Augustus Nonpareil Tyler IV

@SmelOdiesOG @SteveKim323 Folks hadn't gotten over Ali. It's like watching a great movie, then they do a sequel and it doesn't live up to the first one. Tyson and Ali were cultural icons. They were made for the times they came up in. Another mystery of life.

@BoxingCertified @SteveKim323 I didn’t know much about boxing in the ‘80s, but I distinctly remember the talk being that Tyson was a breath of fresh air compared to boring old Holmes.

Conor McGregor's warm-up footage and his walk-in is now being dissected like the Zapruder Film. I really don't have an opinion on it one way or the other. To me, he was a dulled blade (and older one at that, too), this certainly wasn't out of the realm of possibility what took place..

@BreadmanBoxing Conor hit the lottery fighting Floyd. Everybody isn't like Kobe or Jordan. Some folks are just happy to get there.

@BoxingCertified Bro. You didnt read Grover's post. He made that years ago when McGregor lost to Poirier he wasn't talking about last night. I just reposted it because looking back... McGregor has won one fight since 2016. One! So Grover turned out to be correct.

Tim Grover was so right. Big time observation

@BreadmanBoxing I stand corrected.

@SteveKim323 Jake Paul is the most famous boxer today! 😃

I will say this, they never confused Thomas Hearns or Ray Leonard for Michael Cooper or Byron Scott...

@SmelOdiesOG @SteveKim323 Yep! Holmes was always entertaining even when he was fading. Of course, he had some boring defenses because he was so superior to his opposition.

@BoxingCertified @SteveKim323 Holmes’s ratio of entertaining fights to stinkers was pretty decent, huh?

@Naturalphilosy It did break him; he killed himself.

“The world breaks every one and afterward many are strong at the broken places. But those that will not break it kills. It kills the very good and the very gentle and the very brave impartially. If you are none of these you can be sure it will kill you too but there will be no special hurry.” — Ernest Hemingway

@SmelOdiesOG @SteveKim323 You've met a lot of fighters! 👊🏾👊🏾👊🏾👊🏾 I gotta catch up to you!

@BoxingCertified @SteveKim323 I watched Holmes-Shavers 2 today. Great fight.

@SteveKim323 He is smart, but NBA teams are privately owned and NBA players do have a revenue sharing deal. I don't see them getting much more than that. You want more start your own league.

he sounds smart to dumb people

@BreadmanBoxing @iam_clancy Holyfield had the mental make-up for any era.

Imagine being 11-0, never being past 8 rounds. And you get a title shot vs a HOF for 15 rounds in 100 degree heat. Holyfield could live in any era vs anybody.

@SmelOdiesOG @SteveKim323 Ali would've been "Canceled" in this culture today.😀 The things he said, he'd be lucky to get a fight in a high school gym.

@BoxingCertified @SteveKim323 True, he made a smart business decision a decade ago which paved the way for Jake Paul’s ascent.

@SmelOdiesOG @SteveKim323 I'm biased when it comes to fighters. They've been exploited for too many years. Don't get me wrong they're complicit in some cases and can be wrong, but fighters fade into whispers and billion dollar Corporations, like UFC will be around a looong time.

@SmelOdiesOG @SteveKim323 He was a self promoter and could fight. Him and Floyd made a truckload of money together! I'm all for fighters getting plenty of money from multi-billion dollar entities.😀 He would be poor and destitute had he continued in the just UFC. 😀

@BoxingCertified @SteveKim323 Never was a fan of his fighting or trash taking style, and by all accounts he is a bad guy. I have more respect for Jake Paul getting his jaw re-arranged by AJ.

@StashCashMoneyy @BreadmanBoxing OK, I just needed context. Today, everybody has a keyboard and everybody is an expert.

@BoxingCertified @BreadmanBoxing I mean he was Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant's trainer. Without Metaphors, I am sure he's seen what it truly takes for an athlete to come back from injury or defeat to reach the mountain top again.

@20thCentBoxIMM The best way to help a fighter with mental issues is get him out of boxing. Boxing is trauma to the brain. You can't help fix something and destroy it at the same time. I've always said and I will continue to say it: You have to be a little off to box and continue boxing.😀

@BoxingCertified For some, boxing can be a way to channel their emotions. Andrew Golota, it’s pretty clear, had some deeper issues that he (and his handlers) should have gotten him help for.

Of all the strangeness we have seen in boxing over the decades, the enigma that was Andrew Golota takes a backseat to none. The undefeated (28-0) Golota snatches defeat from the jaws of victory on July 11, 1996, getting himself disqualified in the 7th round of a bout that he seemingly had completely dominated against former Heavyweight Champion RIddick Bowe. ---------------------------------------------------------- From Gerald Eskenazi, of The New York Times, reporting on July 12, 1996: A heavyweight bout between Riddick Bowe and Andrew Golota dissolved into a frightening brawl involving fans, cornermen and even managers at Madison Square Garden last night, evoking the darkest evenings of boxing's controversial past. The series of violent battles grew so potentially dangerous that Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani, who came to the Garden after the fighting broke out, was ushered into one of the dressing rooms, where he remained heavily guarded more than an hour after the arena was cleared by a cordon of New York City police. During the early moments of the battling, fans were stomping other fans and the ring was filled by followers of both fighters throwing punches. Most of the brawls involved black fans battling white fans. Dr. Andrew Bazos of the New York State Athletic Commission said there were no major injuries among the handlers or the crowd of 11,252. He said 12 people suffered routine injuries and sprains, seven of whom were hospitalized for what he described as precautionary reasons. Several people were seen being handcuffed by the police, but it could not immediately be learned how many were arrested. The police, however, quickly made their presence felt once they arrived. As is customary at most sporting events in New York, the host site provided a private security force. The remarkable scene began with 27 seconds remaining in the seventh round when Referee Wayne Kelly disqualified Golota, who had delivered a low blow to the former heavyweight champion Bowe for the fourth time in their bout and the second time in the seventh round. With the 252-pound Bowe writhing on the canvas, Kelly waved his arms, ending the fight and giving the victory to Bowe. Rock Newman, Bowe's manager, jumped into the ring to tend to Bowe and was followed by Bernard Brooks Sr., an associate of Bowe's. "I went in to make sure Rock was all right," Brooks said. "I tried to hold Golota away, but he swung at me with a left." Brooks's son, Bernard Jr., then charged Golota and started to pound the 243-pound fighter behind the head with a walkie-talkie. The fight then escalated in pockets of violence throughout the arena, which has been relatively free of such incidents since it opened in 1968. Some fans waving Polish flags, who had come to support the Warsaw-born Golota, tried to storm the ring. Other fans battled them. Among those arrested was a pair of men draped in the Polish flag. In the confusion, Lou Duva, the 74-year-old trainer who had been advising Golota, was also hit by a walkie-talkie. Duva had trouble breathing and was taken to New York University Hospital. "The doctor said he'll be O.K.," said his daughter-in-law, Kathy Duva. "They said it's just a precaution." The hospital later listed his condition as stable. Police began clearing the building upon their arrival, and about 90 minutes after the melee began everyone had left. Golota was clearly winning the bout in what would have been a major upset. He was getting to Bowe with combinations, quieting most of the crowd, which rooted for the Brooklyn-born Bowe. Kelly, the referee, had been concerned before the fight about Golota's reputation for dirty fighting. The unbeaten 28-year-old had actually bitten a previous opponent and head-butted another. "If this guy tries to bite Bowe, I've got a plan on what to do," Kelly said. It never got to biting. But Golota was in trouble for other reasons. He lost points for low blows in the fourth and sixth rounds, when his punches sent Bowe to the canvas. Then another low blow in the seventh doubled over Bowe. He did not topple, but Kelly again took a point away from Golota. Finally, with Golota's fourth low shot, Kelly waved his arms that it was over. As soon as Bowe went down, Golota started to shake his head, knowing he was disqualified. It was not automatic -- the referee has the discretion to stop it at any time or to allow it to last. Outside the Garden last night, police wearing riot helmets had set up flares on 33d Street and Seventh Avenue, funneling traffic south and away from the building's entrance. Dozens of police made their presence felt around the arena while hundreds of fans continued to mill about, many visibly shaken. Even in this scene some fans laughed about what they had seen, almost like whistling in the dark. Still, one fan, Rob Eatman, a 28-year-old from Harlem, described the pre-fight atmosphere as "racially tense." Most of the fans cheering Golota were white, many of them apparently of Polish background. Most of those who fought them were black. "The tension flared after the low blows and the disqualification fanned the situation," Eatman said. "Even on the way out, on the escalators, people were fighting." Brishawn Shaw, 22, of the Upper East Side, said she was with a friend. "We were terrified. We grabbed onto each other and ran for our lives, but no place seemed safe." "I was rooting for Golota," said Alfred Cretella, a Staten Island construction worker. "I was just standing there," said the 37-year-old, "then the next thing I knew I was jumped from behind and 10 guys started stomping on me." Giuliani was safe during the extended battling. He was ensconced in Golota's dressing room. Newman has been involved in several previous scuffles at bouts. Six years ago, Newman battled Bowe's opponent, Elijah Tillery. Then there was the time in Las Vegas, Nev., after Bowe won the title from Evander Holyfield and Newman fought with a photographer. He also was involved in an incident when a man in a motorized glider tried to sail into the ring during Bowe's rematch against Holyfield. Newman and others in his party repeatedly beat the flyer. Golota caused a commotion in the hours before the fight, too. He refused to go on. Believe it or not, money settled the issue. The contract called for "a 10- or 12-rounder." Everyone believed, however, this would be a 10-round affair since there was no official title at stake. But The Daily News was offering its belt to the winner -- and the contract specifically gave Bowe the right to call this a title fight because of the newspaper's trophy. "I trained for 10," Golota complained, and insisted he would not go on. However, for what a Garden official described as "a minimal amount of money," Golota changed his mind. That amount was added to his original guarantee of $600,000. Bowe's cut was worth at least $3 million. In the co-feature last night, Hector (Macho) Camacho, fighting only 19 days after going 12 rounds with Roberto Duran, stopped an overmatched Craig Houk in the second round. "I did it so I could fight in New York," said the 34-year-old Camacho, a former lightweight and superfeatherweight champion. "I wanted to show the Duran decision was no fluke. I want to stay busy." ---------------------------------------------------------- The riot that ensued at Madison Square Garden after this fight resulted in 22 injuries and 16 arrests by the NYPD. Rock Newman, Bowe's manager and promoter, would be suspended for a year and fined $250,000 by the New York State Athletic Commission for his role in the post-fight melee. And, believe it or not, Golota (as you all probably know) would get himself DQ'ed again, five months later, in another bout that he seemed to be in total control. ---------------------------------------------------------- From Clifton Brown, of The New York Times, on December 16, 1996: It was a bizarre and brutal fight. And when it ended, Riddick Bowe was writhing in pain on the canvas, the victim of a final, intentional, vicious low blow from Andrew Golota in the ninth round. Golota did it again Saturday night, just as he did in the first Bowe-Golota fight in July. Once again, Golota was disqualified for low blows and Bowe was awarded a victory. Once again, Golota was winning the fight on the scorecards of all three judges when the bout was stopped. But once again, Golota resorted to dirty tactics, and the outcome further tarnished Golota's reputation and raised serious questions about his future. Bowe not so much won the fight as he survived it. The crowd of 12,013 at the Atlantic City Convention Center saw nine rounds of punishing heavyweight action that tested Bowe's courage and chin. Bowe was floored in the second round and in the fifth, and Golota staggered him on several other occasions. But Bowe, a former heavyweight champion, refused to quit. He knocked Golota down in the fourth round; he survived when lesser fighters would have succumbed, and after the fight, it was Golota who was taken to a local hospital with a possible broken jaw. Golota's condition kept him from attending the post-fight news conference, so he could not answer for his actions. But there was no logical explanation for his consistently senseless behavior. In the second round, Golota opened a nasty cut over his own left eye when he intentionally head-butted Bowe. At that point, Referee Eddie Cotton took a point away from Golota. In the fourth round, Cotton took away another point when Golota hit Bowe below the belt, sending Bowe to one knee and forcing him to take a 30-second break. Finally, Golota hit Bowe low again in the ninth round, and Cotton felt he had no choice but to stop the fight. Nobody from Golota's camp put up an argument. "I can't defend him," said Lou Duva, Golota's co-trainer. "I wish I could. I can't explain it. I said: 'Andrew, you're winning the fight. Just get out there and box.' What made him do what he did, I don't know.' " What will it all mean? For Bowe (40-1) it meant victory, but his heart was more impressive than his boxing skills. Bowe was hit easily by Golota, and if the fight had gone the 10-round distance, Bowe most likely would have lost. It was far from the overwhelming victory that Bowe wanted, and at age 29, major questions remain about his ability to become a champion again. Bowe did not sound like he would retire, but he admitted he would do some soul-searching. He mentioned hope for possible future fights against Evander Holyfield (whom he has beaten twice in three previous bouts), Lennox Lewis or Mike Tyson. "I want to fight, but I don't want to fight as hard," Bowe said. "I think I will continue to fight. Being a fighter, you're in the hurt business. Everybody gets a turn. A guy is going to get in there and hurt you one day. But he who rises shows determination and heart. Tonight, I showed I'm championship material. I believe if I wasn't in shape, Golota would have been able to get me out of there. Hopefully, some day, Mr. Holyfield gives me another opportunity." But a few minutes later, when Bowe was asked what his mother, Dorothy, thought of the fight, he sounded more reflective. "My mother never liked boxing, so the first thing that came out of her face was that she still wants me to retire," Bowe said. "I'm going to go home and enjoy the holidays, and the first of the year, I'm going to see what happens, weigh my options." As for Golota (28-2), will anyone want to fight someone who violates rules so blatantly and intentionally? Golota, a 28-year-old Polish-born fighter, has skill and power. But he has a sordid reputation to go with it. "I don't know what Golota's going to do, but before we do anything I'm going to sit down and ask Andrew in no uncertain terms if he wants to continue fighting," Duva said. "Does he want to fight like a fighter, or like a brawler in a bar or an alley?" Bowe said he would never fight Golota again. After their first bout in July at Madison Square Garden, there was a long brawl involving both fighters' camps and angry fans. There was no trouble outside the ring Saturday night, but everyone involved with these two fights has grown tired of Golota's tactics. "In the first fight, I thought there were some theatrics on Bowe's part," said Dino Duva, one of the fight's promoters. "But in this fight, no way. If Bowe was looking for an out, he would've gone down four rounds earlier." So while Golota's career is in question, Bowe was relieved to close this chapter of his career, regardless of what he decides to do next. "Riddick is one of the toughest guys in the world, but I want him doing the kind of things we worked on," said Thell Torrence, Bowe's trainer. "He got a little lazy. That's one reason why he got hurt early. He went away from the game plan. "But Golota continued to hit him low, and low blows take so much out of you. They get you out of your game plan. That's what bothered me about this fight. I'm not surprised at all. I said it last time, and I say it this time. When Golota gets in the pit, and things start going rough for him, he looks for some way to gain advantage, and he hits low. He did it over and over again." And in the process of hurting Bowe, Golota hurt himself much more.

@CoachJamesGogue @snboxing How you train is how you fight.

@snboxing Bad habits he probably picked up in sparring. I see that alot.

Why an opponent would want to hang out on the ropes against Gassiev is beyond me.

@YogiBoxingLuver 👊🏾👊🏾👊🏾👊🏾

@BoxingCertified My heart goes out to you. 🌸 🕊️

In memory of Arturo Gatti, who passed away on this day in 2009, along with Micky Ward who gave us a legendary three-fight boxing saga.Taking place from 2002 to 2003,the brutal matchups are widely regarded among the greatest and most punishing in combat sports history. 🥊