tyson fight for some time. This, to me, is a fight, not a freak show. The majority view is that Tyson gets his man out of there quickly to make Golota his 43rd knockout victim in a record that currently stands at 48 wins, three losses and one no contest. But in boxing, as in life, things are not always as simple as they first seem. Consider that, in four of his last five fights, Tyson has shown an alarming tendency to go off the rails - did go off them, in fact, when he bit Evander Holyfield's ears in June 1998. Since then, only the two-round blow out of Julius Francis went off without incident. In his first fight after the DQ loss to Holyfield, he twisted Frans Botha's arm in a clinch so violently that the fight briefly teetered on the brink of chaos before he knocked out the South African with a big right hand in the fifth. Then there was the one round no contest when he felled Orlin Norris with an after-the-bell blow - which was also delivered as the referee was breaking up a clinch: two fouls in one. And then, in June, we had Tyson's extra-curricular assault on Lou Savarese after the fight had been stopped, with referee John Coyle going down in the confusion. Factor in the various out-of-the-ring misadventures and we are clearly dealing with an unstable character. If Golota tries to mess him around by clinching and smothering, we could see Tyson get frustrated and simply snap, because his fuse is frighteningly short. Then there is the possibility of things getting completely out of hand, with both men going outside the rules, because Golota, (who has halted 29 opponents in a record of 36 wins, four defeats), is also capable of losing his self control. Most famously, there were Golota's two fights with Riddick Bowe, when he had victory in his grasp but tossed it away each time with repeated, seemingly deliberate low blows. Also, Golota has bitten an opponent (Samson Po'uha) and butted another one (Danell Nicholson) but got away with the transgressions. To be fair to Golota, though, he has been restrained, almost gentlemanly, since the Bowe fights. But the old problem of mental meltdown occurred again in the fight with Michael Grant last November, when Golota, having almost stopped his huge opponent with two knockdowns in the first, and leading handily on points, astonishingly quit after getting dropped in the 10th. Trying to figure out what was going through Golota's mind in fights such as those with Bowe and Grant is indeed a guessing game. The most commonly held belief is that the 32-year-old Chicago-based Pole simply lacks mental toughness. But then, these days one could say the same about the 34-year-old Tyson. Golota, at 6ft 4ins, is some six inches taller than Tyson and, at about 235 pounds (16st 11lbs), will likely outweigh him by around 12 to 15 pounds. Al Certo, the veteran New Jersey trainer brought on board this year to work with Golota, tells me that the Pole is stronger than people realise and feels that if anyone is scared here it could be the smaller Tyson. Golota has boxing ability and can move. He is more talented and sturdier than Tyson's 38-second victim, Lou Savarese. Also, Golota might hit hard enough to keep Tyson from simply overwhelming him. If Golota can stand up to the anticipated early rush, then start hitting Tyson with the sort of right hands that nearly had Michael Grant out of the fight, we could see Iron Mike slowing down and perhaps looking frustrated and clumsy, as he did before nailing Botha. Golota will probably seek to extend Tyson past the first few rounds, then start to come on. Trainer Certo told me that he has been working with Golota on stiffening up his jab, which he feels can be a primary weapon in keeping Tyson contained. Of course, if Golota gets caught early the contest could be over before the Pole can even get started. Yet he took some heavy hits from Bowe in their rematch, which suggests his chin might be sound. The Lewis one-rounder might have been one of those aberrations. People in Golota's camp will tell you that the fighter just "wasn't there" after having medication injected into a troublesome knee shortly before leaving his dressing room. Al Certo believes that Golota has more talent than even the fighter himself realises. But will Golota be able to put that talent into effect against Tyson, or will he let inner doubts and the big occasion overcome him? The questions surrounding both men seem equally divided. It is the sort of fight that should offer a high-intensity experience for the viewer. Sometimes, these potentially explosive fights turn out to be dreary (think of Tyson vs Bonecrusher Smith), but I have a feeling that this one will not disappoint. The winner logically will meet Evander Holyfield. The loser may not have reached the end of the road, but it is hard to see Tyson in particular coming back. Either man is capable of doing something crazy and getting disqualified, although the true fans will be hoping for a conclusion that is not tainted by controversy. A madhouse type of ending, unfortunately a real possibility, would hurt boxing. But I do not think the fight will descend to those depths. I believe that Tyson is going to catch Golota with a big punch and follow-up with a fight-ending barrage, some time between rounds two and six. The image sticks in my mind of the stumpy Orlin Norris bouncing right-handers off of Golota's chin in June. If Norris could hit Golota, so can Tyson. But Norris is not a seriously hard puncher. Tyson is. That's the difference, as Golota will discover. |
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