Mercer Vs Golota

[Impractical Poster]

There will probably not be a whole lot of interest in this thread. But, this was a fight I was very much looking forward to back in the day. I was quite disappointed that this was cancelled and never got to happen.

I was a big Mercer fan and think he would have been able to stop Golota. What a fight that would have been!

[BoxBuzz]

IF it was just Golata's skillset that was walking into the ring, I think he'd win.

Problem is....where ever Golata went....there he was.

It becomes a crapshoot. Except Mercer's psyche was pretty solid. This fight probably is won or lost on mindset, and not skillset.


If I was your financial adviser, and you were determined to place a bet.......(because I would never bet on a Golata fight) I'd suggest YOU put YOUR money on Mercer.

[Tony1244]

Mercer. Golota would quit or foul out.

[Bodyshot3]

Golota had the tools to beat Ray - and plenty of other good men - but he was mentally lacking a spanner, hammer, chisel or a box to put them in.
Sergeant Mercer was not the type to blink and he'd win handily or by default as Golota goes AWOL.

[Kalan]

IF it was just Golata's skillset that was walking into the ring, I think he'd win.

Golota had no skills BuzzBox -- he couldn't even outbox John Ruiz. His head sat out there like a lantern in a storm -- and Lennox Lewis, Mike Tyson, and Lamon Brewster had no trouble smashing the lantern in a round or 3.. MIchael Grant was another big clumsy galoot. who no defense himself, but he was able to get big punches on Golota, floor him and stop him.. Mercer would have treated Golota worse than he did Morrison, another punching bag.

[Flump]

I'm with the consensus here, Golota will find a way to lose down the stretch.

[gilgamesh]

Mercer's too much man for Golota. Golota would give him issues if he was on his game, but before the end of the fight he'd be losing points and taking heavy shots. He'd either get stopped, quit or get DQ'd as people have said.

[gilgamesh]

IF it was just Golata's skillset that was walking into the ring, I think he'd win.

Golota had no skills BuzzBox -- he couldn't even outbox John Ruiz. His head sat out there like a lantern in a storm -- and Lennox Lewis, Mike Tyson, and Lamon Brewster had no trouble smashing the lantern in a round or 3.. MIchael Grant was another big clumsy galoot. who no defense himself, but he was able to get big punches on Golota, floor him and stop him.. Mercer would have treated Golota worse than he did Morrison, another punching bag.

Actually I thought Golota DID outbox John Ruiz, the judges just didn't give him the decision. I thought he deserved it though.

[Ambling Alp II]

He did get hosed against Ruiz and Byrd for that matter. In too many other fights Golota certainly had a lot of tools but so often he either quit or found a way to lose.

It probably would have been a pretty good fight; but who knows.
Mercer though was pretty inconsistent. He looked terrible in both fights against Jessie Ferguson. He also looked bad for most of the Holmes fight.

Would have to go with Mercer though. Too bad it never happened.

[gilgamesh]

He did get hosed against Ruiz and Byrd for that matter. In too many other fights Golota certainly had a lot of tools but so often he either quit or found a way to lose.

It probably would have been a pretty good fight; but who knows.
Mercer though was pretty inconsistent. He looked terrible in both fights against Jessie Ferguson. He also looked bad for most of the Holmes fight.

Would have to go with Mercer though. Too bad it never happened.

I never caught the Golota vs Byrd fight. One of these days I'll catch that one just to see how I'd score it.

[Kalan]

He did get hosed against Ruiz and Byrd for that matter. In too many other fights Golota certainly had a lot of tools but so often he either quit or found a way to lose.

It probably would have been a pretty good fight; but who knows.
Mercer though was pretty inconsistent. He looked terrible in both fights against Jessie Ferguson. He also looked bad for most of the Holmes fight.

Would have to go with Mercer though. Too bad it never happened.

I never caught the Golota vs Byrd fight. One of these days I'll catch that one just to see how I'd score it.

Byrd won it.. He had a knockdown where the ropes held Golota up, but it wasn't called...and the Foul Pole should have had at least 2 points deducted.. I had Ruiz beating Golota as well.. Didn't think it was close as the judges had it.. Ruiz was a light puncher who couldn't box -- and very athletically challenged -- making him about Golota's speed.. Roy Jones was a Middleweight Champion -- and when Roy looked at Ruiz as a Heavyweight, Roy saw lunch... The only Middleweight Champion in 106 years to win a Heavyweight Championship.. Phew! Too damned easy.

[BoxBuzz]

IF it was just Golata's skillset that was walking into the ring, I think he'd win.

Golota had no skills BuzzBox -- he couldn't even outbox John Ruiz. His head sat out there like a lantern in a storm -- and Lennox Lewis, Mike Tyson, and Lamon Brewster had no trouble smashing the lantern in a round or 3.. MIchael Grant was another big clumsy galoot. who no defense himself, but he was able to get big punches on Golota, floor him and stop him.. Mercer would have treated Golota worse than he did Morrison, another punching bag.

You really do go for the "ROBOT' aspect of fighters. Heart or lack of same...don't seem to phase you much.

Just for the record here, we are both picking the same man to win.....yet you still can find a cantankerous bone of contention when we agree. I like that about you Kalel. It's what makes you "super"

So....since you've been so bold as to assess the Golata's total lack of skills.......just how bad was Riddick Bowe? He must have been just as bad as Aaron Pryor....two guys who's careers were over in a blink. Yet you like the skills of one of those quick burn outs and not the other.........hmm come to think of it we agree on that to. We each think that one of those fighters (Pryor and Bowe) are pretty good....and the other not so top shelf.

Leave it to you to find the deficit in the windfall.

[Kalan]

Aaron Pryor KO'd the great Alexis Arguello twice...39-1 dude.. I think Holyfield was a sick man when Bowe beat him... Holy had heart problems for a while

Riddick Bowe ducked Lewis, Mercer, Ruddock, Tyson, McCall, Bruno, Morrison, and virtually anybody who could hit real hard...Golota couldn't punch well -- or box well -- and Bowe did beat the Foul Pole twice... A DQ win is a win dude...especially when you get hit in the sack... Look at all of Golota's other fights... He never beat anyone who was any good... I thought he might beat Chris Byrd or Michael Grant... I gave him about a 20% chance.

[BoxBuzz]

Aaron Pryor...loses to both the peak Arguello and Cervantes. His management team was on to that...though he did take quite a risk with Arguello.....and that's why now and then he just needed a turbo charge via "that water I mixed" you know the perrier and tap water.....in the dark blue bottle. That stuff will perk you up every time.

Riddick Beat Holyfield 2 out of 3.....and was competitive all the way.

Holy's heart problem is a bogus claim....you should be above that....you are our mr no nonsense....and believe me Holyfield having a heart problem on any level qualifies as bogus and nonsense.

Now back to what we agree on....Don't bet on Golata in a boxing match.

[Kalan]

Pryor cleans clock on Arguello or Cervantes on the best day they ever saw... You know nothing about Holy's heart problem. You're not his doctor.

You really do go for the "ROBOT' aspect of fighters. Heart or lack of same...don't seem to phase you much

Golota displayed a lack of heart in his fights.. He quit a few times.. I actually don't see anything wrong with that.. If you want to show a ton of guts in the face of certain defeat fine.. But if you want to pull a Roberto Duran "NO MAS" that's fine too..

I don't think any boxer should feel coerced into continuing a fight where he's already beaten, or if he's suffering from an injury.. Your brain, and life after Boxing, are worth more than some stupid fan or writer's opinion of the heart you showed in one fight or another.. Your kids can let you pick up the grand kids, and not worry about you or them. That's worth more than a stranger's opinion.. They're not paying your medical insurance premiums.

For me, heart is actually the will to be successful.. You drive yourself along a path of success with all your heart, and that means getting up early to hit the roadwork.. Doing the strength training.. the conditioning.. the speed work and balance work.. and the boxing workout.. Fight night rolls around and you can give the fans their money's worth based on your preparation.. And if the day ever comes where somebody is beating your ass -- you need to be smart about that too.

[BoxBuzz]

Pryor cleans clock on Arguello or Cervantes on the best day they ever saw... You know nothing about Holy's heart problem. You're not his doctor.

You really do go for the "ROBOT' aspect of fighters. Heart or lack of same...don't seem to phase you much

Golota displayed a lack of heart in his fights.. He quit a few times.. I actually don't see anything wrong with that.. If you want to show a ton of guts in the face of certain defeat fine.. But if you want to pull a Roberto Duran "NO MAS" that's fine too..

I don't think any boxer should feel coerced into continuing a fight where he's already beaten, or if he's suffering from an injury.. Your brain, and life after Boxing, are worth more than some stupid fan or writer's opinion of the heart you showed in one fight or another.. Your kids can let you pick up the grand kids, and not worry about you or them. That's worth more than a stranger's opinion.. They're not paying your medical insurance premiums.

For me, heart is actually the will to be successful.. You drive yourself along a path of success with all your heart, and that means getting up early to hit the roadwork.. Doing the strength training.. the conditioning.. the speed work and balance work.. and the boxing workout.. Fight night rolls around and you can give the fans their money's worth based on your preparation.. And if the day ever comes where somebody is beating your ass -- you need to be smart about that too.

Holy Crap....lucidity is running rampant. I can not take exception to a single word here.

[Tony1244]

[b]Golota had the tools to beat Ray - and plenty of other good men - but he was mentally lacking a spanner, hammer, chisel or a box to put them in.[/b]
Sergeant Mercer was not the type to blink and he'd win handily or by default as Golota goes AWOL.

Very nicely put.

[Caractacus]

I remember when this fight was scheduled to be shown live on HBO,and for some reason was cancelled.
Golota instead fought Lennox Lewis for the title (with disatraous results for Golata of course).
I remember Golata claiming he lost because there was 'too much pressure".
I think personally Golota would have outpointed Mercer if they did fight.

[Caractacus]

yeah Golota seemed a bit Bi-Polar or something wrong with him.
I seem to remember he almost bailed out at the last minute just before his first fight
with Reddick Bowe because something was bothering him.
he had to be talked into going through with it just minutes before the fight I think.

[Kalan]

I remember when this fight was scheduled to be shown live on HBO,and for some reason was cancelled.
Golota instead fought Lennox Lewis for the title (with disatraous results for Golata of course).
I remember Golata claiming he lost because there was 'too much pressure".
I think personally Golota would have outpointed Mercer if they did fight.

Mercer's skills were way too good for Golota and he was way too tough and hard a Heavyweight -- and an Olympic Gold Medal winner.. If he felt pressure against Lewis what do you think he'd feel against Mercer??? ... Mercer gave Lewis life and death in a close and vicious slug-out.. He had his jab working and a lot of people thought he won.. I had Lewis winning.. But Mercer did 100 X better than Golota did against Lewis.

For me, it's simple... If Golota lacked the skills to beat a crude swinger like Michael Grant -- he was never going to beat Mercer in a million years... Another tough guy named Mike Tyson fought Golota and the Foul Pole couldn't hang in there -- not that Tyson wanted a piece of Ray Mercer... Mike didn't even feel comfortable being in the same building with Mercer.. It's that Evander Holyfield type thing -- some guys Tyson couldn't bully and Mercer was one of 'em.

[keithmoonhangover]

Both at the best, I would go with Golota, then Mercer in the rematch.

[Sklar]

Golota is way overrated based on performances against a shot to shit Bowe. Mercer easy.

[gregor]

IF it was just Golata's skillset that was walking into the ring, I think he'd win.

Golota had no skills BuzzBox -- he couldn't even outbox John Ruiz.

It is like saying Ali had no skills since he couldn't even outbox Berbick. At that time, Golota left hand was almost useless (compared to his prime) due to an accident he suffered a couple of years earlier.

And, just to be fair - while Golota was unpredictable, Mercer was also far from consistent. He lost to Fergusson and should've lost to Wilson as well. If you take into account he was also significantly older than Golota, the fight may turn out to be much closer than it looks on the 1st glance.

[Tuan_Jim]

I remember in 1997 I was frothing at the mouth with excitement for this fight.

Best vs best, then I would expect Mercer to win in a fight not dissimilar to his one with Damiani. Golota's awesome natural talent dominating until Merciless Ray's power and persistence triggers some sort of late round steroid associated mental spasm in the sinister Pole.

Then it would have been Lewis/Mercer II, 12 rounds for the WBC heavyweight title, in late 1997, which seems like it would merit its own thread...

[keithmoonhangover]

Golota is way overrated based on performances against a shot to poo Bowe. Mercer easy.

Before the Golota fight, which performance of Bowe's made you think he was shot to shit?