Golota camp hopes bout with Tyson is on horizon
The story line around Andrew Golota's victory over Orlin Norris on Friday night at Mandalay Bay was Golota's potential fight with Mike Tyson next year.Golota's promoter, Gary Shaw of Main Events, in particular, was pushing for a possible Tyson-Golota matchup in early 2001, calling it the biggest pay-per-view fight out there. And Tyson-Golota undoubtedly would be a huge attraction.
However, a showdown between Lennox Lewis and Tyson probably would be an even bigger success, given that Lewis is the heavyweight champion. Also, Lewis knocked out Golota in the first round of a 1997 title defense in Atlantic City.
Nonetheless, Tyson-Golota would be an intriguing fight, and the groundwork has been laid with Tyson already under contract to Showtime and Shaw saying that Golota will become a Showtime fighter.
What makes a Tyson-Golota fight potentially bigger is that a Lewis-Tyson fight is questionable because the boxers are under exclusive contracts to different cable networks. Lewis is under contract to HBO.
Even after Golota showed good skills in his decision over Norris, Showtime executive producer Jay Larkin wasn't as impressed with Golota as Shaw was.
Larkin did say a Tyson-Golota fight would be a "compelling event," but he wasn't caught up in the pay-per-view sales just yet.
Larkin said moving backward, as Golota sometimes did Friday, definitely is not the way to defeat Tyson. Larkin noted that Golota couldn't hold Norris off. So how in the world would he hold off the swarming Tyson?
"I don't think the Golota who fought Orlin Norris would be successful against Mike Tyson," Larkin said. "I thought (Golota) boxed a cautious, disciplined and not very aggressive fight."
Larkin said Golota needs to show more offense before plans for a Tyson fight can go into high gear.
Larkin said the appeal of a Tyson-Golota fight is that it is an "anything goes" type of fight. He said Golota should have one or two more fights to show his worth.
And Golota will get that chance. Shaw said Golota will fight in September in Poland against an undetermined opponent. Golota, a native of Poland, decisioned Tim Witherspoon there in 1998. Shaw said Golota will fight again in mid-November in the United States. Shaw earlier had said he hoped Golota's November fight would be in Las Vegas, but he said Friday that negotiations for the fight had not started.
In the meantime, Tyson is scheduled to fight Lou Savarese on June 27 in Glasgow, Scotland. Tyson presumably also would have one or two more fights this year.
Larkin did say Golota is usually criticized for being too aggressive -- remember his two disqualification losses to Riddick Bowe in 1996 after Golota had dominated the fights. Larkin said it would be unfair to condemn Golota for fighting cleanly as he did against Norris if he is going to be ripped for being a dirty fighter.
Larkin suggested Golota find a "happy medium" as a fighter. I always felt that becoming a "conventional" fighter would be difficult for Golota. If you bet on Golota, you can never feel safe even if he is dominating a fight because he could be disqualified at any time.
But Golota's new trainer, Al Certo, was happy with his boxer's performance Friday. "I was looking for certain things," Certo said.
Mostly what Certo was looking for was for Golota, 32, to keep his focus. Certo, 72, of Seacaucus, N.J., said that after training former junior welterweight and welterweight champion Buddy McGirt, he didn't know whether he wanted to train another fighter. However, Certo said Golota has made training interesting again. "He has more ability than I thought," Certo said.