Golota gone in 53 seconds!

May 24, 2005

By Robert Hoffman and Jacob Chavez at ringside
Photos: John Booz

The United Center in Chicago Illinois was packed to near capacity Saturday night with fight fans that were excited to show their support for championship boxing. Don King Productions brought three World Title bouts to Chicago along with five other exciting bouts. HBO Sports was on hand to televise the main event between WBO Heavyweight Champion "Relentless" Lamon Brewster and Andrew "Powerful Pole" Golota. Between that fight and the co-main event that featured a WBC Light Heavyweight World Title fight between Paul "Hurricane" Briggs and undefeated Polish fighter Tomasz Adamek, the tremendous Polish-American fan base in Chicago all came out in massive numbers to support their fellow countrymen.

Brewster destroys Golota
By Robert Hoffman

In the heavyweight title fight that was billed as a local rivalry between Indiana-bred Brewster and adopted Chicagoan Golota, it turned out that the more important issue was survival in the heavyweight mixup. Brewster was looking to prove that his KO of Wladimir Klitschko was not a fluke and that he should be taken seriously in the heavyweight division. Golota was seeking to finally land a heavyweight title in what was the third of three consecutive title shots. Golota knew that, at his age and with his history, that this was his last chance to be champion.

Unfortunately for Golota, this was not his night either. Using the blueprint laid out by Lennox Lewis back in 1997, Brewster bull rushed Golota with both fists flying with deadly intentions. Golota, having once again come in cold, was not prepared to fend off the immediate onslaught that Brewster unleashed, and a solid left hook dropped Golota just ten seconds into the first round. Brewster smothered Golota as soon as the fight resumed, and another left hook sent Golota down again and this time through the ropes and almost onto the floor. A third knockdown pushed referee Gino Rodriguez to stop the fight at :53 seconds into round one for a TKO win going to Brewster.

Knockdown #1	Knockdown #2	Knockdown #3

Adamek wins war, WBC 175lb. belt
By Jacob Chavez

Undefeated Light heavyweight Tomasz Adamek (29-0-20KOs) and Paul "Hurricane" Briggs (23-2-17KOs) gave a spectacular performance in a bloody fight that had loads of action. Adamek won the fight by unanimous decision, winning the vacant WBC Light Heavyweight Title. Adamek did not waste time and made his presence known right away by connecting with multiple crisp rights to the head in round one. Briggs took them well, and standing his ground, scored with his own right upstairs. Early in the 2nd round, there was a clash of heads that left Briggs with a big gash over the left eye. After being cleared for the moment by the doctor, both fighters engaged each other in the middle of the ring throwing punches with very bad intentions. Early in round 3 and for most of the remaining fight, Briggs found in Adamek's face for the overhand right. Adamek was stunned momentarily but recovered and began using his jab for the benefit of keeping good distance between them. The pressure by Adamek continued through the middle rounds and it appeared as though he was establishing a good lead over Briggs. Briggs however had other plans. He turned it up a notch and began connecting more frequently with the overhand right. Adamek was rocked twice in the eighth and almost went down. His knees buckled after being caught with the right yet again, but Adamek was game. He stayed right in there with Briggs, not taking a step back despite the great deal of hurt being put on him. A roar filled the United Center as Adamek landed a 3 punch combination to the head and Briggs taunted him for more. The furious exchanges did not let up and going into the championship rounds, Adamek was getting rocked quite often by the overhand right, but he did not stop attacking. The warrior in Briggs walked right threw most of what Adamek was throwing at this point. Heavy trading in round 11 demonstrated that Adamek was getting second wind. His punches had a bit more snap than the previous few rounds and he was now picking his punches and timing Briggs. Briggs was still scoring with the right and in the final round rocked Adamek after he had been pinned against the ropes for most of the 1st half. The Crowd was on their feet for most of this round as neither fighter was taking a step back. The brutal fight came went the distance the final scores read 115-113, 117-113 both for Adamek and 114-114.

Garcia wins WBA 154lb. interim belt
By Jacob Chavez

In an exciting rematch for the WBA Super Welterweight interim title, Alejandro "Terra" Garcia (24-1-23KOs) beat Rhoshi Wells (18-2-2-11) by way of TKO in the 9th round. The first fight was won by Garcia also by TKO in the 10th. The beginning of their second fight was a bit wild with both fighters throwing wide shots and tying each other up. But they soon settled down and began working their plans. In the 2nd, the quicker hands appeared to belong to Wells as he countered a jab of Garcia's with a straight right that stopped him in his tracks. This prompted Garcia to pressure Wells and they both proceeded to dish out punishing combinations and trading on the inside. The hard pace continued into the 3rd. Garcia managed to hurt Wells in the 4 as he caught him with a left hook to the head while they both threw punches. Wells' legs almost gave way and he tried to hang on to Garcia. The weight was too much for him and both fighters fell to the canvas, but Garcia went through the ropes. To his credit, Wells managed to finish off the round on shaky legs and start the 6th with a new tactic. He began shooting a quick jab at Garcia attempting to keep him at bay. It seemed to have worked, as he connected with a 1-2 combination while countering an attack. But back came Garcia with a hard right to the head just before the bell. Both fighters had their moments in the 7th as they traded heavily and Garcia began slowing slightly. Unfortunately for Wells, Garcia did not slow enough and caught him with a hard left hook to the head, dropping him in one of the neutral corners. Wells however, not only managed to get up, but he pinned Garcia against the ropes and began blasting him with power punches. Garcia found it difficult to escape the ropes. He finally got out after what seemed like half a minute, but not after significant damage had been done. In what would be the 9th and final round, both fighters looked to pick up where they left off, but it was Garcia who landed the crucial blow. He connected with a hard right to the head and followed it up with 2 more, putting Wells on the Canvas hard. Wells got up on wobbling. Realizing this, referee Pete Podgorski called a halt to the action. The official time was 2:52 of the 9th.

Jones upsets Davis
By Robert Hoffman

Favored Cruiserweight Kelvin "Konkrete" Davis 21-3, 16 KO's was upset by late sub Guillermo "El Felino" Jones 32-3-2, 25 KO's. Jones was visibly the taller, heavier, and less talented fighter, so it was no surprise that Davis was controlling the fight from the get go. But at the end of round three, Jones landed two right hooks right before the bell rang to end the round. Referee John O'Brien stepped in to separate the two fighters to end the round, and as he did, Jones turned and headed for his corner. As Davis was expected to head towards his corner as well, he surprisingly stumbled and nearly tripped over the refs shoes. Davis then took a dozen drunken looking stumbling steps as he wobbled to his corner on rubber legs. It seemed as though Jones was unaware that he had hurt his foe, and he came out cautious at the start of round four, but two more right hands had Davis back on rubber legs and barely able to keep from tumbling down. Referee O'Brien immediately stepped in and stopped the fight giving the TKO win to Jones at :42 into round four.

Baldomir defeats Rodriguez
By Robert Hoffman

In a WBC welterweight eliminator, Carlos Baldomir used his 55 fight experience to out box the lesser experienced and skilled Miguel Rodriguez in their 12 round title fight. Baldomir (now 41-9-6, 12 KO's) remained the stronger and more accurate puncher throughout the fight. But it was Baldomir's constant forward pressure that had the biggest effect. Rodriguez did well in the center of the ring, but when Baldomir was able to press him to the ropes, it was all Baldomir. Judges all scored the fight in favor of Baldomir by scores of 116-112 twice, and 116-113.

Garcia tops Espinoza
By Jacob Chavez

WBC Fecarbox Bantamweight Champion Genaro "Poblanito" Garcia (33-4-20KOs) bounced back from a 5th round knockdown to score a unanimous decision win over Gerardo "Locomotora" Espinoza (28-8-26KOs). Garcia started out the fight by pressing the action and looking for Espinoza. Espinoza, the taller of the two began backpedaling and looking to counter the advancing Garcia. This plan of action continued for both fighters until midway through the 2nd when Espinoza stopped to engage. Both fighters landed good shots to the head and body, but Espinoza landed a punishing right to the head during the exchange, getting Garcia's attention. In the third, the 2 fighters returned to the original strategies. Garcia continued to walk Espinoza down until he was put down by a hard counter right to the left side of the face early in the5th. He managed to get up, but was rocked again by 2 more solid rights. Espinoza looking to end it, unleashed heavy shots and to his credit, Garcia took them well and answered with his own arsenal of punches. This prompted the crowd to voice their approval as the last 30 seconds of this round was an all out war. Having put Garcia down, Espinoza's confidence soared. He refrained from backpedaling as much and engaged more. Garcia continued to pressure and wear his opponent down. Nearing the end of the fight, both fighters were still throwing a high volume of punches, but Espinoza's snap was diminishing and although Garcia was tiring as well, he did not let up on aggressively pursuing Espinoza. The final round made for a treat to the appreciative fans as both fighters went toe to toe and emptied out their tanks. The final scores read 97-92 and 96-93 twice; all for Garcia.

Other Results

Welterweight Devon Alexander cruised to an easy increase in his unbeaten record that now stands at 4-0, 2 KO's when he controlled Felix Lora, now 6-2-2, 2 KO's for six uneventful rounds. Alexander controlled the rounds with polished straight boxing, while Lora looked for opportunities to lunge in and counter punch. Judges scored the fight 59-55, and 58-56 twice, all for Alexander--Robert Hoffman

The final bout of the evening was between Light Heavyweights James Johnson (2-0-2KOs) and Larry Russell (0-2). Johnson won by way of TKO. Both fighters came out throwing haymakers and looking for 1 big shot to finish their opponent off. Referee Eric Fetzer had his hands full as the wild styles caused for the fighters to collide and tie each other up. In the 2nd round, Russell went down after being cornered and hurt by a barrage of punches to the head and body. Referee Fetzer asked if he wanted to continue, but got no response. The fight was stopped at 2:18 of the 2nd round--Jacob Chavez