Scott Clifford – It became apparent as early as the first round that there was a severe disparity in the two combatants. One was youthful-looking, sporting impressive hand speed and mobility. The other, much larger in comparison, was flat-footed and awfully consistent at telegraphing wide, inaccurate, and amateurish power shots from out of range. Thousands of Polish fans flocked in to watch the country’s most popular and revered prizefighters do battle.
Polish Punisher, Tomasz Adamek, looked fine at an even 214 pounds, blitzing his opponent with a series of combinations, even scoring a knockdown before the end of round one. As the rounds passed, it wasn’t getting any easier for Golota, who was walking into shot after shot, seemingly unable to string together a coherent combination of his own.. What some people were calling ‘The Polish fight of the Century’ was looking like the ‘Mismatch of the Century’, with the only positive outcome being the potential retirement of Andrew Golota, which has long been overdue.
The fight progressed, and one could see the dilemma that Andrew Golota faced. He knew what he had to do in order to get to his younger, fresher foe, but his body just wasn’t responding. Some spirited flurries from Golota would occasionally find its target, but Adamek would dust himself off and then get back to work. The difference in power was evident, the disparity in hand speed and mobility severe. The occasional high guard of Golota was being penetrated at will.
After four lopsided rounds of fistic combat, the end finally came in the fifth round, as Golota was sent crashing to the canvas on the end of a picture book one-two combination. Golota, no stranger to quitting at the first sign of adversity, gamely climbed to his feet only to again be overwhelmed by a flurry of punches, forcing referee Bill Clancy to intervene. There was now a new leader of the pugilistic cause in Poland in the form of two-weight World Champion Tomasz Adamek.
Despite being significantly out-weighed, Tomasz Adamek was successful in his first outing at Heavyweight by stopping fellow Pole Andrew Golota in the 5th round. What now? Can Adamek really be a player in the Heavyweight division? He looked good, maintained his hand speed and seemingly his punching power, but taking on the winner of say Nicolai Valuev vs. David Haye would be a much tougher assignment. He looked severely undersized next to the 256lbs 6’4 Golota.
As for Golota, will he be announcing his retirement from Boxing after enjoying two decades of controversy? It was a pathetic display on his part; perhaps he didn’t even spend a day in training camp leading up to the fight and was motivated purely by financial gain. In any event, Andrew Golota is a far cry from the young and hungry fighter that took Riddick Howe apart all those years ago in the Garden. If this is goodbye, thanks for the memories. It’s been a fun and wild ride.