Andrew Golota-Riddick Bowe III In The Works – In MMA!

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By James Slater – Never rule out the possibility of anything happening in today’s boxing world!

In what will have to go down as one of the freakiest of all freak shows if it actually takes place, reports from Poland say Andrew Golota has put pen to paper regarding a third encounter with 1990’s rival Riddick Bowe. That’s wild enough, but there’s more: the prospective fight would take place under MMA rules!

According to a piece on Polish web site Thenews.pl, promoter Michael Brill, speaking on radio show TOK FM, said “We finished negotiations regarding the third Golota-Bowe encounter at 3 O’clock in the morning.”

It is not yet known if “Big Daddy” has signed the contract himself. Nor is it known where the fight will take place, or on what date..

One of the craziest ideas in recent times, Bowe-Golota III promises to be ugly. The two men, when top-ranked heavyweights, gave us two thrilling yet also somewhat tragic fights in 1996; Bowe winning both via quite bizarre disqualification when “The Foul Pole” twice got himself chucked out for blatantly belting Bowe below the belt on more than one occasion. Since then, both men have fought as past-their-best “names” – Bowe looking a shot fighter in his most recent outing: a 2008 points win over Gene Pukall.

Golota actually had a couple more big fights after the second farce against Bowe; going in with everyone from Lennox Lewis to Mike Tyson. Last appearing in that 2009 “Polish super-fight” with Tomasz Adamek (a KO loss for Golota), the 44-year-old has been talking about the possibility of fighting again ever since Now it looks as though he will do so; but in MMA.

Bowe, also 44, has also refused to give up the ghost; stating a number of times recently that he could beat the Klitschkos if given enough time to get into shape. Bowe, who slurs his words in alarming fashion these days, also called out David Haye quite recently.

It will be appalling if this MMA fight does happen. Bowe is an accident waiting to happen, while Golota hasn’t been able to fight effectively for years himself. Someone, probably Bowe, will get hurt if this bout goes ahead. But, hey, money talks. If there is enough interest, and if there is a promoter willing to put up the cash to stage the even, anything is possible.

We’ve seen former great James Toney humbled inside the cage; will we now see two once top-notch (Bowe especially; remember how great he actually was in 1992!) heavyweights get the same treatment?

For the record, Bowe is 43-1(33). Golota is 41-8-1(33).