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November 1999
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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FIGHT FOR THE RIGHT
STEVE FARHOOD previews Mike Grant vs Andrew Golota, the heavyweight match designed to find a challenger for the winner of Lewis-Holyfield |
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GLIMPSE OF POTENTIAL: infringements aside, Golota impressed in both Bowe fights
- Get Big Pic The
autumn of 1992 was a simpler time. Men fought only men and women
fought only women; a mere 80% of what we drank and ate was likely to
give us cancer; and Ginger Spice was still in a training bra. Better
yet, over the course of two weeks, the heavyweight picture was brought
into relatively clear focus. On Halloween night, Lennox Lewis tricked
Razor Ruddock, and 13 days later, Riddick Bowe dethroned world champion
Evander Holyfield. At the time, what odds would you have offered that
Lewis and Bowe would never meet?
Seven years later, instant gratification seems our obsession, and the
significant heavyweight action will fittingly be concentrated into a
single week. On 13 November, world champions Lewis and Holyfield will
again try to unify the title in Las Vegas, and seven days later, top
contenders Michael Grant and Andrew Golota will square off in Atlantic
City.
As was the case in 1992, logic dictates that the winners will meet.
But will they be willing? And will we necessarily want them to?
The
Lewis-Holyfield rematch is addressed elsewhere in this issue (see
Now or Never).
As far as Grant-Golota is concerned, Las Vegas oddsmaker
extraordinaire Herb Lambeck has made the former an 8-1 favourite. Such
would not have been the case had HBO closed a deal on the network’s
first choice, Grant vs. Ike Ibeabuchi. That fight was almost made, but
"The President’s" considerable legal problems have eliminated him from
contention, maybe for good.
Underdog players might point out that Grant remains an untested
commodity. But before you rush the windows and bet the mortgage money on
the pug from Poland, keep in mind that Golota is quite capable of
beating himself. Will he freeze, as was the case vs. Lewis? Will he
bite, as was the case vs. Samson Po’uha? Will he butt, as was the case
vs. Danell Nicholson? Will he repeatedly punch south of Gdansk, as was
twice the case vs. Bowe? Who knows, maybe he’ll borrow a trick or two
from the face-painted freaks of the WWF. Just wondering: Does Stone Cold
Steve Austin own a patent for smashing a can of beer into his foe’s
face?
You know what? My man Glyn should’ve assigned this preview to a
psychologist. [Editor’s note: Does this mean that Farhood lied in his
job application? He wouldn’t be the first - for years I believed that
Graham Houston regularly made Sonny Liston cry in sparring.]
It’s not only Golota’s bizarre behaviour that makes this a must-see
match-up. The perennial contender is a skilled, man-sized boxer, and
Grant has never faced better opposition. Should Golota keep to the
rules, we’re likely to find out whether the heavily hyped Grant has been
miscast as the first dominant heavyweight of the new millennium.
But let’s get back to Golota’s, ahem, problem for a moment. The 1988
Olympian - he won a bronze medal at in Barcelona - has engaged in 37
professional bouts. It was in an eight-fight window, starting with
Po’uha in 1995, and ending with his abbreviated title shot at Lewis in
’97, that his reputation was established. Since the Lewis fight, he’s
won all six of his starts, including squeaky-clean decisions over Corey
Sanders, Tim Witherspoon, and Jesse Ferguson. Has boxing’s bad boy
mellowed out?
"One thing I see different now is that he called for this fight," said
Donald Tremblay, publicist for Main Events, which promotes Golota.
"Andrew is just a guy who gets very stressed out before big fights.
Against Lewis, the corner wasn’t surprised by what happened. He was more
catatonic than anything else. He was overwhelmed by the moment. But he’s
very confident with Grant. He’s said Grant is too slow and that he can
outbox him. He believes Grant is the guy he can beat.
"Which guy will show up? I don’t know. But one other thing that makes
me feel positive is the Corey Sanders fight [in July ’98]. That was a
10-round war, and at no time did Andrew show any signs of regressing.
From that fight I get the idea that he can do this."
For the record, Tremblay reported that Golota sought professional help
only once. The heavyweight said he was bored after 15 minutes, and the
psychologist seemed even more bored than he was. End of session.
(The whisper on the street is that the word-association exercise went
badly. When the psychologist opened with "family jewels", Golota
responded with "left uppercut". Tremblay couldn’t confirm this, probably
because I made it up.) [Editor’s warning: That’s two lies in one article
- three strikes and Farhood’s out.]
For what it’s worth, Golota was calm and self-assured at the New York
City press conference introducing the fight. Travelling from
Pennsylvania, Grant was more than an hour late. Golota smiled during the
wait and said: "I think he’ll be on time for the fight." Whether Golota
will tense up or freak out on fight night is anybody’s guess.
Golota’s
recent starts presented a counterpoint to the image created by
his high-profile brawls with Bowe. Against ageing punchers Witherspoon
and Ferguson, he boxed in a most contained manner. If Grant is content
with conventional hand-to-hand combat, don’t look for Golota to
introduce guerrilla warfare. What’s been missing, however, is the power
one might expect from a 6ft 4ins, 240-pound heavyweight. Against
Ferguson, Golota landed an impressive 53% of his blows, but never as
much as hurt a 41-year-old fighter who had suffered six career losses by
stoppage.
"It seems Grant is the bigger puncher," said Joe Goossen, who trains
heavyweight hopefuls Lance "Mount" Whitaker and Fres Oquendo. "Golota
hit Bowe with everything in the book and couldn’t take out a guy on his
last legs. He’s not gonna take out a guy on good legs."
The 6ft 7ins Grant has trouble judging distance, and Golota’s best
hope is to counter with precise straight rights. At first glance, it
would seem he’ll need to inch forward to fire from optimum range. But
Grant’s reach advantage is only two inches, and Golota will attempt to -
as his handlers like to put it - "box in small circles."
"Grant doesn’t utilise his reach a lot," said Goossen, "but he’s a
good inside fighter, and Golota looks to fight right there. I think
they’ll be close to one another."
As for Grant’s power, HBO’s Larry Merchant put it best when he
described the perfectly proportioned 250-pound behemoth as "a dominator,
not a terminator". Grant’s right hand is dangerous, and he’s been
particularly effective working the body. We haven’t seen him in a
shoot-out yet, but Hamilton has no doubt about how the super-relaxed
nice guy will respond.
"I’ve seen it in the gym," said the adviser. "Before Lennox fought Ray
Mercer [in 1996], Michael did about 75 rounds with Ray. Every once in a
while, Ray stepped it up, and every time he was pushed, Michael reached
back with everything he had and got into a dogfight. He has the
competitive fire in him, and that will come out in this fight."
And if the heat of the moment turns Golota into "The Foul Pole"?
"The Lionel Butler fight [in 1997] ended in a DQ, with Butler
repeatedly hitting Michael low," recalled Hamilton. "I don’t have the
slightest doubt that if Michael is pushed, he’ll respond in kind. I
don’t think his instinct would be to go crazy, but if he’s in a clinch
and someone wilfully tries to hurt him, it’s: ‘I’m gonna get you.’"
Hamilton acknowledged that Golota is a step up, but believes:
"Everything Andrew does, Michael does better." Disagreeing is Emanuel
Steward, who trains Lewis and Naseem Hamed, among others. "Golota's
natural athletic coordination is better than Grant’s," Steward said at
the Lewis-Holyfield II press conference. "I think once you’re over 6ft
4ins, there’s a coordination problem. Grant’s got a big body - maybe
it’s good for basketball. I don’t think that much of Grant. I think he’s
hype. I don’t see any meanness. It’s not there. He hasn’t developed his
own identity.
"Golota’s a head-case, but I still pick him. He’s not a big puncher,
so Golota on points."
The guess from this corner: Boxing smartly from the outside, Golota
will frustrate Grant and win the majority of the early rounds. Forcing
the action, Grant will rally late and do just enough to escape with a
close but unanimous decision.
And no, I haven’t forgotten the disclaimer: If Golota loses nerve, or
control, or aims for an imaginary bullseye on his opponent’s protective
cup, all bets are off. Come to think of it, better shield the women and
children from this one.
What
will the result of Grant-Golota mean to the immediate future of the
division? Depending on what happens with Lewis and Holyfield, the
possibilities are aplenty. Unfortunately, the winner of Grant-Golota
isn’t likely to gain mandatory challenger status. For now, the alphabet
number ones are Henry Akinwande (WBA), John Ruiz (WBC), and David Tua
(IBF). Further complicating matters is WBC President Jose Sulaiman’s
declaration in October that the winner of Mike Tyson-Orlin Norris will
be matched with Ruiz in a box-off for the top spot.
Let’s start with the most probable scenario: both favourites winning.
Lewis-Grant would be a fascinating battle of giants. "You can make the
argument that that match-up would be very good for boxing," said Kery
Davis, director of sports programming for HBO. "But I think Lennox would
have to honour at least one of the mandatories first. If Holyfield wins,
he’ll probably fight Akinwande. But Lewis is the WBC champion, so he
might fight Ruiz first."
Chipped in Craig Hamilton, who advises Grant: "I don’t think you’ll
see Lewis-Akinwande again in this lifetime." (In a 1997 title fight,
Akinwande was disqualified in the fifth round for excessive clinching.)
And if the winners are Lewis and Golota? "If Golota looks impressive,"
said Davis, "you can make a strong argument that he deserves another
shot. We all feel Golota is a lot better than he showed in that
one-minute fight [actually 95 seconds]. But would Lewis-Golota be next?
I doubt it."
One other potential - and problematical - pairing: Holyfield-Grant.
Both fighters are trained by Don Turner and advised by Jim Thomas. Their
intense religious beliefs created an instant bond during shared training
camps, and both have stated they would never fight each other. "I can
only say this," said Hamilton. "As far as I’m concerned, whoever is
champion is in the way. If Michael is ever the mandatory, Evander is
either gonna fight him or retire."
Here’s to hoping that Lewis-Holyfield II and Grant-Golota provide
answers, and not additional questions. (Dream on, Farhood.) We were
optimistic in 1992, and look what happened. In the best of all worlds,
we’ll start the year 2000 with one heavyweight champion and a short list
of deserving contenders who will secure their opportunities in the
following order: the winner of Grant-Golota, Tua, Hasim Rahman or Vitali
Klitschko. But we’re prepared to settle for less. In fact, we’ll almost
surely have to.
Suffice to say we’ll settle for a good hard fight, something we’ve
been mostly denied in 1999.
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