By Joe Harrison

Now that the sixth installment of the Rocky series “Rocky Balboa” is finally out in theatres, we can only wonder what boxing movie could be next. It wasn’t long ago that “Cinderella Man” came out along with “Million Dollar Baby.” Even before those two boxing movies, there was “Ali” and “Hurricane,” among many others. Now that the year 2007 is here, it’s only a matter of time before other boxing movies are released. 

 

On January 5th, it was Andrew Golota’s 39th birthday. Then the question surfaced, wouldn’t the story of Andrew Golota make for an interesting movie? When everyone lost hope, Golota came back. Even when he appeared to suffer from psychological problems or problems with the law, he always found his way back to the spotlight. In this movie, we would relive the experience of Golota’s popular battles with Riddick Bowe, and would then proceed forward throughout his roller coaster career. Unfortunately, by the end of his adventure, he is still without a title. You can either respect him or you can hate him.  

It is still an amazing journey though, definitely beginning with the Riddick Bowe bouts.

Golota’s Impact on Boxing-

It was July 11th of ‘96 at Madison Square Garden in New York when former heavyweight champion Riddick Bowe faced Andrew Golota in their very first battle. At the time, very little was known about Golota. No one was aware of the skills that he possessed. No one was aware of the power he was about to display. Most importantly, no one could foresee the punishment Bowe’s groin was about to receive, repeatedly. It would result in disqualification, and the beginning of the Golota era.

Only seconds into the fight, it was clear that Golota was prepared for war. He gained the audience’s attention quickly as he began to batter Bowe.

At first, Golota’s punches were hitting the body. Then the punches connected with Bowe’s belt line, then the hips, and then below the belt. Referee Wayne Kelly gave Andrew a warning, but the low blows continued. Kelly was forced to deduct a point, and then another point. Still, Golota continued to punch at Bowe’s private region. Kelly gave him a final warning.

Golota could not resist. As if he were possessed, he connected another low blow in the 7th round. Golota was instantly disqualified as a brawl erupted throughout the stadium. At the time of the stoppage, even with two points deducted, Golota was ahead 67-65 on two scorecards and 67-66 on the third.

It seemed outrageous for a boxer to risk getting disqualified in a fight which he was winning. Especially in the biggest fight of his career! Was it just bad luck, or was it stupidity? Revisiting Golota’s past, such as the time he bit Samson Po’uha, or when he intentionally head butt Danell Nicholson, it was undeniably more than bad luck. Then again, the real question should be of whether or not Golota could avoid using dirty tactics in big fights.

 

Amazingly, a rematch with Bowe was in the works and made for December 14th of ’96 at the Convention Center in Atlantic City, NJ.

 

The night of their rematch, Bowe and Golota engaged in war once again. This time, as each round passed, it appeared to be Golota’s night.

In the second round, Golota connected a left right combo that sent Bowe down. Once Bowe was back up, Golota went in for the kill, but was not able to capitalize. Golota appeared to get annoyed as Bowe was able to both defend himself and land a couple punches of his own. So Golota head butt Bowe, and then a point was taken away.

In the fourth round, Golota had his worst round ever against Bowe, taking multiple right uppercuts and hooks to the head before being knocked down, which was the first knockdown of his career. He battled back showing heart, but almost immediately converted back to his regular strategy of punching below the belt. Referee Eddie Cotton began warning him of low blows. It seemed like Cotton was letting Golota get away with a couple low blows, most likely to let him have a chance at winning the fight. The low blows didn’t stop, so Cotton was forced to take another point away.

In the fifth round, Golota seemed more focused and began landing a series of left right combinations to Bowe’s head. Bowe went down again. In the sixth round, even though Bowe was on the verge of collapsing, Golota couldn’t contain himself and threw an obvious rabbit punch. Cotton gave him another warning.

Through the seventh round Bowe continued to take a beating. In the eighth, he appeared to get his second wind. Going into the ninth, Golota had to control himself for only two more rounds.

Instead, what may have been an obsession got the best of him again. Wham, wham, wham, he landed a combination of three punches way below Riddick’s belt line. With 5 seconds left in the round, Cotton called a halt to the bout and disqualified Golota. Despite the point deductions, Golota was ahead on the scorecards 75-71, 74-72, and 75-73. Like déjà vu, in a fight he was winning, Andrew was disqualified for excessive low blows.

Obviously, Golota defeated himself twice while facing Bowe. He displayed great boxing power and technique, but also revealed what appeared to be a psychological disorder involving obsessive cheap shots, mainly low blows. So was Golota just a waste of talent? This would remain to be seen.

  

Although Golota could not score a win against Bowe, he was given a shot at Lennox Lewis for the World Heavyweight Championship. Fans could only hope that Andrew would not get himself disqualified again. A Bowe/Lewis bout would’ve been huge, but with Golota being the better boxer than Bowe, there was also the possibility of Golota defeating Lewis and becoming the new champion. Well, when the night of the fight finally arrived, Golota did not get disqualified.

On October 4th, 1997, at Caesar’s Hotel and Casino in Atlantic City, NJ, Lewis scored a first-round knockout over Golota. At first, both men tried to establish their jabs. Then Lewis landed two straight hands to knock Golota down. Golota was off balance, but still barely beat the count and was able to continue. Only seconds later, Lewis used his right hands to put Golota down again, and it was over.

To some, it seemed evident that Lewis wanted Golota out of there as soon as possible. No one could really blame him after witnessing the pain that Bowe’s groin received on two separate evenings.

After being demolished by Lewis, boxing fans were disgusted with Golota. He was a man who gained fame from two disqualifications against Bowe. It was most likely the end for Golota.

 

A New Reputation-

Andrew was quickly on the comeback trail, defeating opponents such as Corey “T-Rex” Sanders, Tim Witherspoon, and Quinn Navarre. By November 20th of ’99, Golota had landed in a WBC eliminator against undefeated heavyweight prospect Michael Grant. Golota seemed like just the name to propel Grant into a showdown with Lennox Lewis. It was not as easy as expected.

Golota was giving Grant a boxing lesson. In the first round, he floored Grant twice. Then he continued to outbox Grant round after round. However, things took an interesting twist. In the tenth round, Golota was in trouble and then got knocked down. He was able to get up, but when referee Randy Neumann asked him if he wanted to continue, his answer was no. Grant was declared the winner by technical knockout.

If anything stood out in the bout between Golota and Grant, it was that Golota fought cleanly. He never really seemed in trouble until the tenth round. Because he quit, Grant would move onward to a second-round knockout loss by the hands of Lennox Lewis. Golota, on the other hand, had a new reputation. He was no longer “Foul Pole”, as some would call him because of all the low blows against Bowe. Now he was just a head case, a boxer who always found a way to lose the big fights. No one wanted to see him again.

After winning a few more bouts, Golota was pinned against Mike Tyson on October 20th of ’00, at The Palace in Auburn Hills, MI. Only a few years earlier, Tyson was disqualified in a bout for biting off a piece of Evander Holyfield’s ear. Indeed, it was to be as much of a circus attraction as it was an intriguing match-up.

In a fight that only lasted two rounds, Tyson manhandled Golota by throwing hooks at his body and head, knocking him down in the first round. In the second round, Tyson was once again the aggressor, barely giving Golota a second to breathe, but Golota survived. Shockingly, Golota did not come out for round 3. Instead, he refused to take his mouthpiece, and then it was announced that Tyson was the winner by 2nd-round technical knockout because Golota quit. As he walked off toward his dressing room, the crowd booed and threw objects at him. During a post-fight interview, a stuttering Golota stated that it just wasn’t his night. He also claimed that referee Frank Garza ignored Tyson's dirty tactics which included intentional head butts.

Later, the Michigan Commission changed the result to a No Contest because Tyson test positive for marijuana after the fight.

After quitting against Michael Grant and Mike Tyson, Golota purely had the reputation of being a quitter and having no heart. Yet, it really didn’t matter, Golota was already observed as a failure. It was finally after his bout with Tyson when Golota disappeared.

The next time his name was brought up, in early February of ’02, he was charged for impersonating a police officer during a traffic stop in Will County, IL. During the traffic stop, he showed the police officer a badge and claimed to be a New Jersey police officer. Apparently, Golota received an honorary badge by the police department in Hudson County, NJ, for performing some charity work.

More Opportunities-

Just when it seemed that Golota was gone forever, he returned to boxing. After scoring knockout wins over Brian Nix and Terrence Lewis, Golota was given an undeserved shot at Chris Byrd for his IBF belt on April 17 of ’04, at Madison Square Garden in New York.

It would make for an interesting match-up. Due to his unappealing style of pawing and lack of power, Byrd was not among fan favorites in boxing. However, it was difficult to see Byrd losing, especially against someone who has always found a way to lose each of his biggest fights.

 

For majority of the bout, Golota used his size and power to keep Chris Byrd on the defensive end. There were multiple occasions when Golota would land a combo or hard body shot causing Byrd’s glove to touch the canvas. Ref Randy Neumann ruled it a slip each time.

After twelve hard-fought rounds, the bout was called a draw. Golota left the ring in total disappointment as thousands of fans cheered for him. Later, Golota decided to join the press conference where he stated that he thought he won the fight. Afterwards, Byrd complained that the ref should’ve deducted points from Golota for his dirty tactics, mainly his rabbit punches and his punching after the bell.

The fact that Golota made it though a twelve-round match without quitting, getting disqualified or getting knocked out was a great shock. Most observers felt that Golota deserved the win.

Because of Golota’s impressive performance against Byrd, Golota received another title-shot. This time, he would face John Ruiz for his WBA belt on November 13th of ’04, once again at Madison Square Garden.

Ruiz was just as unpopular as Byrd due to his style of hugging and hitting, which had created some very boring boxing matches. Overall, Ruiz was still expected to be a tougher opponent for Golota, and could possibly frustrate him enough to either quit or get disqualified.

During the first couple rounds, Ruiz was willing to trade with Golota, focusing more on boxing rather than his usual hugging. In the second round, Golota knocked Ruiz down twice. From that point onward, Ruiz was back to his methods of hugging and punching. Ruiz’s cornerman, Norm Stone, continuously yelled at referee Randy Neumann, demanding that he deduct points from Golota for his cheap shots. Stone was eventually sent back to the dressing room when Neumann got sick of his swearing and abuse. At the end of the fight, Ruiz was declared the winner by a close unanimous decision.

Once again, most observers felt that Golota was the true winner. Not only did some boxing fans see Golota as the WBA champ, but also a unified champ, doing enough to earn both the WBA and IBF belts.

Golota was given a third consecutive world title-shot, this time against the WBO champ Lamon Brewster. Brewster was recognized for his power, but was not as respected as the other champions because of his lack in skills and experience. The match was to take place in Golota’s hometown of Chicago, at the United Center on May 5th, ‘05.

Many felt that this was Golota’s night. Golota knew it too, as he stood in the middle of the ring as the sound of the first bell rang. Fifty-three seconds later, the bout was over. Brewster’s power sent Golota to the canvas three times. Although Golota rose to his feet each time, referee Genaro Rodriquez had seen enough.

Not only was the loss a slap in the face to everyone who paid to see Golota at the United Center that evening, but it was a harsh reminder of what the name Andrew Golota really meant. Perhaps it was impossible for him to win a world title. After four title shots against four different champions, he was still empty-handed and fresh out of opportunities.

After Golota’s gruesome defeat to Brewster, another boxing event was already being planned for the United Center on August 13th of ’05. Although the main event involved Hasim Rahman and Monte Barrett, the show would also feature another bout pinning Andrew Golota against fellow Polish countryman Przemyslaw Saleta. Golota was ready to redeem himself for the poor showing against Brewster and wished to win his fans back. Unfortunately, Golota was injured during training and would not appear that evening. Instead, boxing fans witnessed Chicagoan Oliver McCall defeat Saleta by a 4th-round technical knockout.

Golota hasn’t fought in the ring since his loss to Brewster. Nevertheless, he still made headlines again in June of 2006. Golota was charged with more than a dozen misdemeanor weapons violations after the police conducted a sexual assault investigation at his home located in Berwyn, IL. More than a dozen firearms without permits were found as well as a revoked state firearm owner's identification card.

In the end, even though Golota never won a title, he still showed that he had the tools to be a champion. His true potential was revealed in each of his fights against Riddick Bowe, Chris Byrd, and John Ruiz. He had the skills to make a real battle against all three opponents, bouts which he should’ve won.

Against Byrd and Ruiz, he revealed that he finally had the discipline to go the distance in a big fight without getting disqualified like he did against Bowe, twice. Also, even while losing to Brewster, he showed the heart to get up each time and his desire to continue fighting, unlike his bouts with Michael Grant and Mike Tyson.

Now that Golota has resolved his legal problems, perhaps he should look over the climax of his boxing career just like we have. The later part of Golota’s career would be very comparable to the first “Rocky” movie. Sure, his career had its ups and downs. There was a time when it seemed like he had no chance at ever becoming a heavyweight champion. Yet, he was back on track, and he surprised us all.

Even though Golota just turned 39 years old, it is still not too late for him to return to the boxing ring. Compared to names such as Oliver McCall and Evander Holyfield, Golota is still relatively young. What if he stepped in the ring with someone like Oleg Maskaev, our current WBC champ? Some would give him pretty good odds at achieving victory, especially if it’s the same Golota we saw against Byrd or Ruiz. Otherwise, maybe Golota is finished, and this movie already ended.

Golota did not win a heavyweight title, but he was very impressive in two of his last three performances. Plus, we saw what he did to Riddick Bowe, as well as Michael Grant in the first nine rounds of their bout. We know what he was capable of, we know of the potential he had. Regardless of his problems with the law and delivering low blows to opponents, Golota was the like the Cinderella man who did not get the big victories, even the ones he deserved. Perhaps he never wore a world championship belt around his waste, but Andrew Golota was a champion in our hearts.