Golota: Tyson too 'short' to bite
ED SCHUYLER JR., AP Boxing Writer
6 Sept 2000, NEW YORK (AP)
If the Mike Tyson-Andrew Golota fight turns out to be a laugher, Golota has to be the winner.
Asked about biting an opponent, the 6-foot-5 Golota, who once did just that, said, "That's very hard to do against this opponent. He's sort of short." Tyson is listed at 5-11 1-2, but appears to be shorter.
The reputations of two men for dirty tacks is a big reason many people will watch the 10-round pay-per-view fight Oct. 20 in The Palace at Auburn Hills, Mich.
"I can't be responsible for what people think," the 32-year-old Golota said Wednesday at lunch with some boxing writers. "It's been a long time since I was spectacular in the ring, you know ... like biting somebody."
Golota, a native of Poland living in Chicago, bit Samson Pou'ha on a shoulder in 1995. He also head butted Danell Nicholson in 1996. He won both bouts, but twice was disqualified for repeated low blows against Riddick Bowe in 1996.
Tyson, of course, was disqualified, fined $3 million and had his license revoked for time for biting Evander Holyfield's ears in 1997. He also knocked down Orlin Norris after the bell ended the first round Oct. 23 and the fight was declared a no-contest when Norris hurt his knee in falling and couldn't continue. On June 24 at Glasgow, Scotland, Tyson tried to attack Lou Savarese after stopping him in 38 seconds. He was fined $187,500.
The other two losses on Golota's 36-4 record, with 28 knockouts, came when he was stopped in the first round of a WBC title bid against Lennox Lewis in 1997 and when he was stopped by Michael Grant in the 10th round of a fight he was winning Nov. 20.
Golota said he had a cortisone injection in his injured left knee an hour before the Lewis fight and that he later had surgery for torn cartilage in the knee.
After being knocked down in the 10th round by Grant, Golota, who had scored two first-round knockdowns, said he became confused by when referee Randy Neumann kept asking him (four times) if he wanted to continue.
"If the referee had signaled Andrew to continue, he would have continued," said Gary Shaw of Main Events, Golota's promoter.
"I would have had no choice," Golota said.
Shaw and trainer Al Certo said Neumann also got Golota out of his game plan by repeatedly warning him whenever he punched to the body.
Golota, however, admitted that he was tiring when the fight was ended.
"I trained in the mountains and I should have been able to run in a marathon," Golota said. "But in this fight I was tired from the first round. I said, 'No more mountains.'" |
