Golota eyes Tyson
Posted: Sunday January 31, 1999 04:30 PM
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Golota has won five fights since losing to Lennox Lewis in 1997 AP |
ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. (AP) -- Andrew Golota, winner of five
straight fights since a 1997 loss to WBC heavyweight champion
Lennox Lewis, now wants Mike Tyson.
The promotional prospects alone enthralled Golota promoter Dino
Duva: Tyson, the volatile ear-biter who was banned from boxing for
a year, against Golota, the low-blow specialist who was twice
disqualified in 1996 bouts against Riddick Bowe.
"Everyone acknowledges that would be a tremendous promotion," said Duva, who hopes to make a Tyson-Golota fight by year's end.
On Saturday, Golota looked crisp and in control in posting a
unanimous 10-round decision over journeyman Jesse Ferguson. Though
he never knocked down Ferguson, Golota (33-3) dominated with strong
left jabs and punishing overhand rights.
Ferguson, 41, was a late substitute for Jimmy Thunder, who tore
an Achilles tendon in training and withdrew Wednesday. Ferguson
signed for the fight Thursday, salvaging the card headlined by
unbeaten heavyweight Michael Grant.
When he entered the ring before 2,724 fans in the Convention
Hall ballroom, the "Mission: Impossible" theme boomed from
loudspeakers.
It soon became apparent that it was. Ferguson (26-18) fought
gamely but never seriously challenged Golota nor landed any big
punches.
The same could be said about Grant's opponent, Ahmad Abdin, who
was stopped after 10 rounds of a scheduled 12-rounder against the
IBC champion.
Grant, a 6-foot-7, 250-pounder with 28 victories, was fighting
for the first time in nine months. His previous scheduled bout was
canceled after he came down with hepatitis.
But his long reach kept Abdin, a former sparring partner, from
getting close enough to do much damage. And Grant kept the pressure
on, wearing down Abdin with left jabs.
Grant, of Norristown, Pa., knocked Abdin down with a vicious
right to the body at the end of the ninth round.
In the 10th, Grant nailed a charging Abdin with an overhand
right that dropped him again. Later in the round, he knocked down
Abdin a third time with a left. Abdin got up at eight, after the
bell.
But referee Eddie Cotton, acting on the advice of ringside
physician Dr. Kenneth Remsen, stopped the fight after the 10th.
"He was disoriented," Remsen said. "His eyes were rolled up. He
had a blank stare."
Abdin, of Houston, dropped to 25-2-3.
Grant said he had no preference about who he would fight next.
When asked about Golota, he said: "I think nothing of Andrew
Golota. He has his own destiny and it's in his hands. I'll leave it
up to (manager) Don Turner."
"We haven't turned anyone down," Grant said. "We'll fight
anyone. We'll fight nine gorillas."
Copyright 2003 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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