BoxRec

How did Andrew Golota hold Chris Byrd to a draw on Saturday! The big Pole has fought just three times since his capitulation against Tyson in 2000 - and yet nearly beats the slippery Byrd. The southpaw champion must be massively overrated. He's now looked lucky to pip Fres Oquendo and Golota in his last two fights, and before that beat a one-armed Holyfield. His luck's gonna run out soon.
Did anyone see the fight?

i know makes you think tyson can win all three betls again.

Two things have contributed to this result.

1 People were underestimating how good Golota actually is/was. It's easy to write him off because of his psychological flaws, but he seems to have got himself together for one last title run

2 Byrd is always going to struggle against anyone who is big and strong, determined, with decent handspeed and power like Golota. He doesn't have the power to keep them off. Byrd is a skilful fighter, but he is always going to have to work very hard to keep off a big puncher with decent output.

3 Golota had no fear of Byrd, unlike Tyson, Lewis and to a lesser extent Bowe, he knew there was little Byrd could do to hurt him, and so was able to continue to press the action for the whole fight.

I said long before this fight that Golota in todays heavyweight climate, with the right mental outlook has a shot at winning a title, and I stand by that.

Oh, and anyone who says I am just jumping on the bandwagon can look at my prediction on maxboxing and see that I picked Golota to win by TKO in the 8th.

The division is in a terrible state.

Tyson will never have a better opportunity to clean up.

But does he want to?

Yeah I watched it on Sunday. Had a bet on Byrd, but got my cash back as it was a draw.
I thought Byrd won it. He stayed on the ropes for most of the time, so was asking for trouble ( from Golota and the judges ) but he was landing more punches as far as I could tell from TV.

The crowd was full of chanting Poles - GO-LO-TA! GO-LO-TA! - was ringing around the arena, so may have swung the judges.
I'd like to know the punch stats here.

Golota was a lot more determined than usual, probably down to the fact it was his absolute last chance. And fighting the much smaller, lighter hitting Byrd helped too.
Decent fight, better than most were hoping for. Say this for Golota, he pulls the crowds in.

my german tape trader had it 115-113 for byrd

REAL_DEAL wrote:my german tape trader had it 115-113 for byrd

Is he the one who had it 118-110 for Urkal?

REAL_DEAL wrote:my german tape trader had it 115-113 for byrd

Good to hear I'm not the only one then

Keep reading posters saying Golota was robbed. I think even the Polish commentators thought Byrd won - they were really subdued by the 12th round.

bennie wrote:

REAL_DEAL wrote:my german tape trader had it 115-113 for byrd

Is he the one who had it 118-110 for Urkal?

111 115

Golota. What a waste of talent?

bennie wrote:

REAL_DEAL wrote:my german tape trader had it 115-113 for byrd

Is he the one who had it 118-110 for Urkal?

WTF!! Sounds like he's well qualified to be a Las Vegas judge.

yes in a way, he would of knocked out bowe if it wasnt for the lows, but in the end lennox would of knocked him out in the first anyway 8)

MightyWarrior wrote:

bennie wrote:

REAL_DEAL wrote:my german tape trader had it 115-113 for byrd

Is he the one who had it 118-110 for Urkal?

WTF!! Sounds like he's well qualified to be a Las Vegas judge.

had it 115-111 8)

jamesmcdonnel wrote:I picked Golota to win by TKO in the 8th.

Me too!!

I haven't seen Saturday's fight yet but wonder if Byrd might be slipping a little given his last 2 results. You need to be very sharp and reflexive with his style at Heavyweight so once you start to slide a little perhaps the decline sets in quickly. Not like other Heavyweights who still carry a big punch, even Ali couldn't keep up the in and out on his toes style into his thirties.

REAL_DEAL wrote:i know makes you think tyson can win all three betls again.

I don't want to open the doors of the asylum on this one. RD's post here might make you wince or even raise a wry smile.

But does anyone think, with the division in as bad shape as it is, that Tyson can come back and win a real belt?

He MUST fight again as he has no other options. Even a 50% old Tyson would beat most of these. He has little left. But is it still enough considering how bad things are?

Have a look at the BoxRec top 20. I know this topic has been done to death but Golota-Byrd drawing and Ruiz being poor and winning again has made me think.

Can he give it one last hurrah? Maybe not. But have a think before you dismiss it.

if he came back tomorrow, where would he be in boxrec rankings. He's 36 isn't he. Still time to have a couple more fights and reclaim those belts he won what 15/16 years ago.. Anyone who packs a punch like him can do it. The stamina's gone, the invicibility has gone, but that punch hasn't.. if he can land it!!!

Kev

WBC President Jose Sulaiman is pleading with Mike Tyson not to consider the possibility of fighting in the K1 series. Tyson has recently signed a contract with Fight Entertainment Group, which is a subsidiary of K1, though also stages boxing.
This has rung alarm bells at the WBC.
Jose said: "Mike Tyson is not that old, as many others are, and if devotes himself to boxing he can still be the champion of the world after the departure of Lennox Lewis. He would gain back much more money than he could in K1 and above everything else, keep his boxing prestige and dignity."
Sulaiman is really worried about losing a huge meal ticket here. What does he care about Mike Tyson's true welfare!

ESPN had no FNF last Friday, and I was so desperate for anything resembling boxing that I wound up watching a couple of their 30-minute packaged K1 torunament highlights. One of them was a fight between Dutch K1 guy Ernesto Hoost and Bob Sapp at the Tokyodome last year. While watching this weird spectacle, several things crossed my mind:

- Bob Sapp holds behind the head and hits even more blatantly than Lennox Lewis did;

- For all his huge size, Sapp doesn't generate enough handspeed to really have a devastating punch - it's more like a series of big pushes;

- If Hoost (who hits even less hard than Chris Byrd) can hurt Sapp to the body, someone like Tyson would make mincemeat of him.

If Tyson just learns to block the kicks, he'd kill most of these guys with the first hard blow he lands. From what I've seen, most K1 guys would be very easy for a top boxer to hit once he gets inside the range of their kicks. Block/dodge kick, move in, whack! Game over. (With someone as big as Sapp, it might be several whacks! - but otherwise would be the same).

eric, is sapp an ex-nfl lineman or something?
the name rings a bell but i cant remember where i heard it.

headhunter wrote:eric, is sapp an ex-nfl lineman or something?
the name rings a bell but i cant remember where i heard it.

Yes, he is.

headhunter wrote:eric, is sapp an ex-nfl lineman or something?
the name rings a bell but i cant remember where i heard it.

Warren Sapp plays in the NFL and is one of the best in the business......
Bob Sapp had a short NFL career before injury and doping charges took their toll

What a steroid ridden meathead.

ah, it was warren sapp i was thinking of.
is bob his brother or cousin or something?