Golota was smooth, no doubt. Beauty jab and solid mechanics in his combos. Not ‘forced’ at all. He was used to being the bigger more powerful guy though, and sometimes freaked out when things weren’t going easy..
Getting dqed twice in a row , for the HW (people) championship, while comfortably ahead is really mind-blowing. The only thing that even come close that I can think of is the Terry Norris - Santana fiascos. Especially the second fight when he seemed in total control and so close to the finish line...
Btw, reading about the fight on Wikipedia, they mention that Bowe and Lewis had an agreement to fight each other after their ''tune up'', meaning Mercer for Lewis abd Golata for Bowe. I never knew it.
Agreed, no way imo that a big strong guy like Bowe was ruined by the Holyfield fights. Not taking his career seriously is what killed it. Having a fridge in your bedroom is the kind of outrageous silliness you'd see in a cartoon...
Golota was easily beating Grant too, which if he'd won, would've probably given him another shot at Lewis, but then seemed to fall apart.