04.11.03 – By Fritz Drexel: Former World heavyweight title challenger Andrew Golota, 37-4 with 30 knockouts will be continuing his comeback when he fights Terrence Lewis, 31-13 -21, on November 14th in Verona, N.Y. After having been retired for almost three years, Golota knocked out Brian Nix in the seventh round on August 14th.
Golota, now an ancient 35, has very little time left to make his comeback, as he cannot afford to waste time on fighting endless strings of journeymen due to his advancing age. How much talent that remains of Golota’s once considerable skills is the big question. In his fight with Brian Nix on August 14th, Golota appeared to have little left of his once snappy punches. Instead of sharp, stinging punches by Golota, he seemed to be pushing his punches in slow motion. Not a good sign for someone who wants to soon be taking on the best in the Heavyweight division.
I was shocked to see how old Golota looked in his fight with Nix. Considering he had only been away for three years, and hadn’t received any beatings during that time, it looked like Golota had aged ten years.
The good news is that Golota probably won’t have to much problems with his next opponent, Terrence Lewis, since he is extremely limited fighter, who only has one punch in his arsenal – a left hook. The expectation is that Golota should have enough left to steer Ali around the ring for 10 rounds and win an ugly decision. It won’t be a pretty win, but it will advance Golota to the next stage in his comeback.
The major problems for Golota will come a little later when his fragile mind is tested when he has to step up his level of competition. For some strange reason, Golota only has problems when he fights at a more advanced level. It isn’t that he’s overmatched by the skill level, but rather he just doesn’t seem to want to be in there fighting these guys.I guess its true about what they say about fighters being born rather than made.
I really hope Golota decides to retire for his own sake, although it is too late for him to go gracefully in light of his self destruction in the Tyson fight. He just doesn’t appear to handle stress well enough to be a professional boxer. Moreover, Golota’s once awesome offensive skills are worn away, there does not seem to be much left – just a troubled & confused person who will gradually be beaten down by the superior skills of someone like Roy Jones or James Toney. He has nothing left but to get battered and further humiliated in the ring. Golota should get out of the boxing business before it’s too late. I’d hate to see Golota get beaten to the pulp like Darius Michalzewski was last month. That was a tragic sight to see.
Ideally, Golota should move back to Poland, where he could fight exclusively lower level opponents in his home country.I think Golota would be doing himself a big favor, since the quality of fighters in Poland are inferior compared to that of fighters in America and other parts of Europe. If he were to do that, I can see Golota fighting into his 50’s and remaining very competitive.