Andrew Golota - All the Physical Tools, None of the Mental Ones

We all know of those fighters who had (or have) the skills and raw talent to do great things, but just none of the application and mental fortitude to go along with it. Personally, I'd struggle to think of too many fighters with a greater discrepancy between their physical and mental prowess than Andrew Golota. Here's a fighter who had plenty of talent and gifts, but virtually no heart, discipline or intelligence to go with it.

The way he repeatedly found a way to lose (inflicting defeat on himself as much as anything), when an important victory which could have kick-started his career was within his grasp, was verging on the criminal. Comprehensively out-jabbed one of the all-time great Heavyweight jabbers in Bowe in their first fight before the DQ. Even more ludicrously managed to throw away the rematch after handing Bowe one of the worst beatings you'll ever see a fighter of that calibre take. He absolutely brutalized Bowe before inexplicably fouling his way out again.

Obviously, the common narrative around those fights is that Bowe by then was either over the hill, out of shape, overlooking Golota or a combination of all three....But was he really? Going into 1996 Bowe was only 28 years old and, despite no longer holding a world title belt, was still rated as the world's best Heavyweight by Ring Magazine, HBO and many fans. There's no doubt he was struggling with his weight in the preceding years, and was definitely a little loose around his midriff for the first Golota fight ("Why do I have to train so hard for a fight against a bum?" he asked beforehand - I guess he found out on the night!). But he was 17 lb lighter for the rematch, which he obviously trained hard for, and at 235 was the same weight he'd been when he first won the title against Holyfield a few years beforehand. It's also hard to imagine any shell of a fighter standing up to the beating that Golota doled out to him for nine rounds.

Anyway, Golota re-emerges against America's next hope Michael Grant three years later, absolutely outclasses him, drops him twice and hurts him multiple times - and then just quits at the first sign of trouble in the tenth round. A year later, he turns up looking uninterested, asks his corner to pull him out after one (admittedly tough) opening round against a faded Tyson, and then after what seemed like a stabilising second round just quits despite the protests of his corner.

Even with those physical gifts clearly on the decline, Golota should still have been easily good enough to win a strap in the Heavyweight division's absolute wasteland years in the mid-2000s. In fairness, he did just about deserve the verdict against Byrd for the IBF in 2004, and there wasn't much in it against Ruiz later that same year for the WBA....But again, Byrd and Ruiz were only as good as Golota allowed them to be in those fights. He just couldn't be bothered to fight with any urgency, desire or risk in the second half of either contest, and gave the judges every reason to punish him. The likes of Byrd and Ruiz should never have been competitive with Golota, and wouldn't have been if he'd applied himself in those fights and fought with any level of intensity.

Absolutely ridiculous the way this guy found a way to lose every fight of significance he had. Decent size, good hand speed and combinations for a Heavyweight in his younger days, very good punch timing, respectable power - but just no fight or grit in him when he needed it most. I know his most ardent fans say this was because he suffered with anxiety and panic attacks when the pressure was on...But boxing is the career he chose, and that's not going to wash for me when I think about how badly this guy underachieved.

Anyway, anyone have any thoughts on Golota, or more widely - what other fighters come to mind of a similar ilk? All the physical capabilities and skill in the world, but nothing between the ears to back it up?

I could well be wrong but interestingly Golota challenged for all four major belts separately without winning one of them, that must be unique.

Good article Chris, not really much to add, i'd say on talent alone he was the best of the rest during the 90's.

Very interesting and obscure bit of trivia re: Golota there, Soul. Off the top of my head can't think of anyone else to have that dubious distinction in the four-belt era.

I know it's common knowledge, but Lordy, the 2000s really was a horrendous decade for the Heavyweight division, especially 2004-2007 (at least up until 2004 you still had an all-time great in Lewis there). Even getting on in years and with his skills fading, I think Golota could still potentially have been the best of an admittedly very poor bunch in those awful years between Lewis retiring and Wladimir starting to develop into a more dominant champion, along with his brother's return, in 2008.

Some of the guys that held Heavyweight titles during that run....I've already mentioned that Golota should really have had the beating (or at least have put it beyond doubt) of guys like Byrd and Ruiz, but those two, average though they both were, were still a cut above other shocking titlists from those times such as Briggs, Maskaev, Valuev, Peter etc.

Liakhovich had some genuine talent as well as passing the eye test a bit easier than those guys, and his win over Brewster was probably the last really exciting Heavyweight title fight until Klitschko-Joshua more than a decade later. But even he ended up doing a Golota and somehow found a way to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory when it was on a plate for him against Briggs. Chagaev was okay, I guess, but still wouldn't be anywhere near a world title in any respectable division. Plus I still can't forgive him for that turd fest against Skelton, which might be the most boring Heavyweight title fight of all time albeit there's some stiff competition for that title.

Surely Golota must look back and rue the fact that he never held a world title, while some of those monstrosities did.

Also have to wonder if we might be heading back to the Heavyweight doldrums in the next couple of years or so. Where is the twenty-something year old, exciting and talented Heavyweight coming through, to ensure the division is worth watching once the current guard and crop of contenders exit the stage in the near future? I don't see him anywhere, unless Jared Anderson can step up to the mark. We need to see him in there with someone who punches back first, though.

Ibeabuchi was the best of the rest in the 90s....A huge waste of talent...

Bowe was never the same after the knockdown from Holy in the 3rd fight......I have a feeling Golota's problems mentally cost him both fights.....He was obviously going to win but he couldn't stop himself.....A clear thinker goes head hunting..Bowe was done..

Looked scared stiff against Lennox.......I actually think he could have beaten Tyson but had a panic attack..

Nice article Chris but I don't have much time for this guy....Just a pain in the rectum.

Fully agree that it's hard to feel any sympathy for him, Truss, but always frustrating to see talent going to waste. But yeah, in Golota's case it's almost wholly his own fault to a degree that you seldom see.

With regards to Bowe, and how faded he was / wasn't by the time he faced Golota, I think it's hard to say definitively. Obviously the Holyfield trilogy was a punishing one, but those fights aside he hadn't really taken too many lumps and he was still a young man.

Bowe's hard to rate in general because of his short career at the highest level and his lack of fights against other styles and top operators of the day. I think he'd lost some motivation and discipline by the time of the first Golota fight, as his weight and pre-fight comments indicate....But he was clearly well-trained, trim and motivated for the rematch, and still got comprehensively leathered, that fourth round aside. Also showed immense heart and durability to stand up to that punishment - very few other Heavyweights around that time would have been able to.

As for the Lewis fight, we all know Golota's excuse that an injection into his knee moments before he left his dressing room left him groggy and dizzy in the ring, hence the way he got blown out when most were expecting a closely-contested scrap. Always seemed very fanciful to me, and with the benefit of hindsight we know that Lewis probably wins that one regardless of which version of Golota showed up. But Golota did allegedly win a big pay out from his doctor over that injection issue, so who knows, maybe there was a grain of truth in it?

But anyway, getting blasted out by an all-time great in Lewis is forgivable. The other losses mentioned above aren't, if you take into account the way he threw them all away.

Golota ‘s career is still really hard to get your head around, and still makes me feel faintly annoyed by the lack of fulfilled talent.
I wonder about Henry Akinwande too. I think he was briefly a title holder but after legitimately knocking Lewis to the canvas ,which was ruled a slip, he wanted no more of the event and did his octopus impression.