09.10.07 – By Geoffrey Ciani: When Oleg Maskaev was forced to pull out of his boxing title defense against Sam Peter due to a back injury, it appeared the entire card was in jeopardy. Determined to keep the card afloat, Don King pondered a replacement for Maskaev. It didn’t take long for him to find one. That opponent, of course, was none other than Andrew Golota..
Sam Peter would surely KO Andrew Golota!
These sentiments were echoed almost unanimously throughout the boxing community. As a result, despite the fact that Golota was approved as an opponent by Don King, Camp Peter, and the WBC, Showtime balked, and said that Golota was an unacceptable choice. Who could blame them? After all, conventional wisdom gave Golota no chance against Peter.
Ultimately, Jameel McCline was chosen as Peter’s replacement opponent while Golota remained a part of the under card. What transpired this past weekend was rather unexpected, and just goes to show, anything and everything can happen in boxing.
In what was supposed to be nothing more than a walk in the park for Peter turned out to be quite a bit more than the newly appointed WBC interim champ probably had in mind. The ceremonious bout which was supposed to vindicate Peter’s new-found status turned out to be tremendously more difficult than most anticipated.
The normally timid McCline came to fight, and in the process, he knocked down the previously un-floored Peter three times. The fact that McCline was able to drop Peter three times raised a few eye brows. After all, notwithstanding his one round destruction of Michael Grant, McCline has never been known for having knockout power. Yet here he was, early in a bout on the brink of victory by way of knockout.
Ultimately, Peter settled down, and was able to pick up his pace. As McCline began characteristically slowing down in the latter half of the fight, Peter did more than enough to take the majority of the rounds down the stretch, enabling him to overcome the early knockdowns en route to a unanimous decision victory. However, questions remained concerning his power, his skills, and most importantly, his chin.
Meanwhile, Andrew Golota did something he had never done before—he overcame adversity.
Golota is best known for being a front-runner. That is to say, in his biggest fights to date, he typically performs very well early-on before fading late and ultimately losing (or even quitting). Either that or he simply got blown out early. This time, Golota reversed the trend which has largely defined his career by getting clocked early, regaining his composure, and coming back to win via way of knockout.
The fact that Golota was able to come back from a first round beating he suffered at the hands of Kevin McBride is unprecedented. He came back to win the second round, ultimately stopping McBride in the sixth stanza. These outcomes begged the question:
What would have happened if Showtime accepted Golota as Peter’s opponent?
Of course, it is impossible to say for sure.
On one hand, Peter represents the type of fighter who spells doom for Golota. He has tremendous power, he attacks early, and he has been known for having a sturdy chin (at least up until Saturday night).
On the other hand, Peter actually represents the type of fighter Golota does well against, because he basically stands in front of his opponent and is there to be hit. Given that Golota is both a better combination puncher and a better volume puncher, there is a good chance he would give Peter a rough time.
Compared to McCline, Golota possesses a better jab, is better at throwing combinations, and has better over all boxing skills. He also probably has better stamina than McCline, and this is something which may well have cost McCline the fight. It is difficult to say whether or not Golota could have survived the early storm since he always seems to come out cold and is often susceptible to an early knockout. But what if Golota made it past the first few rounds? Could he have done better than McCline did?
Unsure one way or the other, I’m curious to hear what you, the fans, have to say on the matter. Despite what people were saying when Golota was initially announced as Sam Peter’s step-in opponent, the results from this weekend tell a different story.
Bottom line: Golota would have had a shot at keeping things competitive and possibly have squeaked by with a decision.
To contact Ciani:
geoff@eatthemushroom.com
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