The Polish Fight of the Century

Andrew Golota (left) and Tomasz Adamek will soon collide in what will be the biggest fight in Polish boxing history.

Manny Pacquiao and Miguel Cotto are pushing all other fights off the boxing sports pages, but the “Polish Fight of the Century” between Tomasz Adamek and Andrew Golota is now less than 10 days away.

While most boxing fans have written-off Golota as a quirky, whack-job there are some who are very intrigued to see what will take place when he and Adamek square off in Lodz, Poland on Oct. 24.

The fight is filled with intangibles as Adamek is moving up from the cruiserweight division to challenge the heavyweight Golota. Many wonder whether the current IBF cruiserweight titlist will be able to stand up to Golota's heavier punches and size advantage.

At 41, many question why Golota is still in the game. His best performances were over a decade ago. When asked why he is still around, the mercurial Golota claimed it's not for money, glory or respect.

“I don't know at this point. More than anything it's a habit for me...it's what I do,” said Golota who is famous for being short on words. “As for why I'm fighting Adamek? Well he came up with the idea and he invited me to dance, so it's hard to refuse.

“I'd like to be 12 or 13 years younger,” said Golota at a recent press event. “Some people say that at my age I shouldn't be boxing anymore. But Hopkins is 44, so I think I could still have a couple more years to go. The future is very interesting.”

Golota has been working in Chicago with trainer Sam Colonna. He entered training camp in August at between 260-270 pounds. By fight night he hopes to be trimmed down to the mid 240s and he will likely outweigh Adamek by 30 to 35 pounds.

“It's an interesting fight, because if he loses then he can say that I was bigger and heavier and stronger,” said Golota. “But for him, if he wins, then it's a big deal and maybe he moves onto a championship fight. For me, not so much. If I win, then everybody will say I was too big. You know what I mean?”

Golota has been a pro since 1992 and his record is 41-7-1, 33KOs. Along the way he has had four title shots. He was knocked out in the first round by Lennox Lewis in 1997 and by Lamon Brewster in the first round in 2005. He was on the wrong end of decisions most feel he should have won, both in 2004, against Chris Byrd for the IBF title and John Ruiz for the WBA belt. He drew with Byrd and had Ruiz down twice but lost the decision.

“I came close,” says Golota of the Byrd and Ruiz fights. “But I don't think about those fights. I only look ahead and not behind. Right now I'm looking ahead to Adamek, so we'll see what happens.”


October 2009