TYSON - GOLD:
A BATTLE OF TWO NON-REFERRALS

Perhaps you already know how this fight ended: the Detroit match between the two most scandalous fighters of our time took place when it was already Saturday morning in Moscow. I still know one thing: this battle was preceded by an unprecedented excitement.

I don’t even remember a case when two such unbalanced, unpredictable and "dirty" fighters rose to the ring, to whom the terminology of dog fighting is quite applicable: Mike Tyson is a specialist in biting off ears, Andrzej Golota is a master in depriving an opponent of his manhood.

There were enough predictions on the eve of the match. Most experts agreed that Tyson would most likely win, and possibly already at the very beginning of the fight. In his previous fight with Michael Grant, Golota discredited himself by the fact that after a knockdown in the 10th round he refused to continue the meeting, although he clearly came to his senses and was ahead of the opponent by points by a large margin. On the other side. Iron Mike defeated his last opponent, Lou Savarese, in the very first minute of the battle, almost finishing him off.

Let me remind you that then the very first strong blow of Tyson - a long left side, hitting the temple, knocked Savarese over. True, he got up, but he could no longer offer resistance. The referee tried to stop the fight, but hesitated, and Tyson, hooking him by the head or neck inside elbow, when he struck another blow, threw the referee to the floor. Having risen, he nevertheless stopped the fight, and Tyson escaped with a non-fatal fine for himself.

The terrifying power of Iron Mike, his fury made a very strong impression on both the public and the experts. Many after that fight said that Tyson was already quite capable of dealing with Briton Lennox Lewis, world champion in heavyweight according to the WBC and IBF versions, and, quite possibly, Lewis will finish this hypothetical fight in the same way as Savarese, that is, he will be knocked out in the first round. Others, and most of them, paying tribute to Tyson's strength, believed that, in principle, Mike, of course, was able to knock out any opponent in the first round, but the tall and mighty Lewis would still defeat him.

However, we are now talking about another fight - Tyson vs Golota. I will try to predict how events will develop: I think that you, who already know the outcome of the fight, will be curious to compare this forecast with the real course of the struggle.

Option 1. Tyson wins by knockout in the 1st round.

Tyson still has the best "start" in the modern ring. The fight with Savarese is a vivid confirmation of this. And yet it seems to me that this could hardly have happened this time. Yes, Lewis knocked out Golota in the first round, but Andrzej has learned a thing or two since then. If necessary, he can be very careful, and in the opening of the fight with Tyson, this is exactly the tactics he should have needed. High growth, Long hands and quite a decent speed all this allowed to withstand the first onslaught of Mike.

Option 2. Tyson wins by knockout in any round from 2nd to 6th.

For some reason, they often do not pay attention to the fact that all of his victories by knockout, except for two, Tyson won before the 7th round, and those two - in the 7th. Moreover, both of them, in fact, fit into general rule... In 1987, Mike knocked out Tyrell Biggs in the 7th round, but he could have done it in the 3rd: hurt by the opponent's pre-match statements, he decided to torture him a little longer. And in the 91st, Tyson defeated the Canadian Donovan Ruddock by TKO in the 7th round - in this case, it was a clear mistake of the referee, who hurried to stop the fight, because of which he had to conduct a rematch, which Mike won on points.

With all his immense talent, Tyson cannot maintain the power of the blow for the entire fight. However, up to a certain point, it is such that it can immediately decide the outcome of the fight. This happened, for example, in the recent fight between Tyson and Frans Botha. The South African then won the first 4 rounds, but in the 5th he missed a right cross - and it was all over.

Option 3. Capitulation or disqualification of Golota.

Like many thugs of this kind, Golota, under pressure, often breaks down - and either surrenders, as in a fight with Michael Grant, or commits some hysterical actions that lead to disqualification, as in two fights with Riddick Bowe. The same thing could have happened to him in a duel with Tyson, although for some reason it seems to me that this should not have happened after all.

Option 4. Disqualification of Tyson.

Tyson can also break under pressure, as evidenced by his bull terrier attack on Holyfield's ear in their second meeting. Evander in that fight all the time acted on the brink, and sometimes beyond the brink of a foul. In case Golota began to behave in the same spirit. Iron Mike might well have gone off again.

Option 5. Golota wins by points or by knockout in the last rounds.

As already mentioned, by the end of the fight, Tyson slows down. In addition, in the last three fights, he spent a total of 4 rounds in the ring, so he could simply be unprepared for a long confrontation. In such a situation, Golota with his psychology, sensing even the slightest weakness, no longer had to let him go.

In conclusion, I will add that the battle could well have gone according to some completely different scenario. You don't have to go far for examples. Just two weeks ago, the Maskaev-Johnson fight ended in a way that no expert had expected!

Alexander BELENKY

February 23, 2013 his the last battle famous Polish heavyweight Andrzej Golota played in his career. "Soviet Sport" recalls two fights between the Pole and Riddick Bowe, which glorified Golota all over the world.

It is noteworthy that this whole story might not have happened. The first meeting of the boxers was on the verge of collapse. Just a few hours before the fight, Golota refused to enter the ring. He was preparing for a 10-round fight. But this point was not clearly spelled out in the contract. Bowe had a last-minute 12 round opportunity, which he took advantage of. Golota was categorically against it. But the matter was resolved when the Pole was promised a reward at the expense of Bow's fee.

FIRST FIGHT

In the previous fight, Bowe defeated Evander Holyfield... This was their third meeting and Bowe's second victory. The American wanted to regain the titles he had Lennox Lewis. Bowe had an obstacle on his way in the person of Andrzej Golota, whom the American did not take seriously. And it became his main mistake in a career.

The Pole's track record was not of particular interest. Yes, 28 wins, but almost half (13) are opponents with double-digit losses. Seven more - more than five defeats, and the names of the rest will not tell anyone anything.

Bowe didn’t even really start preparing for battle. He rested for over six months. Didn't even think about dumping overweight... The American saw himself as a national champion. Is he some kind of Golota rival? After all, in those days, all Americans were convinced that white guys could not do two things: basketball and boxing.

But the battle began. And much has changed in the minds of Americans. Golota not only dominated the ring, he systematically declassified and destroyed Bowe. By all means. Many were wondering, "How the hell did Holyfield not knock out Bow?"

The fight would have ended with the victory of Golota, but ... Sometimes it is difficult to understand what is going on in a person's head. Moreover, in the boxer's head. In the case of Golota, the case is completely clinical.

Referee Wayne Kelly was well aware of the Pole's dirty tricks. Golota bit Samson Poe Ear and butted Danella Nicholson... “I have a plan in case this guy bites Bow. He won't be able to bite anyone else, ”Kelly said. But he could not imagine what problems would arise.

So, contrary to forecasts, Golota outright “endured” a more eminent opponent and prepared a sensation. Suddenly ... One blow below the belt, the second ... Both are not accented. Accident? Coincidence? Kelly issued two warnings to Golota. Bowe was not particularly indignant. But in the fourth round, the American missed such a blow that the ringing of his "bells" was heard by the whole audience. Kelly instantly removed a point from the Pole, and Bowe writhed in the ring for more than a minute.

It seemed that the Pole had made his conclusions and that this would not happen again. But ... round six and another hit below the belt. The grimace of pain on Riddick's face indicated that Indian orphans, hungry Africans and homeless people in Mexico City were the real favorites of fate and they were lucky at every step. It was not hard to believe in it, because it was Bowe who looked like the most unfortunate person in the world at that moment.

During the break, Bowe continued to complain to the referee about the opponent. The big African American's voice sounded like a child's viola. As a schoolboy, he complained to the teacher that he was beaten by a high school student. Kelly replied that "the high school student has already been punished, and for a relapse will be expelled from school." Bowe unwittingly agreed, although he would have preferred the "expulsion" to take place immediately.

And for good reason. In the next round, Bowe again gets hit below the belt. And even such that it was painful to watch. And God forbid to experience this.

The referee stopped the fight and raised the hand of the lying Bowe, awarding him the victory. And then the "Event" of the year according to The Ring magazine began.

Bow's entire team climbed over the ropes and began to beat the Pole mercilessly. And one of them tried to use a police radio for this. A 74-year-old was injured in the turmoil from this device Lu Duva, trainer of a Polish boxer. As always, those who broke up the fight got stronger. Duva was carried out on a stretcher.

The fight in the ring had hardly subsided when it began outside it. Local fans, mostly African Americans, grappled with fans of Golota, who were easily identifiable by the Polish flags.

“The tension increased dramatically when Golota was disqualified for his fourth blow below the belt. There were fights even at the exit and escalators, ”said Rob Itman living in Harlem.

22 year old Brichon Shaw who came with a friend said: “We were damn scared. We joined hands and ran to the exit, although no place here seemed safe. "

“I was just rooting for Golota,” said the 37-year-old Pole Alfred Cretella... - I was standing. Didn't bother anyone. And then ten people jumped on me and began to trample on ”.

Seven needed health care, and the final order was restored only after an hour and a half. The scandal was so great that it took a continuation of the show, and therefore a revenge.

Boxers								Check
Golota

The score of the judges at the time of the stoppage: 67-65, 67-65, 67-66 in favor of Golota.

SECOND FIGHT

It is difficult to say at what fee Bowe estimated the organs affected in the first fight. If he knew how the second meeting with the Pole would unfold, hardly anyone could pull such an amount. After the end of this fight, the American will say that now nothing in his life will force him to once again go out against Golota. “My mom didn’t give birth to an idiot,” Riddick said. After that, Bowe actually ended his career. He did not box for eight years, and then had three fights with regular rivals and finally gave up boxing.

But Bowe approached the second meeting with Golota thoroughly. The American realized that Lennox Lewis is very, very far away, and before the fight with him you still need to live, preferably safe and sound. In comparison with the last fight, Bow lost seven kilograms.

And it didn't help him in any way. Golota began to beat his opponent again, sending Bow to the second knockdown in his life. It happened in the second round. After that, the Pole rushed to finish off the opponent, but, having spent too much effort, butted the American. And even so that he himself received a cut and as a reward "minus a point" from the referee.

Taking advantage of the break, Riddick came to his senses, and while the Pole was gathering his strength, Bow began to take revenge. There were blows to the back of the head, which the referee ignored. As a result, Golota found himself on the floor in the fourth round. For the first time in my career.

The Pole flew into a rage and sent Bow to his last knockdown of his career. Then Golota continued to beat the American until the end of the ninth round. Only a miracle kept Bowe from falling.

As six months earlier, the Pole just had to reach the final bell in the ring to win. Stand and do nothing! And then he would have won. It's even that simple. To do nothing. But Andrzej managed to ruin everything this time too. If in the first fight his blows below the "waterline" were single, this time he delivered a series of three blows in a row, ending the case with a powerful uppercut.

“I can’t justify him,” Lu Duva said after the fight. - I would like to, but I do not know how to explain it. I told him: “Andrzej, you won the fight. Just step into the ring. " What made him do what he did, I don't know. "

For the second time, the victory, which was supposed to go to Golota, was given to Bowe due to disqualification. For a long time Riddick could not get up from the deck, and never returned to his previous level.

Golota managed to fight for each of the four main championship titles. The Pole lost these four fights. Moreover next fight he spent just with Lennox Lewis for the WBC belt. And he was knocked out in the first minute. History repeated itself in the last title fight - with Lymon Brewster... Still, Golota inscribed his name in boxing history as a top-notch brawler and a major loser.

On October 25, 2009, the controversial but eventful career of Polish heavyweight boxer Andrzej Golota was brought to an end. Well, the point is, of course, in the understanding of Pan Andrzej's fans. The rest will probably agree with the statement that it was after all an exclamation mark. Yes, he is not very associated with defeat, but the fact is that Golota is just famous not for his spectacular victories, but for defeats - offensive, strange, devastating and those that are beyond comprehension. And that is how he is, Andrzej Golota, the only heavyweight boxer to have contested all four major championship belts (WBC, IBF, WBA and WBO) and won none.

Breaker of genitals. Take one: Belostotsky

Young boxer Andrzej Golota was considered terribly promising in Poland. At the age of 18, he won the European Junior Championship, and at twenty, he went to Olympic Games in Seoul. There, the Pole won the bronze medal in the first heavyweight (up to 91 kg), while in the final weight category over 91 kg two future stars converged heavyweight in the professional ring - then Canadian Lennox Lewis and American Riddick Bowie. Lewis won, knocking his opponent down three times. Did Andrzej guess then that he would meet with both?

Probably, young Golota hardly bothered with whom and when fate would bring him. He just enjoyed life. And he had a full blast. Even before the trip to Seoul, he was seen in a serious fight against the wall and ended up in the hospital after it. Such adventures did not interfere with an amateur career - he won the Polish championship several times in a row, although at the 1989 World Championship he dropped out of the fight in the second fight. However, failure at the world championship is that, but in Poland Golota was the strongest boxer. He proved this not only in the ring, but also in discos. The most famous case took place in 1990, although there is information that a case was started against Andrzej before that, but earlier then the embarrassment was hushed up. Well, this time, the promising heavyweight was not lucky - he so broke a certain Pan Belostotsky on his manhood that he ended up in the hospital.

Golota had several years in prison, but he was lucky. Andrzej had a visa to the United States, and he rushed to conquer America with his future wife Mariolla. The donkey is a Pole in Chicago, where at first he was interrupted by odd jobs (which, history is silent ...). However, when Andrzej had a daughter, they had to look for a more profitable job. And what did Pan Golota do well? That's right - to beat people. So he found a boxing club, where he flashed his skills. I came out on a promising heavyweight legendary trainer Lu Duva and decided to make him a real champion.

Breaker of genitals. Take two: Bowie

Start professional career Andrzej Golota turned out to be really impressive. In the first fight on February 7, 1992, he knocked out Roosevelt Scheler in the third round. The Pole laid down the next three opponents in the first round. In four and a half years, he won 28 victories. And only three of his rivals managed to survive until the end of the fight! I don’t think it’s worth mentioning that the performance of the Polish super heavyweight made a splash, which was explained not only by the spectacular boxing, but also by the fact that he was a white boxer.

However, due to the reputation of a formidable knockout, the leading fighters with Golota were in no hurry to meet. Yes, the Pole beat mainly Jornimens, but who then knew what his potential was? In general, the search for the first standing opponent for Andrzej Golota dragged on, but in the end, almost the most strong fighter heavyweight at the time. Such a boxer was not unreasonably considered by many to be Riddick Bowie - a two-time winner of Evander Holyfield, by the way!

The last victory over the great Hawley, who was knocked out for the first time in his career (then only James Toney succeeded in such a trick in 2003), did not bring Bowie anything but money. Repeated refusals to defend championship belts - and Riddick at one time owned three at once - did not pass him in vain. Some of the leading boxing organizations even kicked Bowie out of their ratings, so he could only dream of a title fight. Well, if not on the championship belt, then on what else can you raise good money - of course, on a strong opponent. Here is Riddick, not suspecting what awaits his manhood, and chose Andrzej Golota as his opponents.

The duel that took place on June 11, 1996, unexpectedly for many, turned out to be equal. Moreover, the Pole acted no worse than his eminent opponent and at times inflicted quite sensitive blows on him. However, in the fourth round, Golota, who had previously sinned with low blows, finally hit the target. Bowie rested for five minutes, and the referee removed one point from Andrzej. In the sixth round, the situation repeated itself. Well, what he did with his rival Golota in the seventh and last three minutes in this battle, as well as how several dozen people were eager to hold the Pole by the throat, must be seen ...

Breaker of genitals. Take three: Bowie Easter eggs

The first defeat in Golota's career, oddly enough, brought him more fame than the previous 28 victories. Andrzej was now taken seriously and quite reasonably believed that he could become the future white champion. However, the result of the fight with Riddick Bowie, despite the fact that the Pole looked better than his opponent, was still a defeat. So the audience craved a rematch. It happened five months later and was a copy of the first fight.

According to the old Slavic fun on Easter, you need to fight with "krashanki". I broke a similar egg with my Easter egg, so to speak, the opponent, you beat it differently until you interrupt everything. But so then chicken eggs- it doesn't hurt for them. But Riddick Boiu decided to risk his own! However, what to take from a man who served a decent time in prison for kidnapping his ex-wife? This time the same story repeated itself: Golota confidently won the fight, but in the penultimate round he struck not even one, but a whole series of blows below the belt, for which he was disqualified.

After that fight, Bowie's fans staged a pogrom in the famous Madison Square Garden, for which their favorite lost 250 thousand dollars. Riddick himself stopped speaking altogether, after which, as mentioned above, he ended up in prison. But Golota's popularity grew even more, and in Poland he generally became a national hero. The then president of the country, Aleksandr Kwasniewski, achieved an amnesty for the property of the Polish nation and even visited the fugitive criminal himself. The authoritative American magazine The Ring brought Andrzej in computer fights with Tyson and Holyfield and got the following result: the Pole should knock out Mike in the second round, and Evander in the fourth.

Fate brought Golota in October 1997 to Lennox Lewis, the world champion in the most prestigious version - WBC. In fact, the situation itself looks strange when a boxer who has lost two last duel, disputes the championship title. However, this fact only underlines the popularity of the Pole at that time. Lewis, on the other hand, did not bother with such things and sent his opponent in a knockout already in the first round. Here it was no longer possible to blame the disqualifications and the Bowie actor, who imitated pain after punches in the groin. Andrzej lost without options.
The flight of Pan Andrzej or the fight between two psychopaths

We can safely say that after the defeat by Lewis, the Pole's career went downhill, although he bathed in the rays of fading glory for a long time. As for the defeat from Lewis, Golota, like many of his other strange actions, found a simple explanation. Say, before the fight he had pains in his knee and he was injected with an anesthetic, which ultimately affected him negatively.

However, after being defeated by the Briton, Andrzej won five fights and went into battle with the undefeated Michael Grant. In this confrontation, a contender for the WBC championship title should have been determined - that is, the future rival of the same Lewis. He started the fight against Grant Golot very confidently, and already in the first three minutes Michael took a horizontal position. In the future, the fight leveled off, but the Pole still had an advantage and had to win on points. However, in the tenth round, Andrzej unexpectedly got knocked down, after which he got up pretty quickly and told the referee that he didn't want to fight anymore.

Many began to question Golota's normalcy aloud. Fortunately, our hero gave enough reasons for this by that time. Many talked about his psychological instability and many oddities, well, and compared him, no matter how difficult it is to guess, with Mike Tyson, who already distinguished himself by biting off Holyfield's ears. Well, someone came up with a brilliant idea to bring these two together in the ring!

Naturally, before the fight between Gotota and Tyson, no one bothered with tactical delights. Everyone wondered how the battle would end: Tyson would bite off Golota's ear or the Pole would have time to prevent the act of cannibalism by a painful castration procedure. Nobody guessed. On October 20, 2000, Andrzej Golota ended as a top-class boxer and remained just a laughing stock. Tyson quickly saw through the Pole and in the first round sent his opponent to the floor with an excellent left hook. It cannot be said that in the second three minutes Mike was much better than his opponent - yes, he won, but nothing catastrophic, in fact, happened for Golota.

However, Andrzej did not sit until the end of the minute break, got up abruptly and went to the referee to, as it turned out later, declare that he needed to leave. It is clear that the “third in the ring” did not understand what the Pole wanted and sent Golota to his corner. Pole's coach Al Certo pulled the ward into a corner and tried to put a mouthguard in his mouth, but Andrzej gritted his teeth in a firm desire to stop the fight. "Fuck you doing?" the coach asked in vain. However, Golota had already jumped onto the ropes and headed for the exit.

Dozens of disappointed fans threw all sorts of rubbish at the Pole - glasses, bags, empty bottles. People who paid pretty tidy sums for tickets did not understand how a boxer, whose fee for a fight would be more than two million dollars, could just throw them all away like that. Golota automatically dodged objects flying at him. Only near the exit a can of ketchup hit the Pole, which spilled over the boxer's body. After the fight, Showtime refused to ever show this "coward" on its channel. And the fight itself was eventually declared invalid, since Tyson's doping test gave positive result- Mike smoked marijuana before the meeting.

On the road to the final shame

In fact, after the disgraceful fiasco in a duel with Tyson, Golota could have hung up the gloves on a nail, but he did not. Andrzej took a break, went to Poland, beat up some gentleman there and decided that he had the strength for new achievements. In addition, Don King formed on the horizon, taking the Pole under his wing. And the patronage of such a monster of the promotion business is worth a lot. Judge for yourself: after two victories over frank sacks, Golota enters the fight with IBF champion Chris Byrd and draws the fight with him.

Then King arranges for the Pole a meeting with his other ward - WBA champion John Ruiz, whom Andrzej loses! Here, it would seem, it was possible to send Golota to the scrap, but Don King does not do this with his own, so he brought the Pole together with the WBO champion Lamon Brewster, the offender of Vladimir Klitschko in that strange fight when the Ukrainian suddenly became exhausted in the middle of the battle and lost ... Brewster ate Golota without choking, the Pole after the American's hit streak even flew over the ropes. Recommended for viewing.

Andrzej healed mental wounds for two years, and then returned to the ring. However, after three victories in a row, he lost by knockout in the first round to his peer American Ray Austin. But, despite this, before the fight with Tomasz Adamek, Don King in all seriousness claimed that he wanted to organize a duel for Golota against Nikolai Valuev! However, in front of eight million compatriots watching his "Fight of the Century" with Adamek, Andrzej resignedly yielded to his rival, having already lost an important meeting in his career.

After losing to Adamek, Andrzej suddenly said that perhaps boxing is not the thing that he should be doing in life. If so, then another job is already ready for him. Sylvester Stallone is looking for an opponent for Rocky Balboa's final battle. It is possible that Stallone will invite Golota to this role: he has repeatedly attended the Pole's battles and knows him personally. It is easy to guess that according to the plot, Rocky-Stalone will have to defeat the villain-Golota, and he will certainly do it effectively. Something, and Andrzej Golota knows how to play!

17 years ago, October 20, 2000 in a huge hall The palace, Auburn Hills in the Detroit suburbs, an event took place, once again drawing the attention of the boxing world to two boxers whose careers have had enough dramatic and controversial moments. These events continue to be the subject of heated debate among fans. professional boxing... It is enough to name the names of the main characters to understand why their meeting in the ring then interested millions of people - they were Mike Tyson, who gradually rebuilt his career after the scandal with the bitten off ear to the enemy, and stood in his way to the next champion fight Andrzej Golota... The Pole was in a similar situation as his opponent, trying to cover up bad memories with regular fights after his amazing defeat at Grant.

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Today, probably, few people already remember that before this fight, Tyson was not at all the obvious favorite, although, of course, most expected his victory. However, it was also expected that Golota, who at that time had only one “real” defeat in his asset, and lost the other three to himself than to his rivals, so he had to give a tough rebuff. Tyson himself also did not feel too confident, as he recently wrote about in his autobiography, pointing out the Pole as the most brutal boxer in the world. The bank turned out to be a significant amount of money for royalties for both boxers, apparently, $ 10 million for Tyson and $ 5 million for Golota, the world champion of the 80s, XX century made his debut as a promoter Thomas Hearns, could be satisfied. The fight was going to be like a big hit. The intensity of the emotions before the fight between the two unpredictable and also great boxers was really enormous.

The beginning turned out to be very typical for a Polish athlete, who after strong blow Tyson in the last seconds of the first round, got acquainted with the platform. But already in the second round it seemed that Golota was beginning to dominate the situation, even shaking Iron Mike several times. However, in the first round, despite his characteristic rigidity, until he was knocked down he also coped pretty well with Tyson's attacks. A fierce struggle was ahead, of course, many of the Polish fans, who again received their dose of adrenaline that night and worried about Golota, watched this fight standing up. And then something happened that today just as many are unable to understand. when Anzhey Golota did not enter the third round and left the ring to the accompaniment of whistles and curses, disappointed spectators who gathered at The Palace and threw plastic cups of food at him.

Tyson's victory was announced by technical knockout, but after the fight, marijuana and hashish were found in the body of "Iron Mike". In this regard, after several months, the Michigan State Athletic Commission changed the verdict to "failed". The fight was officially declared "not taken place", but the problem remained. Today, in hindsight, we know a little more about Golota's astonishing decision, although the portrayal of the dramatic events 17 years later is still unclear. According to the doctor who examined him for several days after the fight, having already returned home to Chicago, the Polish boxer received a concussion and a fracture of his cheekbone caused by blows to Tyson's head, although the referee is in the ring Frank Garza denies this information. According to him, there was no injury and the fight was clean. One of the attempts to explain Golota's behavior is based on the assumption that the Pole abandoned the fight feeling the damage seriously threatening his health and even life, and not seeing an adequate reaction of the referee to Tyson's violations. How was it really? Of course, we will argue for years to come. Perhaps Golota did not find adequate support in the person of his coach. Al Certo perhaps the drama of the boxer who performed a year ago during a boxing evening with Grant remained in the memory? Junior middleweight boxer Steven Johnson was heavily knocked out that evening by Paul Vaden and passed away after two weeks. However, on the day of Golota's fight with Tyson, another boxer from the United States, Bobby Tomasello, fell into a coma after the fight in Boston and died five days later, which, naturally, Golota did not know about then.

One thing is clear - after this fight for Golota, it was believed that this was his final end, the journalists rushed at him like hyenas, chasing him in the locker room like a wounded animal. He showed, however, that he can rise from the very fall, so maybe this is a phenomenon of the boxer's extraordinary popularity, not only in Poland. After all, everyone experiences ups and downs in their lives. Golota returned to the ring after three years and fought for the world heavyweight title three more times. For many of the Poles, they will forever remain the champion in title fights with Bird and Ruiz. Mike Tyson, during a visit to Poland, named his former rival as a double failed world champion, and it can be assumed that it was not just a courtesy to the host-organizers, his visit over the Vistula. And for all of us, the Polish boxer will certainly remain one of the most amazing phenomena in the history of professional boxing. Few are able to rise with such humiliation, which happened with the participation of Andrzej Golota exactly 17 years ago.

· Location: The Palace, Eburn Hills, Michigan, USA

· Result: Tyson's victory by TKO in the 3rd round in a 10-round bout; later the result of the fight changed to a failed one (no contest)

· Referee: Frank Garza

· The weight: Tyson 100.70 kg; Golota 108.90 kg

· Broadcast: Showtime SET

In October 2000, Tyson met with Andrzej Golota. At the end of the 1st round, Tyson knocked down the opponent with a right hook to the jaw. Golota got up at once. In the interval between rounds 1 and 2, Golota told the coach that Tyson broke his jaw and asked him to stop the fight, but the coach did not believe it. In the interval between the 2nd and 3rd rounds, Golota refused to continue the fight. Angle Golota tried to persuade him to continue the fight, but to no avail. Golota fled from the ring. While he was leaving the hall, the audience threw various objects at him, mainly glasses of drinks. Near the exit, a can of ketchup hit him, which spilled over the boxer's body. Later, representatives of the Showtime TV channel said that Golota is a coward, and they will never show him on their channel again. Shortly after the fight, Tyson's doping test showed traces of marijuana in the blood, and the fight was declared invalid. After this fight, Golota had two championship fights with Chris Bird for the IBF title and with John Ruiz for the WBA title. The fight with Bird ended in a controversial draw, and the fight with Ruiz was controversially lost, but many experts and spectators considered that in those battles Golota was robbed by the judges. Most likely, it was the fight with Tyson that influenced the judges' opinion.

2001-2005

The last stage of a career

In the final stage of his career, Tyson practically or did not train at all before the fights, which he held once a year against far from the strongest fighters, but victories from 1999 to 2001 over rating rivals allowed him to fight for the championship title. It is also worth noting that Tyson during this period was seriously addicted to drugs and significantly gained weight, almost completely losing his speed, protection and endurance.