Having recently re-watched (admittedly through splayed fingers at some points) Bowe-Golota II it occurs to me that Golota, on his best night & fouling aside, really could mix it up with a good contender who never made champion, like Ron Lyle.
Whatever you may think of Bowe, no one ever did to him what Golota did in not one but two fights (second time around was much worse) & that's impressive. The jab was such a precise weapon against Bowe, who cetainly had a better jab than Lyle, & he just couldn't get it going against Golota.
Lyle's story is not unknown. He gave those great performances against Ali (tactical) & Foreman (aggressive) without quite coming out on top, despite going close on both occasions. I'm sure if Golota pulled as blatant a butt (that was outrageous) against Lyle as he did against Bowe, Lyle wouldn't be so accomodating. A convicted murderer, Lyle was a mean guy in the ring too.
It's Golota's obviously shaky psyche, impressive power, effective combinations & surprising jab against Lyle's decent boxing skills, great power, physical strength & considerable heart.
IMO, I think maybe Golota goes loco after a good start again. He seemed to fall apart when he dominated & hurt Bowe but couldn't put him away for good. He might have trouble putting Lyle away as well, & from there I think there's a strong chance he would have deteriorated mentally. Even so, the beating he put on Bowe in the second fight might've stopped Lyle, possibly. But I think Lyle recovers from Golota's best shots than vice versa. This is one bout where I think the outcome is no sure thing, but curiously I think anyone who responds might take Lyle. Definitely an exciting crowd-pleaser while it lasts.
1976 Ron Lyle -vs- 1996 Andrew Golota...
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Goodnight, Irene
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The Great John L
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dempseyfire
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Re: 1976 Ron Lyle -vs- 1996 Andrew Golota...
Lyle at his best was 10 times better than the weight drained Bowe of the Golota rematch, who was a pathetic shell of the man who beat Holyfield in 92. Lyle had a better jab than that Bowe no doubt, and Riddick still had Golota on the canvas and in real trouble in that bout. Golota did look very good that night but consider who he was fighting. And most importantly, he still lost TWICE to Bowe b/c the guy couldn't deal with persistance. He showed it by biting Po-hua's neck, he showed it by quitting vs Grant and Tyson.Goodnight, Irene wrote:Having recently re-watched (admittedly through splayed fingers at some points) Bowe-Golota II it occurs to me that Golota, on his best night & fouling aside, really could mix it up with a good contender who never made champion, like Ron Lyle.
Whatever you may think of Bowe, no one ever did to him what Golota did in not one but two fights (second time around was much worse) & that's impressive. The jab was such a precise weapon against Bowe, who cetainly had a better jab than Lyle, & he just couldn't get it going against Golota.
Lyle's story is not unknown. He gave those great performances against Ali (tactical) & Foreman (aggressive) without quite coming out on top, despite going close on both occasions. I'm sure if Golota pulled as blatant a butt (that was outrageous) against Lyle as he did against Bowe, Lyle wouldn't be so accomodating. A convicted murderer, Lyle was a mean guy in the ring too.
It's Golota's obviously shaky psyche, impressive power, effective combinations & surprising jab against Lyle's decent boxing skills, great power, physical strength & considerable heart.
IMO, I think maybe Golota goes loco after a good start again. He seemed to fall apart when he dominated & hurt Bowe but couldn't put him away for good. He might have trouble putting Lyle away as well, & from there I think there's a strong chance he would have deteriorated mentally. Even so, the beating he put on Bowe in the second fight might've stopped Lyle, possibly. But I think Lyle recovers from Golota's best shots than vice versa. This is one bout where I think the outcome is no sure thing, but curiously I think anyone who responds might take Lyle. Definitely an exciting crowd-pleaser while it lasts.
Competetive for the first 4 rounds or so but Lyle's inside work would take it's toll and I see Golota out of there by the 6th. If Lyle really pounces on Golota early he can get a 1st round knockout but that wasn't his style.
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Datsue
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Goodnight, Irene
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Those punches induced brain damage. Admittedly they didn't knock Bowe out, but Bowe showed a level of courage that night I think Joe Frazier would've been proud to call his own. Lyle was not the hardest man in the world to hit, either. But I do agree that Golota hasn't the fortitude to last when things get tough, & it would be tough going against Lyle.
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dempseyfire
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I would say the punches he took from Holyfield in three fights had their effect as well.Goodnight, Irene wrote:Those punches induced brain damage. Admittedly they didn't knock Bowe out, but Bowe showed a level of courage that night I think Joe Frazier would've been proud to call his own. Lyle was not the hardest man in the world to hit, either. But I do agree that Golota hasn't the fortitude to last when things get tough, & it would be tough going against Lyle.
It was the sheer number of punches Bowe took from Golota that was scary (and Golota could hit . . not a monster puncher but he had some power) . .Bowe always had an open defense but in the Golota rematch it was worse as Bowe was just too weak to get out of the way. If I had been working Bowe's corner I would've thrown in the towel during the 5th round.
How do explain the non arm punching of obvious roiders like Holyfield, Briggs and RJJ?Datsue wrote: Golota's power is massively over-rated: like a lot of roiders (can you say Vitali? Sure you can!) he arm punches because they're literally muscle-bound; Andrszej had a lot of snap on them but no actual concussive force.
This would be a cool fight to watch, not to officiate. Though having said that anything with golota in that comes under that category.
I tghink Lyle has the smarts and skills to frustrate and sometimes control Golota. But what would be apparent is Golota's size advantage who would make the always big looking Lyle seem some what small.
I think a disciplined Golota could do enough to get the nod against Lyle. BUT we are talking about the 1996 disappointment, so I see Lyle and Golota being pretty even, until the fight is stopped by DQ in the ninth round.
Kym
I tghink Lyle has the smarts and skills to frustrate and sometimes control Golota. But what would be apparent is Golota's size advantage who would make the always big looking Lyle seem some what small.
I think a disciplined Golota could do enough to get the nod against Lyle. BUT we are talking about the 1996 disappointment, so I see Lyle and Golota being pretty even, until the fight is stopped by DQ in the ninth round.
Kym