By Mark Vester
On the undercard to Felix Trinidad-Roy Jones Jr. at New York's Madison Square Garden, a battle of Chicago heavyweight rivals saw 40-year-old Andrew Golota (43-6-1, 34KOs) win a unanimous twelve-round decision over 27-year-old Mike Mollo (19-1, 12KO). The scores were 116-110, 116-112 and 118-109.
The first round was seesaw contest between Golota and Mollo, with Mollo starting fast and Golota finishing strong with accurate punches. For the next two rounds, Golota used a left jab to set up hard rights to knock Mollo around. The younger Mollo came back in rounds four and five, landing hard right hands to the head and closed Golota's left eye in the process.
Around the sixth, Golota began to come back with bodyshots to slow Mollo down. The next two rounds saw Golota continue his assault with bodyshots and rights to push an incoming Mollo away. In the ninth, Molla was badly hurt by a combination, but was able to last to the end with pure heart as he appeared to be out on his feet.
Mollo was still exhausted in the final three rounds, using his heart to continue forward in the fight. The physical status led to tenth and eleventh rounds being close. He would start the rounds well and tired midway, which allowed Golota to end them strong with combinations to the head and body. The final round saw Mollo hurt early and hang on for the full three minutes with Golota trying his best to finish him off.
The fight received a standing ovation from the crowd.
