Byrd/Golota was actually a very watchable fight. Golota/Ruiz, not so much. But Golota/Byrd featured some exciting action, with Byrd against the ropes especially.
Byrd was one of the bravest fighters of the "Modern" era. Truly would fight anyone. I don't believe that Lewis ducked him, he just avoided him, not a lot of money, and a hard nights work that made nobody much money, except possibly Byrds neurologist. Byrd fought Vitali Wlad X2 Golota Tua Ibeabuchi Holyfield Mo Harris Povetkin DaVarryl Williamson McCline Oquendo Phil Jackson Ross Purritty And he fought most of these guys standing right in front of them. None of this running and pushing crap dressed up as real fighting. For a 6'2" 212lb guy he did exceptionally well.
Purritty was very strong and probably had a 30lb advantage on Byrd. Pretty much any win for Byrd over any of these guys is impressive. He was almost always at a weight and strength disadvantage. Purritty probably would have killed Chris in a street fight.
I had Golota beating Byrd by 2 pts, I believe. I recall having Oquendo beating Byrd by a wider margin, although in a far less watchable fight. Byrd-Golota was actually a fun fight. Of all of Golota's shots at a title, I thought that was the one time he deserved to be called champ by the end of the night. I forget how I scored Ruiz-Golota - I had it a 1 pt difference, regardless - but that fight was terrible and Golota gave away the fight, really from the moment that Stoney got ejected (his rant 2-3 rounds prior one of the funniest moments in recent boxing history)
Golota won the fight. Should have been credited with several knockdowns on top of that when Byrd after several hard body shots would just lean down and touch the mat. Randy Neuman is a horrible referee.
Golota v Ruiz was disgusting. I'm screaming at the the tv 'Use the jab! The jab!' to Golota. He was content to just sit in front of Ruiz bobbing around like he'd win the fight on poses. Golota commits to the jab in that fight and he beats Ruiz with ease.
Every time Golota stepped back and fired a jab-cross, he hit that idiot Ruiz on the button. Problem is, he only did it once in a while... He should have done it all night... I remember being incredulous that his corner didn't notice it. It worked like a charm every time Ruiz leaned in to hug him. He just didn't do it enough.
i had Golota-Byrd a close fight..a draw was pretty fair i had Golota beating Ruiz by several points...that fight sucked apart from a few good rounds, and Norman Stone
Same in the Grant fight. He abandoned the straight right for a left hook, despite the fact that he couldn't miss with his right over Grants very low left hand. Guy, physically, was a perfect heavyweight. Mentally, he was not cut out for boxing at all.
In fact, he doesn't seem cut out for anything. God meant to place him in Warsaw in 1939 but got his wires crossed and Andrew popped out in 1969 ::
He was fully capable of beating Ruiz, he just didn't. After the fight he had a cry about judging but to me it was clear that while he was the superior boxer, he did not demonstrate it enough in the ring.
the only way Golota has an argument to have won the Ruiz fight imo is with the bullshit point deduction and blown kd called he got. I just can't see him winning 6 rounds in this fight.
I saw Golota as the clear winner, I think he took about seven rounds and with the two KDs it was a big gap. And I actually watched this fight like four times. There were plenty of close rounds though and Golota has himself to blame for much, but I thought he beat both Ruiz and Byrd
you managed to watch that fight four times? that had to have been the most boring Golota fight ever. only Ruiz could've managed to make a Golota fight boring. it was so tedious after a while, once Ruiz got into his grappling rhythm. he was grabbing Golota after virtually every punch. Golota throws. Ruiz grabs. Golota puts his arm up to protect against rabbit punches. The fighters break. Repeat.
There is a character in a book called "The Day of the Jackal" by Frederick Forsyth who mirrors Golota entirely. His name is Victor Kowalski and apparently he existed in real life to some extent or the other. A lethal combination of size and meanness. When he was a youngster in Occupied Poland he snapped the neck of a German officer who was boning his sister, he broke out of a detention camp at the end of the war and traveled to Marseille where he joined the Legion.
I thought the Ruiz-Golota decision was fair. I think I scored it even but that 2nd KD was a blown call. Norman Stone was hilarious though. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ha6i5haqLyI&feature=youtube_gdata_player
Norman Stone and John Ruiz were a great combination, weren't they? The guy you couldn't stand to watch teamed up with the guy you couldn't stand to listen to.
