Mike Tyson Michael Gerard Tyson (born June 30, 1966) is an American former professional boxer who competed from 1985 to 2005. Nicknamed "Iron Mike" and "Kid Dynamite" in his early career, and later known as "The Baddest Man on the Planet", Tyson is con ...

vs.

Andrew Golota Andrzej Jan Gołota (; born 5 January 1968), best known as Andrew Golota, is a Polish former professional boxer who competed from 1992 to 2013. He challenged four times for a heavyweight world title (by all four major sanctioning bodies), and as ...

, billed as ''Showdown in Motown'', was a

professional boxing Professional boxing, or prizefighting, is regulated, sanctioned boxing. Professional boxing bouts are fought for a purse that is divided between the boxers as determined by contract. Most professional bouts are supervised by a regulatory autho ...

match contested on October 20, 2000.

Background

After serving a 15-month ban because of his actions during his 1997 match with

Evander Holyfield Evander Holyfield (born October 19, 1962) is an American former professional boxer who competed between 1984 and 2011. He reigned as the Undisputed championship (boxing), undisputed champion at cruiserweight (boxing), cruiserweight in the late 1 ...

, Tyson returned in January 1999 with a fifth-round knockout win over heavyweight contender, Francois Botha. After Botha, Tyson had little trouble with his next three opponents. He fought a no-contest with

Orlin Norris Orlin Levance Norris (born October 4, 1965) is an American former professional boxer who competed from 1986 to 2005. He held the WBA cruiserweight title from 1993 to 1995. As an amateur, he won the National Golden Gloves title. He is the brothe ...

. Norris was injured and could not continue after the first round. Further fights included a second-round knockout against veteran

Julius Francis Julius Francis (born 8 December 1964) is a British former professional boxer who participated in many noteworthy boxing matches in the mid 90s and 2000s. In 2007, he also participated in a mixed martial arts bout, having been a former European ...

followed by a 34-second knockout versus fringe contender

Lou Savarese Lou Savarese (born July 14, 1965) is an American former professional boxer from Greenwood Lake, New York. On April 26, 1997, he challenged for the Lineal Heavyweight Championship, and lost by a controversial split decision to the Lineal World ...

. On August 30, 2000, the announcement came that Tyson's next fight would be against former heavyweight title challenger Andrew Golota. Both men came into the fight with reputations as dirty fighters which led some to doubt whether the two could have a clean fight. Golota's two most notable fights were against

Riddick Bowe Riddick Lamont Bowe (born August 10, 1967) is an American former professional boxer who competed between 1989 and 2008. He reigned as the undisputed world heavyweight champion in 1992, and as an amateur he won a silver medal in the super heav ...

, where both times, Golota was disqualified for hitting Bowe below the waist. Meanwhile, Tyson was notoriously disqualified in his rematch with Holyfield for biting both of Holyfield's ears and had a history of hitting after the bell, repeated in his fights against Botha, Norris and Savarese. Golota publicly stated that he planned to fight cleanly. Tyson stated that he hoped he would obtain a quick knockout victory over Golota.

The fight

As usual, Tyson started the fight aggressively by landing several power punches on Golota within the first 30 seconds of round one. Golota was able to withstand Tyson's early assault and effectively used his left jab and height advantage for the next two minutes to remain in the fight. During the final 30 seconds, Tyson became more aggressive and threw two big right crosses at Golota, one of which connected. Golota was forced to clinch Tyson in an effort to slow him down. After the referee separated the two, Tyson connected with a powerful right cross that dropped Golota to the canvas. Golota was able to get back up just before the round came to an end, but he was now bleeding from a cut above his left eye. After the first round, Golota twice asked his trainer to stop the fight. Hoping to secure the knockout victory, Tyson continued his aggressive assault in the second round, prompting Golota to clinch Tyson several times to try to slow down Tyson's furious rally and reduce the effectiveness of Tyson's power punches. Though Golota attempted to fight back, Tyson was able to easily win the round on all three judges' scorecards. In between rounds two and three, Golota told his corner that he would not continue, and began walking across the ring, and as the bell for the third round approached, referee Frank Garza informed Golota that he still had a few seconds to change his mind and come back fighting, but to no avail. Despite a desperate urging on the part of both his trainer and his cornermen, Golota refused to continue the as the bell rang, Garza approached the opposite corner and raised Tyson's hand, awarding him victory via a technical knockout.

Aftermath

The fans who attended the fight were angry and pelted Golota with garbage as he retreated to the dressing room. It was eventually discovered that Golota was suffering multiple injuries that influenced his decision not to continue. At the hospital, it was discovered that Golota had suffered a concussion, a fractured left cheekbone and a herniated disc during the fight. Golota left

boxing Boxing (also known as "Western boxing" or "pugilism") is a combat sport in which two people, usually wearing protective gloves and other protective equipment such as hand wraps and mouthguards, throw punches at each other for a predetermined ...

for almost three years before returning on August 14, 2003. Early in 2001, the Michigan Athletic Board of Control issued a three-month suspension to Tyson based on his refusal to submit to a pre-fight urine test, opting instead to take one after the fight. Days after his suspension was announced, it was discovered that Tyson had tested positive for

marijuana Cannabis, also known as marijuana among other names, is a psychoactive drug from the cannabis plant. Native to Central or South Asia, the cannabis plant has been used as a drug for both recreational and entheogenic purposes and in various t ...

after the fight."Tyson Tests Positive For Marijuana"
''NY Times'' article, 2001-01-19, Retrieved on 2013-05-22 Because of this, his victory over Golota was overturned and changed to a no-contest.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tyson, Golota 2000 in boxing Golota Boxing on Showtime 2000 in sports in Michigan October 2000 sports events in the United States