COMMISSIONER’S CORNER
Riddick Bowe endured multiple low blows from Andrew Golota.
volatile mix. As Buffer introduced each fighter, it was easy to see that Golota was in top physical condition and Bowe wasn’t. Golota weighed 243 pounds, his normal fighting weight, give or take a few pounds. For his previous eight fights, Bowe weighed in the low- to mid-240s. For this, he weighed 252. It was the highest of his career. The weight showed around his middle and sides. Then the bell rang, and the weight showed in the fight. Golota pressured Bowe and outpunched him, even looking quicker and surprisingly beating him to the punch with the jab, Bowe’s primary weapon. Before the start of the fight, Golota’s head trainer, Roger Bloodworth, knowing Bowe was not in the best shape, had reminded his fighter to target the body. With seconds remaining in the opening round, Golota threw a left hook aimed at Bowe’s midsection. It strayed a bit low. “Keep ’em up,” Kelly yelled to Golota. The first three rounds, despite a few similar admonishments from Kelly and a soft warning to Bowe to “watch it” after a rabbit punch, were action- packed, punch-filled and exciting. The fight was turning into a thrilling heavyweight slugfest, with both fighters giving and taking. The fourth round was about 30 seconds old when Golota landed a left hook that strayed just below the beltline. Kelly again admonished Golota to keep his punches up. When another Golota left strayed low again around 45 seconds later, Kelly’s voice could be heard at ringside yelling forcefully to Golota, “KEEP THEM UP!” At this point, discussion was going around ringside that Golota was now on a short leash. Another low shot would probably cost him a point. With around 1:15 remaining in the fourth round, a hard one-two to the face caused Bowe to stumble into his corner. Many in the crowd stood and cheered. As the clock ticked off the
final 30 seconds of the round, a left just south of the beltline brought another shout from Kelly. Seconds later came the first of Golota’s brutally low shots. A left hand slammed into Bowe’s groin. We at ringside could hear the thud. We moaned collectively with Bowe, who dropped first to his right knee, then both knees. Kelly quickly called “Time!” stopping the clock with 19 seconds remaining in the round. He took a point from Golota and gave Bowe the mandatory option of up to five minutes’ rest. Bowe used around 90 seconds, then informed Kelly he was ready to continue. The round finished uneventfully. Many of Bowe’s fans were beginning to see every body punch with their hearts, and moaned, screaming at Kelly to take another point. With under a minute remaining in the fifth, Bowe stumbled after taking a hard right to the head. At the sound of the bell, as the two returned to their respective corners, Bowe pushed Golota. Kelly quickly got between them, pouring water on a potential fire. The sixth round saw Bowe and Golota spending most of the three minutes working in close. Both were banging to the head and body. With 36 seconds remaining, Golota drilled Bowe with a right that again strayed low on the beltline, but was technically a fair punch. Bowe’s fans screamed for Kelly to deduct a point, but he rightly let it go. Seconds later came a Golota hook to the groin. Everyone in the building saw it. And felt it. Bowe doubled over in agony, but remained on his feet. Kelly took another point. Bowe told Kelly he could go on, and the fight continued. I could hear Bowe’s fans behind me. They spewed obscenities at Golota. Golota seemed to be concentrating on landing head shots for the first minute of Round 7. Then came a crushing left to the forbidden zone. Kelly deducted yet another point from Golota. He admonished Golota, telling him, “If you do that again, I will disqualify
you.” The fight resumed. Incredibly, with 30 seconds remaining in the round, Golota did do it again. Ballseye! A crushing left to the groin dropped Bowe onto his right side before he rolled onto his back, writhing in pain. With Bowe on his back, Kelly lifted Bowe’s left hand and raised it. He told Golota “You’re disqualified.” The moment he did, members of Bowe’s entourage jumped into the ring and began raining blows on Golota’s head. Within seconds, the ring flooded with supporters of both fighters. Punches were thrown both inside and outside the ring. Golota’s 74-year-old cornerman Lou Duva dropped to the floor with chest pains. Chairs and bottles became missiles aimed at the ring. It took several minutes before NYC police arrived, and a few more minutes for a SWAT team to get there. I tried to run to the dressing room entrance, but several men were fighting in front of it, blocking my way. Finally, I noticed the fight moving away from the entrance by several yards. I took my wife by the hand and we bolted for the dressing room area. The MSG guards knew me and let us through. A SWAT team member led us to a room where Commission Chairman Floyd Patterson sat, along with Kelly. At least six other SWAT team members stood outside the room. When we entered and saw Patterson and Kelly, I gave each one a hug, asking, “Are you guys OK?” Patterson, visibly shaken, shook his head and said, “I’m OK.” Kelly said, “I’m OK, Randy.” Then he sat down and took a deep breath. “Golota gave me no choice,” Kelly said. “You did a great job in there, Wayne,” I said. “You’re right. Golota gave you no choice.” Then, recalling a line he said to me at dinner a few nights earlier, I said, with a sly smile, “You made one helluva garden party tonight!”
the world – to handle the Bowe-Golota fight. This was Kelly’s first main event in MSG’s “big room.” For me, it was a proud moment, as I had given Kelly – my best friend – his referee’s license eight years earlier. It was wonderful to watch his ascent to the top of the world of officiating. A few nights earlier, I had gone to dinner with Kelly. When I told him I’d be in attendance, he replied with a smile and typical Wayne Kelly humor, “I’m so glad you’re coming to my garden party.” I smiled too. It was a cute line. As the undercard ended, Kelly made his entrance into the ring. He took his place in a neutral corner. As he stood calmly, his eyes caught mine. Seeing me with my wife, Roni, he winked at us. He was followed in by ring announcer Michael Buffer. The fight was being televised by HBO. Their tuxedoed broadcast booth – Jim Lampley, Larry Merchant, George Foreman and Harold Lederman – were set to call the fight. With a nod from Buffer at center ring, Golota’s walk-out music began playing. He entered to a mixed chorus of boos and cheers. The disappointingly small crowd of 11,252 (a packed MSG boxing event seats between 18,000-20,000 fans) did the same to Bowe. I immediately realized why. With good intentions, both fighters had purchased tens of thousands of dollars’ worth of tickets a few days before the fight. Bowe went into his old neighborhood of Brownsville, one of the most poverty-stricken areas in New York City, and handed out tickets to teenagers he saw hanging out on street corners. The hard-hitting Pole did the same in New York’s Greenpoint, Maspeth and other NYC Metro areas with large Polish populations. Dozens upon dozens of street-corner youths were the recipients of those tickets. Bowe and Golota wanted their young fans to be in attendance. They each got their wish. Unfortunately, it was a dangerous,
THE NIGHT BOXING WENT NUTS By Randy Gordon
I t was July 11, 1996. As I watched the undercard from ringside, an uneasy feeling came over me for two reasons: It was the first time I had been in Madison Square Garden’s main arena for a boxing match since I became an ex-commissioner 11 months earlier, falling victim to a gubernatorial change in New York. I wanted to be there as chairman of the New York State Athletic Commission (NYSAC), not as the director of boxing for the Foxwoods Casino. I suspected trouble. I sensed trouble. I could feel trouble. The main event was coming up, and I believed it would be a high-energy, emotionally charged fight. I believed extra security was needed in each corner. My eyes scanned the ringside area. I saw four uniformed MSG security personnel. Two of them looked twice my age and half my size! The other two didn’t look much younger. Or bigger!
The main event was a 12-round heavyweight bout between popular localite Riddick Bowe and a rough Pole by way of Chicago, the undefeated Andrew Golota. Bowe’s 38-1 record was built on victories over many quality fighters. Among his victims were Bert Cooper, Pinklon Thomas, Tony Tubbs, Tyrell Biggs and Evander Holyfield (whom he had fought in a trilogy between November 1992 and November 1995, winning two of the three). In fact, Bowe went into the Golota fight eight months after stopping Holyfield in the eighth round of their final meeting. The 28-year-old Golota had powered his way to 25 knockouts in his 28-0 record. Included were 13 first-round stoppages and seven more in the second. Bowe, also 28, was by far his toughest opponent. The NYSAC assigned Wayne Kelly – one of the most respected referees in
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