- 6/19/2025
Former Heavyweight Champion Riddick Bowe takes on Andrew Golota at Madison Square Garden on HBO.
Category
📚
LearningTranscript
00:00:00Hey Ralph, you got any suntan lotion?
00:00:25Here you go, Charlie.
00:00:26Oh, thanks, pal.
00:00:27Are you gonna watch the fight tonight?
00:00:30Oh, I don't know.
00:00:31I'm kind of in the doghouse these days.
00:00:33What'd you do this time?
00:00:35Another one of those Gucci loafers?
00:00:37It was a belt, not a shoe.
00:00:40Hey, lighten up, Charlie.
00:00:42Boy, that garden's gonna be hot tonight.
00:00:44Well, doggone right it will be.
00:00:46How about that Big Daddy Bo?
00:00:48Oh, he's all bark, no bark.
00:00:50Oh, my, Charlie, didn't you see Big Daddy's last fight?
00:00:54In the sixth round, he gets knocked down for the first time in his career, and he comes
00:00:59back to knock out Holyfield.
00:01:01Hard right hand inside by Holyfield, and now down goes Evander.
00:01:06Charlie, when Big Daddy fights, anything can happen.
00:01:10We're a hot dog.
00:01:11So, who's Big Daddy fighting?
00:01:14Oh, this wild dude, Andrew Galata, never lost a fight in his career.
00:01:18He'll do anything to win.
00:01:20Get a load of this, Charlie.
00:01:22Galata once bit his opponent on the neck.
00:01:26And in his last fight, he used his head to win in more ways than one.
00:01:30Oh, he'll punch you, he'll bite you, he'll punch you.
00:01:34And they think we're dangerous.
00:01:36Charlie, this is gonna be a real dog fight.
00:01:40Whatever you say, Ralph.
00:01:44How about another salty dog?
00:01:47Oh, Charlie, you ain't nothing but a hound dog.
00:01:49Oh.
00:02:06Oh.
00:02:21Oh.
00:02:22Oh.
00:03:2217,000 gathered two months ago for a heavyweight tripleheader.
00:03:27Tonight, the spotlight falls squarely on the shoulders of the man whose supporters call him the best heavyweight in the division, regardless of title belt, Riddick Bowe.
00:03:36We'll see what he can do in his first return to the ring since winning the third bout in his trilogy with Evander Holyfield.
00:03:43Hello again, everybody. I'm Jim Lampley. Welcome to this edition of World Championship Boxing.
00:03:48We feel fortunate to be bringing you this bout tonight because it was in question earlier today.
00:03:54Let's turn to our HBO fight analyst, Larry Merchant, for some quick details on the story.
00:03:58Larry, it goes like this. Andrew Gulotta and his trainer, Lou Duva, apparently were under the impression they had signed a contract to fight a 10-round fight.
00:04:06Rock Newman, Riddick Bowe's manager, and Bowe said as of this morning,
00:04:09no, no, it's a 12-round fight, was always supposed to be a 12-round fight.
00:04:13One thing led to another. Gulotta at one point was packing a bag and planning to leave New York City.
00:04:18Somehow the dispute was resolved. They're going to be fighting 12 rounds tonight.
00:04:22Gulotta might not be entirely happy about that.
00:04:24What does it tell us about both fighters that the dispute took place and that it was ultimately settled?
00:04:28Well, this dispute happened because the contract said 10 or 12 rounds, which I've never heard of.
00:04:37But then Gulotta, who has had only gone 10 rounds once in his career, was very upset about this.
00:04:45Rock Newman, the manager of Bowe, feels that stamina is a problem for the challenger in this fight.
00:04:52So we had this eruption and it was settled by a $50,000 added on to Gulotta's $600,000 guarantee from his promoter, Main Events.
00:05:04What it tells us about Gulotta either is that he's worried about his stamina or that he's got steel inside as well as outside of his body.
00:05:14And maybe it just took a little extra money to add some stamina to his repertoire.
00:05:19All right, let's learn a little bit more about the now slightly richer Andrew Gulotta as he gets ready for this big test in his career.
00:05:26For that, we turn to one of the great heavyweight punchers of all time, George Foreman.
00:05:29The book on Gulotta, George, is maybe he has a puncher's chance.
00:05:32Now, there was a moment in your career when a lot of the smart people thought you had no chance against Joe Frazier.
00:05:38You rose to that occasion, produced the biggest performance of your life to that point, and stepped into the spotlight.
00:05:44Do you see in Gulotta some of the stuff that might be necessary for him to rise to this occasion tonight?
00:05:49Yeah, I can see Gulotta.
00:05:50He can do it.
00:05:51This is his chance.
00:05:52He didn't win a gold medal.
00:05:54He can't wait another year and think, I'm going to do it.
00:05:57Riddick Bowe can be his claim to fame.
00:06:00Now, Riddick Bowe also, this is his chance to rise up and do something.
00:06:03His career has kind of been flat lately.
00:06:05He's got to regain that best heavyweight title, the best heavyweight around title again, and this is the way he can prove it.
00:06:11They both can rise tonight, rise to see who is the best heavyweight.
00:06:16Gulotta, chances are he can do it.
00:06:18Well, it'll be interesting to see.
00:06:20He's tough enough.
00:06:20You talk about Bowe's career being flat.
00:06:22Bowe's career is mired in discussion, like all of the top heavyweights,
00:06:26because so much attention is now paid to the ongoing argument as to who's the best fighter in the division,
00:06:31and that centers around three guys, Bowe, Mike Tyson, Lennox Lewis.
00:06:36But so much of the discussion leading up to this fight is devoted to those three guys that Gulotta is completely ignored, Larry.
00:06:42Why is that?
00:06:43Well, first, Jim, about perspective or future fights, we know that very often they never happen,
00:06:49because the longer you wait, the more likely it is that one fighter is going to run into a right cross or a left hook or a fast woman.
00:06:58But there is a fight tonight.
00:07:01And aside from the know-it-all sloth of the media, the reason that the challenger, Gulotta, has been ignored are these.
00:07:11First of all, although we know that he's big and strong and tough and meaner than Albert Bell on a bad night,
00:07:17he is fighting on a level that he has never, ever approached before against Riddick Bowe.
00:07:24And secondly, he's not only white, he's European, and he's not only European, he's Polish.
00:07:30And that sort of pedigree does not resonate in heavyweight history.
00:07:34But there is something we should consider.
00:07:37Either it's a coincidence or a trend or a revolution.
00:07:41But an Eastern European won the French Open.
00:07:45An Eastern European-based tennis player won Wimbledon.
00:07:50An Eastern European has been leading the Tour de France.
00:07:53Eastern Europeans have excelled in professional hockey and professional basketball.
00:07:58And in boxing, well, there are two Eastern European champions, Henry Mask of East Germany as a light heavyweight,
00:08:06and Konstantin Zhu out of Russia, now out of Australia, as a 140-pound champion.
00:08:12I don't know if Galata has the stuff to be a champion, Jim, but I'll go out on a twig, not a limb, but a twig,
00:08:20and say that if he can take a punch, we're going to have some fun tonight.
00:08:24Well, he's certainly a guy with a lot of incentive.
00:08:26For one thing, he wants to come in here and prove very simply that he is no Polish joke.
00:08:31If you're related to Andrew Galata, you probably already know a lot about him.
00:08:35If not, sit tight and listen.
00:08:42Frédéric Chopin, famous Polish composer and pianist.
00:08:51Wyborowa, famous Polish wódka.
00:08:59Zbigniew Boniek, famous Polish soccer player.
00:09:04Kielbasa and pierogi, famous Polish cuisine.
00:09:17Lech Wałęsa, famous Polish freedom fighter and statesman.
00:09:27Pope John Paul II, famous Polish pope.
00:09:34Andrew Galata, not-so-famous Polish fighter.
00:09:43A tough kid from a poor family who grew up in the streets of Warsaw, Poland,
00:09:48this 28-year-old icon-in-waiting followed a path into boxing
00:09:52not uncommon for fighters all around the world.
00:09:55I started boxing at the age of 12, and even though I played many sports,
00:10:02boxing was the sport I liked the most.
00:10:05All of my family was against this, and they felt that I should not play such a brutal sport.
00:10:10But now they are proud of the successes I have achieved.
00:10:14Those achievements included an unprecedented seven Polish national championships,
00:10:18European championship honors, and the bronze medal in the 1988 Seoul-Korea Summer Olympic Games.
00:10:25Andrew Galata flourished in the socialist system
00:10:28with an overall amateur record of 111 wins and only 10 losses.
00:10:32The socialist system offered training on a world-class level because they wanted to catch up with the Western countries.
00:10:41The athletes had it good in Poland and had a better opportunity to get life's necessities,
00:10:46such as apartments and cars, that helped us to achieve success on the international arena.
00:10:50Following his 1990 marriage in Poland to a naturalized U.S. citizen,
00:10:57Andrew moved to his wife's hometown of Chicago.
00:11:00Living in the second largest Polish community in the world,
00:11:03speaking little English, contemplating a career as a truck driver,
00:11:07Galata was introduced to businessman Bob O'Donnell, owner of the Windy City Gym.
00:11:11O'Donnell then introduced Galata to the heart of realities of an American career in professional boxing.
00:11:17I think he had a culture shock because he was a pampered athlete in Europe.
00:11:25If he had a parking ticket, he turned it in and it disappeared.
00:11:30He had to do some growing up here in the United States.
00:11:35He had to adjust to the American way, which isn't all the milk and honey that they hear about in Europe.
00:11:43Another adjustment has been to overcome his European boxing style.
00:11:49The goal, combine his power with hand and foot speed and flexibility.
00:11:53He's improving, and he's brought a few street tips from Warsaw with him
00:11:57as he has bitten and head-butted his way into contention,
00:12:00to the delight of his growing contingent of Polish-American supporters.
00:12:04Poland never had a prominent heavyweight,
00:12:09and this is the first time we've gone this far in the heavyweight division.
00:12:14This explains their enthusiasm and gives me great encouragement, especially in the ring.
00:12:20I know I'm not alone, even in such a big place like Madison Square Garden.
00:12:24Now that the dark curtain of socialism has been lifted,
00:12:31they say all the flowers of Poland are again freshly in bloom.
00:12:36Andrew Gulotta is tending his own garden here in America,
00:12:39hoping to join the likes of Chopin and Bowenza.
00:12:43I'm not so famous like them, but after this fight, maybe I will be.
00:12:47And we bring it back live to Madison Square Garden in New York City.
00:12:54We're coming up in a matter of minutes.
00:12:55Both principals will enter the ring.
00:12:57Riddick Bowe against Andrew Gulotta.
00:12:59Bowe's first appearance in the ring in eight months
00:13:01since having dispatched Evander Holyfield in an eighth-round TKO last fall.
00:13:09And let's turn our attention to George Foreman one more time.
00:13:12You mentioned Bowe's challenge of focusing amid all of the discussion
00:13:16of other possibilities in the division.
00:13:18Lewis, Tyson, you figure into this
00:13:20because everybody wants the kind of money you can bring
00:13:22if you agree to fight them.
00:13:24Knowing what you know about Riddick Bowe,
00:13:25can he put all of that out of his mind
00:13:27and focus on this man in front of him tonight, or is that a problem?
00:13:31No doubt about it, he's going to have to do it.
00:13:33But his life has been totally confused for the last few months.
00:13:36That's the one thing that can whip all great fighters.
00:13:39Confusions in the camp, lawsuits, can't get a fight, that kind of thing.
00:13:44And I don't think he'll be able to just push this out of the way.
00:13:46One day I may get Tyson, the next day I may not.
00:13:49Oh, it's too much confusion for me.
00:13:51And this means he's capable of being upset tonight,
00:13:55although he's a good fighter.
00:13:56All right.
00:13:57We'll see what happens when Gulotta gets into the ring
00:13:59with perhaps a ripe opportunity in front of him.
00:14:02I mentioned, Larry, it's been eight months since we saw Bowe
00:14:05in that come-from-behind performance, the knockout Holyfield.
00:14:09What do you expect to see from Riddick in the ring tonight?
00:14:11Well, the only certainty is that we'll see a little bit more of them,
00:14:15about five pounds more of them, than we've ever seen before.
00:14:18What I'm curious about is whether that knockdown at the left hand
00:14:23of Evander Holyfield is signaling something to us.
00:14:28Fighters don't have killer series of fighters,
00:14:31of fights with other good fighters, and come out of that toll-free.
00:14:36There is something to be paid when you catch a lot of punches.
00:14:42And Bowe has been catching a lot of punches.
00:14:45Eddie Futch, his venerable trainer, has said,
00:14:47it's going to catch up to you sooner or later.
00:14:50The assumption, Jim, is that he's young enough and big enough
00:14:53and strong enough to overcome that now.
00:14:57But that's the reason we're here, to find out.
00:14:59And either Gulotta or Bowe will show us whether he can.
00:15:03Part of the good news about Riddick Bowe is that he's a genuinely nice guy,
00:15:08a serious father who would love to spend all of his time with his five children.
00:15:11It says an awful lot about him as a human being.
00:15:14What does all that say about him as a fighter?
00:15:16Despite his status as one of the best heavyweights in boxing,
00:15:27Riddick Bowe remains a question mark to many people in boxing,
00:15:31which dates all the way back to his days as an amateur.
00:15:34The press criticized Riddick a lot after the Olympic Games
00:15:42because he had lost to Lennox Lewis.
00:15:45And that would seem to have been an unforgivable sin.
00:15:49Doubts continue to shadow Bowe about his desire to be the best that he can be,
00:15:54although he has lost just one fight,
00:15:56and that to Evander Holyfield, whom he defeated twice.
00:15:59Now his drive to reclaim the championship is questioned
00:16:03because he's a committed family man.
00:16:06What people feel, I realize that, first of all, we're human.
00:16:09And boxing is something we do, and it's not our whole life.
00:16:13I mean, I can be a fighter, and I can be, you know,
00:16:16I can be dad and a husband.
00:16:18I'm very versatile.
00:16:20I can do a variety of different things at the same time.
00:16:23And just in case you didn't know,
00:16:24I can walk with chew gum at the same time, too.
00:16:27Just for the record.
00:16:27Just for the record, Bowe has five children,
00:16:32and that's one less than Evander Holyfield has.
00:16:37Holyfield naturally admires Bowe's priorities.
00:16:41When I see a guy as young as Red or Bowe
00:16:45taking that full responsibility to say,
00:16:47look, I love my kids,
00:16:49and I want to do what's necessary for them to have the best,
00:16:52for them to have a better life.
00:16:53My hat's off, and I really do admire him
00:16:57for doing what's necessary for his kids
00:17:00to be the very best that they can be.
00:17:01Unlike Holyfield, Bowe can't shake the un-warrior-like image
00:17:06of a prosperous, contented big daddy.
00:17:09His lavish home isn't a Spartan fortress.
00:17:13There, his wife Judy and the kids and their toys are him.
00:17:16You would think he's the mother sometimes.
00:17:20Seriously, he's a good father.
00:17:22He cooks.
00:17:24Sometimes he cleans.
00:17:26He takes the kids to school.
00:17:28He brings them back home.
00:17:30He watches TV with them.
00:17:32He plays games with them.
00:17:34He checks their homework.
00:17:36He's real strict about that.
00:17:37Well, I finished high school,
00:17:39and I would like for them to do one step better,
00:17:42and I would like to give them all a million dollars
00:17:44if they give me a degree, and that's where my goal is.
00:17:48My oldest son, Junior, he wants to emulate his father.
00:17:52I remember one day, he worked so hard on a program,
00:17:55and he got like an 85, you know, on his test,
00:17:59and I'm going to school to people.
00:18:00Oh, daddy, daddy, look what I got, daddy.
00:18:02And I had to fight back tears because he was so happy.
00:18:05And it made me happy that he had sat and worked so hard to get it.
00:18:09While doting on family between fights,
00:18:12layoffs of up to six months,
00:18:14Bo is a heavyweight grazer who can put on 30 to 40 pounds
00:18:17over his best fighting weight.
00:18:20And that has also fed skepticism about his commitment,
00:18:23especially after the loss to Holyfield.
00:18:26What's the purpose of having all this stuff I can't enjoy?
00:18:29Now, I suppose I did stay in shape.
00:18:31When I'm in the training camp,
00:18:32what do I have to look forward to?
00:18:34Um, so it gives me something to work towards.
00:18:39And I think it creates a challenge within myself.
00:18:44That's a challenge his trainer could do without.
00:18:47But actually, Bo's fighting weight has fluctuated reasonably for a big, big man.
00:18:53Four and a half years ago, he weighed 237.
00:18:56After peaking at 247, he weighed 240 for his last fight.
00:19:01People think, of course, you make a lot of money or you can go wherever you want, when you want to.
00:19:06They figure you don't have the desire, you're no longer hungry.
00:19:09But if I were to feel like that, why do I continue to put on a charade?
00:19:15Why am I still fighting?
00:19:16That is not the case.
00:19:18I want to be champ.
00:19:18And I'm willing to fight anybody who's out there.
00:19:22Attitude means a lot in getting results from him.
00:19:25But I took him right to the title without a hit.
00:19:28But I don't see any reason why I can't do it again.
00:19:34And a last look at 84-year-old Eddie Futch.
00:19:37Before we show you the tale of the tape, feast your eyes on that big number in the weight column to the left.
00:19:44252 and a quarter pounds.
00:19:46That is the highest number ever in Riddick Bowe's career.
00:19:49Larry, you ran down the story of Bowe the Chowhound and that feature piece.
00:19:53What about 252 and a quarter?
00:19:55Well, he claims it's this scale.
00:19:58But I imagine if he was fighting a Tyson or a Lewis, every scale in America would show him closer to 240.
00:20:05Maybe he has accurately predicted the level of his opponent with his weight
00:20:11and feels that he doesn't have to get into the finest shape.
00:20:15But maybe he's wrong as well.
00:20:16Whatever the case, he gives the other guy, Galata, his best chance if he's not in top shape.
00:20:24And one other number that helps Galata's chances.
00:20:26An 84-inch reach as opposed to 81 inches for Bowe.
00:20:29Rest assured, the 6-foot, 5-inch Bowe hasn't had many experiences in the ring
00:20:34with guys who have more reach than himself.
00:20:37Bunch stat numbers, Larry.
00:20:38Well, we see that they have almost virtually the same numbers to show how active they are.
00:20:46But, of course, Bowe's numbers are all against Evander Holyfield
00:20:49and Galata's numbers are against people a lot less than Evander Holyfield.
00:20:54The more interesting numbers have to do with how many punches they catch.
00:20:59And Bowe took 56% of the punches that Holyfield threw at him in those three fights.
00:21:0658% of the power punches.
00:21:08That's a lot of punches to be taking from a big man.
00:21:12Rules of the bout with our unofficial ringside scorer, Harold Letterman.
00:21:16The Riddick Bowe-Andrew Galata fight is scheduled for 12 rounds.
00:21:20The standing eight count is in effect.
00:21:23The three knockdown rule is in effect.
00:21:25The Dr. Orta referee can stop the fight.
00:21:27And you cannot be saved by the bell in any round, including the 12th and final round.
00:21:31Jim!
00:21:32All right. Thank you very much, Harold.
00:21:34And now we anticipate the entrance of Andrew Galata.
00:21:39A long and distracting day for Galata.
00:21:43We're told that between noon and 4 p.m. today, Galata was constantly engaged in the discussion
00:21:49as to whether he should fight or back out because of his having felt jobbed by the switch
00:21:56from 10 rounds to 12 rounds for the length of this fight.
00:21:59Eventually, he decided to go ahead with it.
00:22:02But his people are worried about the toll this may have taken on him today.
00:22:06And I think this is part of what I would call a still amateur attitude, George,
00:22:13that inhabits this longtime amateur that he didn't understand that,
00:22:18hey, the show must go on if you are a pro.
00:22:22Right. All right.
00:22:25Of course, at the end of the day, money talks,
00:22:28and Galata winds up with $650,000 instead of the initially agreed upon $600,000
00:22:33who enter the ring against Bowe.
00:22:35And there's the record.
00:22:3628 wins, 25 KOs against relatively light opposition
00:22:41compared to the kind of men who have faced his opponent tonight.
00:22:49And Riddick Bowe makes his way into the ring.
00:22:52One unusual circumstance as you look at the gloves on Bowe's hands.
00:22:57They're by a brand new glove maker named Grant.
00:22:59And tonight, Bowe is wearing these new Grant-manufactured gloves
00:23:04while his opponent, Galata, is wearing the more traditional
00:23:07and recognized Reyes gloves.
00:23:10Harold Letterman says to us, Larry Merchant,
00:23:12that in 30 years, he's never seen a fight
00:23:14in which two fighters wore opposite sets of gloves.
00:23:19There's always something, Jim.
00:23:22George, you ever seen this before?
00:23:24First time.
00:23:25In the amateurish, you see a lot of strange things,
00:23:27but generally, big heavyweight fights,
00:23:29you've got to get a little more coordinated.
00:23:31Goal, of course, comes from Brownsville in Brooklyn.
00:23:55Same section of that borough that produced Mike Tyson.
00:23:58In the past, Tyson has always been the winner
00:24:02in the who's more of a Brownsville home product sweepstakes than Bowe.
00:24:09But tonight, Bowe gets a rousing reception as he enters the ring.
00:24:12The record 38 wins, one loss, 32 KOs.
00:24:15There was a 40th fight, which was the no contest
00:24:18against Buster Matthews Jr.
00:24:20Not listed in that record there.
00:24:23Alleged attendance for the fight tonight, 11,252.
00:24:26Certainly, it sounds like that, Manny, as we get ready.
00:24:30And now, let's go up the ring announcer Michael Buffer
00:24:32for the three-fight introduction.
00:24:36Ladies and gentlemen, good evening, and welcome
00:24:38to New York City's Madison Square Garden,
00:24:42where tonight, Spencer Promotions, main events,
00:24:45along with your undisputed, undefeated king of beers,
00:24:49Budweiser, this Bud's for you, present
00:24:52the real-world heavyweight championship.
00:24:5712 rounds of boxing, sanctioned by the New York State Athletic Commission,
00:25:01chairman, former two-time heavyweight champion of the world,
00:25:05Floyd Patterson, first executive assistant,
00:25:08Tony Russo, deputy commissioner in charge,
00:25:11Michael Pascal, commissioners at ringside,
00:25:14Mel Southard, and Rose Trentman.
00:25:17Our three positions at ringside are Dr. Rupus Sadler,
00:25:20Dr. Bill Latham, and Dr. Gerald Gulotta.
00:25:24The timekeeper at the bell is Jim Borzell.
00:25:27And the three judges scoring this bout
00:25:29on a 10-point must system
00:25:31will be George Cologne,
00:25:35Luis Rivera,
00:25:37and Steve Weissel.
00:25:39And when the bell rings,
00:25:40the man in charge of the action,
00:25:41your referee, Wayne Kelly.
00:25:45And now, ladies and gentlemen,
00:25:46for the thousands in attendance
00:25:48here at Madison Square Garden
00:25:50and the millions watching around the world.
00:25:56Let's get ready to rumble!
00:25:58Introducing first,
00:26:08fighting out of the red corner,
00:26:10wearing white, trimmed in red,
00:26:12he comes into the ring
00:26:13with a perfect professional record
00:26:14of 28 victories without a loss.
00:26:17And 25 of that victory total
00:26:19have been knockout victims.
00:26:21This native of Warsaw, Poland,
00:26:24now lives and fights
00:26:25out of the windy city of Chicago, Illinois,
00:26:28ladies and gentlemen,
00:26:30he is the undefeated pride of Poland,
00:26:35here is Andrew Gulotta!
00:26:41And his opponent across the ring,
00:26:52fighting out of the blue corner,
00:26:54wearing white, trimmed in red letters.
00:26:56He's a 1988 Olympic silver medalist
00:26:59and returns tonight to his hometown.
00:27:02As a professional,
00:27:03he has captured three world heavyweight title belts
00:27:06with a record of 38 victories,
00:27:08only a one defeat,
00:27:09and he has stopped 32 opponents by knockouts.
00:27:13He was considered by most experts to be
00:27:16the best heavyweight in the division today.
00:27:19Ladies and gentlemen,
00:27:20presenting the last man to hold
00:27:22the undisputed heavyweight crown,
00:27:25from Brooklyn, New York,
00:27:26the people's champion,
00:27:28three-time heavyweight champion of the world,
00:27:32Riddick Hick-Dotty Foles!
00:27:41Riddick Hick-Dotty Foles!
00:27:42Riddick Hick-Dotty Foles!
00:27:42Riddick Hick-Dotty Foles!
00:27:44All right, Andrew, Riddick,
00:27:53with boxing under the rules of the New York State Athletic Commission,
00:27:56I expect a clean fight.
00:27:58Obey my commands at all times.
00:28:00Protect yourself at all times.
00:28:02Take hands, come out, box, and get the bell.
00:28:04Good luck, 12 rounds.
00:28:08Jim, when I asked Gallardo
00:28:10whether he thought he could take Riddick Bowe's punch,
00:28:13he said sweetly and succinctly,
00:28:16I have to.
00:28:19Let's see if he can,
00:28:20because that's going to tell us what kind of fight we have.
00:28:23Well, he's never been down in his professional career.
00:28:26He was stopped only once in his amateur career,
00:28:29and that was on a cut at the Olympics.
00:28:32You see those tattoos on Riddick Bowe's chest and back
00:28:34in honor of his children, his wife, Judy.
00:28:39And there's even a face of Riddick on there
00:28:41with a little caption that says Big Daddy.
00:28:53Round one begins.
00:28:54Lou Guva promised us that Gallardo
00:28:56would not be the standard straight-up Eastern European fighter,
00:28:58that we would see head movement.
00:29:00Hand bending from the waist,
00:29:02and a more fluid boxer-puncher style,
00:29:04and certainly Andrew's trying to affect that
00:29:06from the beginning.
00:29:08Bowe takes his time,
00:29:10wants to get a good look at Gallardo
00:29:11before he begins to step it up with the jab.
00:29:17Right, right back, step back, step back.
00:29:22Almost 500 pounds of heavyweight in there.
00:29:25And the big question early, as Larry pointed out,
00:29:30can Andrew Gallardo take Riddick Bowe's punt?
00:29:33Hasn't been in with anybody like this,
00:29:35so the first time Bowe unloads a right cross,
00:29:38we'll try to get a look at how well Gallardo can handle.
00:29:44Riddick Bowe wants to keep this a nice boxing match.
00:29:48Get the other guy, make him an amateur.
00:29:50Now, Gallardo, he needs to rough it up,
00:29:53get dirty, and make it a free-for-all.
00:29:55That's the only way it can become a free-for-all.
00:29:57Gallardo throws and lands
00:29:59the first right hand of the belt.
00:30:02So far, it's been all left hands
00:30:04except for that one punch.
00:30:10Oh, wildly misses with an overhand right.
00:30:14Gallardo has been matching Big Riddick.
00:30:16Jab for jab.
00:30:17But as long as it maintains a jab match,
00:30:22Riddick Bowe's going to stay in control
00:30:23because he has more experience.
00:30:26And if Gallardo gets in there and starts making it rough,
00:30:28then Bowe's going to be out of his house.
00:30:31Gallardo throwing more punches early.
00:30:34Gallardo delivers the first body punch,
00:30:35misses a right hand.
00:30:37Bowe now backs Gallardo off with a jab,
00:30:39and Gallardo misses over the top with a wide right.
00:30:42Bowe's stepping inside
00:30:43and gets hit with the left hook for his trouble.
00:30:47going to be able to land the left hook
00:30:53with stunning regularity against Bowe.
00:30:56Now, Gallardo is just short with another right hand,
00:30:59but caught a piece of Riddick's scuff.
00:31:02Bowe has started slowly in the past,
00:31:06but right now,
00:31:07Gallardo has dictated what's happened here
00:31:09in the first round.
00:31:10and Bowe may be surprised
00:31:13then that a guy is out jabbing him.
00:31:16Now Bowe
00:31:17lands the left but faints and holds
00:31:19back the right hand.
00:31:21Now a quick combination inside
00:31:23by Riddick. He seems to shed a little
00:31:25of the eight months worth of ring rust
00:31:26and Galata comes back with a combination of his own.
00:31:30Riddick Bowe
00:31:31told him Galata to come on and he didn't.
00:31:33He sure have.
00:31:34He hit it with a three punch combination
00:31:37there, George.
00:31:37I don't think there's any reason
00:31:40up for that round for Galata to lose
00:31:42any confidence or feel as though he doesn't belong.
00:31:53Land up.
00:31:54Move your head.
00:31:55Move your head.
00:31:57Stick.
00:32:00Stick.
00:32:01That hook and cross is a good combination
00:32:09against his belt.
00:32:10Don't wait on him.
00:32:16Don't wait on him.
00:32:16Don't wait on him.
00:32:17Don't wait on him.
00:32:17Don't wait on him.
00:32:18Don't wait on him.
00:32:19Don't wait on him.
00:32:20All right?
00:32:21Hey, boxing beautiful.
00:32:22Keep doing what you're doing.
00:32:23And don't get lazy on the inside, goddammit.
00:32:25You've got to move your hands.
00:32:27With your knees, move your hands.
00:32:28Get in the shoulder, get out of your side,
00:32:30and you punch.
00:32:31They may have ignored Galata before the fight.
00:32:34They can't ignore him after that round,
00:32:36but it's only one round.
00:32:39The main voice in Galata's corner
00:32:41was Roger Bloodworth.
00:32:43Rest assured, you'll hear more of Lou Duba
00:32:44as the bout goes on.
00:32:4684-year-old Eddie Fletch
00:32:48declined to wear a radio frequency microphone
00:32:50for us tonight.
00:32:51So what we get out of Bo's corner
00:32:53is more on the catch-as-catch-can level.
00:32:57In round one, Galata threw 24 more punches than Bo.
00:33:00Now Bo tracks Galata in a corner
00:33:02but the big man gets away.
00:33:05Well, Galata, it's to his advantage
00:33:07if he keeps this thing all mixed up.
00:33:10And now Wayne Kelly is warning Bo
00:33:12about holding and hitting,
00:33:14and Galata took that overhand right
00:33:16and seemed to shrug it off.
00:33:18It hurt him a little bit, I think.
00:33:20And it wasn't because he was fairly thrown either.
00:33:22It was behind the ear a little bit.
00:33:26This Bo keeps his left jab working.
00:33:28It's no contest.
00:33:29But if he gets out there slugging and roughing it up,
00:33:32Galata can win this fight and win it big.
00:33:36Bo lands a hard left hand inside.
00:33:38Good short left hook.
00:33:39Comes back to the right.
00:33:41Galata lands a left hook.
00:33:42And Galata matches punch for punch against Bo.
00:33:46Galata going downstairs.
00:33:47Might have been a little below the waistline.
00:33:49Kelly's watching upstairs to see if Bo holds and hits.
00:33:52Now Kelly comes back and tells Galata to keep him up.
00:33:56Galata's doing a real good job of going to the body.
00:33:59Riddick Boyd's got a little flesh down there.
00:34:01He should take advantage of it.
00:34:04The fight may go 12 rounds.
00:34:05Keep giving your body punches to your advantage.
00:34:09Both men landing inside before they step away and create distance again.
00:34:13Bo reaching with the left jab.
00:34:15Galata certainly willing to jab with the big man so far.
00:34:25Bo's been most successful with the power fighters
00:34:28because he's never learned to throw that right hand straight.
00:34:31Always overhand right.
00:34:32He's the only fighter that never developed his skill
00:34:36to the fullest potential.
00:34:37Good left hip, hard goal.
00:34:39Galata comes back with a series of body punches.
00:34:42Bo's landed a couple of heavy shots in this round.
00:34:45And there's another one as he gets the left hook right inside.
00:34:48Galata's dropping the right hand
00:34:50and creating opportunities for Bo's left.
00:34:53But now here comes the Polish star again.
00:34:55Pretty fast pace in this second round.
00:35:03Crowd lights up as Galata lands a combo.
00:35:06Bo's wobble.
00:35:13Boy, these are big guys laying some big stuff on each other.
00:35:18The only thing that Riddick Boyd's been in these kind of fights before,
00:35:21Galata, this is new territory to get in and mix it up with guys.
00:35:25Who can beat up for two or three rounds more during the game?
00:35:28He's proven he can take a punch, George,
00:35:30but you don't want to take too many of those.
00:35:32Not at all.
00:35:33How many would he take?
00:35:38And while you say Bo has been in wars like this,
00:35:42he hasn't been in a war like this against a guy as big as Galata.
00:35:52That's a way to put it.
00:35:53Look at the mouthpiece.
00:35:54You can't get lazy on the inside.
00:35:55Shut up, Sam.
00:35:56You can't get lazy on the inside.
00:35:58You understand me?
00:36:00You have to fucking keep them hands up on the inside
00:36:02and keep punching with this bastard.
00:36:03He sucked the wind already.
00:36:05And when you step that jab in, you snap the jab in.
00:36:08Andrew.
00:36:08Don't play with it.
00:36:09I'm watching it.
00:36:09Andrew, this guy, he's tired.
00:36:11Hey, hey!
00:36:11Hey, hey!
00:36:12Hey, hey!
00:36:12Hey, hey.
00:36:13How many takes that, and so on?
00:36:16Early in this round, Bo went to try to be a brawler
00:36:18after finding that his opponent could jab with him
00:36:22in the first round.
00:36:27I just saw what you're seeing there,
00:36:29that Galata took a left hand
00:36:31and came back and dished out some of his own.
00:36:34Well, in the first round, Galata threw 69 punches.
00:36:37In the second round, he threw 77.
00:36:39So Galata is putting out a lot of work so far.
00:36:42Bo stepped up his punch count in round 2 to 68.
00:36:45That was a very high work rate for both heavyweights in round 2.
00:36:49Now they go to the third of a scheduled 12.
00:36:52This big guy, Galata, is a good athlete,
00:36:57and he is a tough customer.
00:37:00Haven't seen too many right hands as quick as Bo's,
00:37:02and Riddick has landed a right cross.
00:37:04But again, Galata appears clear-headed
00:37:06as they go about their work in the first minute of round 2.
00:37:09They must feel that Galata is dropping his left
00:37:13because of all of those big rights that Bo is throwing.
00:37:17I think he drops both the left and the right.
00:37:19What do you say, George?
00:37:20I just see Rick Bo has turned this into the kind of fight
00:37:22that he even not had to with his experience and left jail.
00:37:26It's all turning for Galata.
00:37:27It's all working for Galata because this is the fight he needed.
00:37:31We used to say he was the best schooled big man we ever saw.
00:37:35I've never said that.
00:37:36Oh, I did.
00:37:37No.
00:37:38And he is going out of school in his last few fights.
00:37:41He's never been able to throw a straight right hand,
00:37:43and because of that, he misses a lot of overhand rolls.
00:37:46Why would he slip into brawling with Galata?
00:37:48Is it impatience, George?
00:37:50Well, he want to get a knockout.
00:37:51He feel that this guy is underrated.
00:37:53I mean, beneath him, he's under-intimated.
00:37:56Now he's going to have to fight it out for 12 rounds.
00:38:00Well, you had to guess right now.
00:38:02You think the fight might go to distance, George?
00:38:04It looks like it to me because Galata has landed good body punches
00:38:07heavy punches early on to take some of these things
00:38:09out of would-be heavy punches for Riddick Boal at around.
00:38:12You wonder if Galata will remember to keep going to the body
00:38:15as the fight progresses.
00:38:17No question there's an opportunity there for him
00:38:20if he can remember to keep doing it.
00:38:24Riddick Boal can use that left jab.
00:38:26It's no contest.
00:38:27But if he stands back and waits to mix it up, it's a fight.
00:38:30ki, no!
00:38:36Actually slowing in round 3.
00:38:39Galata comes out of the grins with a left foot.
00:38:41Go landing with a right end to left himself.
00:38:42Galata turns Bowe's head with a left hand.
00:38:47And when they're doing this,
00:38:50they're not standing at distance and boxing each other,
00:38:53which is what would be good for Bo.
00:38:55No, Rikley!
00:38:57Galata is not able to continue around after round
00:38:59round after round with that kind of experienced title.
00:39:03Lallana with a solid low blow,
00:39:05Wayne Kelly stops and warns him,
00:39:07no point deducted so far.
00:39:09He said the next time he would take a point.
00:39:11Yeah, that was the second warning for low blows,
00:39:13so the next time would make sense.
00:39:16We're missing with the left hook.
00:39:19Lallana looks very calm in there
00:39:21as round three comes to a close.
00:39:24Certainly not overwhelmed by the occasion,
00:39:26at least not so far.
00:39:28Boe's slapping and trying to land a right.
00:39:30Lallana blocked that one.
00:39:32And rinsed Boe's head around with a left hook.
00:39:36That was a right to the stomach,
00:39:38followed by a big left hook.
00:39:42Ah!
00:39:45Folks, we've got a fight.
00:39:47A very big hit.
00:39:53Oh, man.
00:39:57You have to comment,
00:39:58look where this guy is going.
00:40:00Let's go ahead and bring the shots on me.
00:40:01Ok?
00:40:02Ok.
00:40:03How you feel?
00:40:04Good.
00:40:05Ok.
00:40:05And here's the Polish fighter, coming back from a right hand with his own good right hand and a big left hand.
00:40:30All right, second that, let's go!
00:40:32You could say he'd pull Axton there, Gwen.
00:40:36No, you wouldn't.
00:40:37No, I wouldn't.
00:40:39But if you want to, Larry, you know, have at it.
00:40:45Rolotta's punch-out foot dropped considerably in round three.
00:40:51After throwing 70 punches around in the first two, he was down to 49 in round three.
00:40:57And Bo was taking a bit of a rest, too.
00:41:01Round four begins.
00:41:03Now, for Rolotta, Bo is going to fight it out with Goliath.
00:41:06He's got to keep fighting.
00:41:07He can't get him into breathing room and hope that he tries to pace himself.
00:41:11So you don't longer think that he has to jab with him?
00:41:14Well, he's already deserted that tactic management.
00:41:17I can fight it out with him.
00:41:19Fight it out every round, though.
00:41:20So this is going to then come down to conditioning and stamina?
00:41:23That's right.
00:41:24And Rich Bo has found out probably I'm a little tired.
00:41:27But I've been knocked down before.
00:41:29I got up.
00:41:30I can take it.
00:41:31What a fascinating turn of events it might be.
00:41:34If we get to those 11th and 12th rounds that the Bo camp insisted on,
00:41:38and he's the one who's at a disadvantage because of conditioning.
00:41:42A good straight right hand at that exchange by Goliath.
00:41:46Goliath has already shown that he's in good shape.
00:41:49And shown that he can fight a little bit, too, right, George?
00:41:53He is not backing down from Riddick Bowe, and he was a good puncher, good fighter.
00:41:58As a matter of fact, he's trying to take the initiative from time to time.
00:42:02Right and the left inside by Goliath.
00:42:05Bowe landed some heavy punches earlier in the round.
00:42:07Now it's Goliath who is doing the damage.
00:42:10And Bowe caught an awful lot of left hooks from Holyfield.
00:42:14And remember that Luke Neubel was Holyfield's co-trainer for many years,
00:42:19and he's looking to catch him with that left hook again.
00:42:22Hard left, hard right.
00:42:24Bowe waddles into the corner.
00:42:26Goliath goes in to look and see how much more he can do.
00:42:32Bowe is unable to stop Andrew Goliath's left hook.
00:42:39Goliath just missed with a left that might have done some serious hurt.
00:42:43Bowe trying to jab his way out of a crisis here.
00:42:47And now the champion seems to have regained his legs.
00:42:51Is Goliath doing enough, George?
00:42:53Goliath just doesn't have enough confidence to know that he has to fight in control.
00:42:57If only he can now point his jab and be a little more accurate with his right hand,
00:43:01he can give himself a knockout.
00:43:03He looks like he's breathing hard inside.
00:43:05It takes a lot of confidence to put out that much punching power and continue to do it.
00:43:11You saw a lot of measure go for the right hand and then missed it.
00:43:16Another low blow.
00:43:17This is a bad one.
00:43:18And Wayne Kelly is going to have to give Bowe a timeout.
00:43:21And there's the tee for the timeout.
00:43:23One point.
00:43:24There's a point deducted from each of the three scorecards.
00:43:26One point.
00:43:27That point goes against Goliath.
00:43:28You've got five minutes.
00:43:29This was a bad low blow foul.
00:43:30You've got five minutes.
00:43:31Greg, you've got five minutes.
00:43:32And it's bad because he's virtually won the round with 19 seconds left in the round.
00:43:38And now it's going to be an even round.
00:43:40Well, and it's terrible for Goliath because he's been in control of the fight.
00:43:44Get the point delay.
00:43:45But it doesn't do Bowe much better.
00:43:46I know he's good either, I've got to tell you.
00:43:51There it is.
00:43:54George, can Bowe come back from that?
00:43:56Well, Bowe never should have laid all the way down like that.
00:44:01You lay down like that and you give the other guy confidence that he never dreamed he would have had in this boxing match.
00:44:07All right, quickly, let's turn to our official rules guru, Harold Letterman.
00:44:11What's up here, Harold?
00:44:12Five minutes, right?
00:44:13Five minutes, exactly.
00:44:14Riddick Bowe can take his up to five minutes to continue in this fight.
00:44:18If he doesn't continue after five minutes, he loses.
00:44:21He cannot win the fight on a foul.
00:44:23I think he'll take the full five minutes.
00:44:25The full five minutes, why shouldn't he?
00:44:29Well, if I'm any plus, I'm yelling at him to take the full five minutes.
00:44:32Ready to go?
00:44:33Ready now.
00:44:34Don't know what Riddick is thinking.
00:44:36Wayne Kelly conferring with both fighters.
00:44:38Time in!
00:44:39And now Riddick's ready to go.
00:44:40And now Riddick's ready to go.
00:44:41He did not take the full five.
00:44:43He didn't take anywhere close to it.
00:44:46So Bowe, perhaps not wanting to give Gulotta any more confidence, steps back up.
00:44:51After what appeared to me to be less than three minutes of his allotted five.
00:44:56Two things are happening in this fight.
00:45:01One, Gulotta is beating Bowe to the jab.
00:45:05And two, he has proven so far that he can handle the pressure.
00:45:10This is how Gulotta hurt Bowe within the rules.
00:45:30With those kind of punches.
00:45:33That one especially, that wobbled Bowe.
00:45:42All the talk before the fight, George, about how slow Gulotta was.
00:45:47I don't see that.
00:45:48I've never seen that.
00:45:49I thought for a big man he had reasonably fast hands.
00:45:55What do you think about his quickness with his hands?
00:46:00The Red Bull is just not in shape.
00:46:02That's all there is to it.
00:46:03From the opening bell, this guy has not been in shape.
00:46:06He underestimated this fighter.
00:46:08And he's getting ripped.
00:46:10He made it abundantly clear yesterday when he sat down in our meeting
00:46:13and wanted to talk about Tyson and Lewis.
00:46:15And didn't much want to talk about this guy.
00:46:18Harold Vetterman, how do you have it so far?
00:46:20Jim, two, one, one even.
00:46:2238, 37, Andrew Gulotta.
00:46:25Like Larry said, Gulotta had that fourth round one.
00:46:28He hit him low.
00:46:29He loses a point that becomes 9-9 instead of 10-9 Gulotta.
00:46:32And that kept it a little closer.
00:46:34But I want to tell you something.
00:46:35Andrew Gulotta was landing low close.
00:46:37He runs two, three, and four constantly.
00:46:39And I'll tell you, I'm glad he lost the point.
00:46:41He deserves to lose a point.
00:46:43He's really whacking him low.
00:46:44He's fighting a good fight.
00:46:45Yep, you're a thousand.
00:46:46Larry mentioned about the hand speed of Gulotta.
00:46:48This guy's been in the camp with Lou Duva,
00:46:50the Holyfield type combination.
00:46:52His hands were always fast, as you mentioned.
00:46:56Fast hands, a lot faster than you would imagine.
00:46:58And he came in here with the expressed intention
00:47:00of fighting what was the Holyfield fight plan
00:47:02against Bo in their first fight.
00:47:04Box, stay at range, move from side to side.
00:47:08Well, obviously, that's not going to be Gulotta's style
00:47:10over 12 rounds.
00:47:11He's going to have to braw, and he's getting it done.
00:47:13And he's acting more like the experience fight.
00:47:16He gives Bo his shoulders when they're in close.
00:47:19Doesn't give him a good shot.
00:47:20Oh, it's landed a dynamite combination left and right.
00:47:24Bo handled this one, but Gulotta is the man
00:47:27who is landing the showy punches here.
00:47:30Bo is starting to go down below the belt a little bit too there.
00:47:34Now, Gulotta stopped punching,
00:47:44and Bo is able to establish an initiative.
00:47:47Gulotta's punch count in round four was back up for 76.
00:47:51He's been the busier man.
00:47:56Bo trying to come back from having been on the canvas
00:47:59after a low blow in round four.
00:48:01Well, one good thing Gulotta is doing inside
00:48:04by turning his shoulder is he's not allowing Bo
00:48:06to throw that great uppercut inside
00:48:09that we've seen him do in the past.
00:48:11He's giving him that shoulder every time the side of him.
00:48:14Not open for that uppercut.
00:48:16Saw Bo make a half-hearted up at the right uppercut.
00:48:18Gulotta rocks him back with a right hand.
00:48:20Bo steps up against the ropes.
00:48:22Gulotta rocks him again with a right hand.
00:48:25And a left.
00:48:28And another left up top.
00:48:30And the crowd is oohing and eyeing
00:48:32at the work that's been done on Riddick Bowe
00:48:34by Andrew Gulotta.
00:48:45Two months ago, Lennox Lewis came in here
00:48:48with a big showcase against Ray Mercer
00:48:50and barely escaped with a decision.
00:48:53Right now, Bo's in pretty much the same position
00:48:56that Lewis found himself in through most of that fight.
00:48:59A big round for the line.
00:49:01Huh?
00:49:20You wanna go back?
00:49:22You gotta get underneath the guy.
00:49:23Wait.
00:49:25And it's been that way throughout the fight.
00:49:28And remember what we pointed out before the fight.
00:49:32How many punches Riddick Bowe catches.
00:49:38And here you can see more of the same.
00:49:42The Polish fighter is maintaining his poise.
00:49:46He's not overextending himself.
00:49:49He's staying in good punching position.
00:49:51He looks like a pro right now.
00:49:55And through five rounds,
00:49:59Golada has landed 45% of his jabs.
00:50:03The Bowe's 21%.
00:50:05Golada is throwing more jabs and landing more.
00:50:08As well as doing more damage with power punches.
00:50:12So far it's been his fight.
00:50:13I'm starting to think now about that 12 rounds.
00:50:16I'm telling you.
00:50:17That decision could come back to haunt the Bowe people in a big way.
00:50:22But he may need those extra rounds, Jim.
00:50:25Well, they might have seen it as two extra chances to knock Golada out if Golada tires in the middle portion of the fight as they expect him to do.
00:50:32So you'll be watching Golada's punt count to see if it goes down after round six.
00:50:37And here we are in the sixth stanza right here.
00:50:42All right, what does Bowe do now, George?
00:50:45Well, you know, Golada was really smart in the first couple of rounds.
00:50:48He went down to the body to ensue himself if this fight goes beyond in the latter rounds.
00:50:54Bowe will not have the power.
00:50:55Now, Bowe is trying to get a knockout.
00:50:57He shouldn't do that.
00:50:58But he can still pull it out on points and be a little cautious.
00:51:02He has to go back to basics, and right now he is.
00:51:06Bowe trying to reestablish his jab here in the sixth.
00:51:09Once again, they get in close, and Bowe not able to launch those uppercuts which have so defined the best of Riddick Bowe in his three battles with Holyfield.
00:51:20The problem has been Bowe has not quite measured the distance when he moved away from Golada's left jab.
00:51:26He thinks he's out of the way, but Golada catches him anyway.
00:51:30Well, it's that extra reach.
00:51:31It's that extra reach, isn't it?
00:51:32And Bowe's not accustomed to being in with a guy who's got a better reach.
00:51:35That extra reach has paid off good dividends for Golada.
00:51:44This Golada is no stiff in there.
00:51:46He's an athlete.
00:51:47I thought that Bowe might have been wobbled a little bit by that left hook.
00:51:53He was.
00:51:56Riddick's punch goes down as we get past the midpoint of the round.
00:52:00Brown tried to lift Riddick with a chant of, let's go, Bowe.
00:52:04Golada has taken a little bit of a rest in this round, but still giving a good account of himself, punch by punch as he goes along.
00:52:11When Bowe seems to take one step out of the way, he should take his feet along with him.
00:52:17Otherwise, his body is right there for this Golada to hit him.
00:52:22Golada lands another left hook inside.
00:52:24Bowe tries to come over the top of the right and misses.
00:52:27Golada goes back to the body.
00:52:29He's done too little of that in this round.
00:52:31Golada's starting to fall in love with his ability to hammer Bowe on top.
00:52:35And now another low blow.
00:52:37And let's see if Wayne Kelly takes another point.
00:52:39One point.
00:52:39He does.
00:52:40That's the second point that dumps it from the scorecards against Golada.
00:52:44Is that clear?
00:52:46Don't do it again.
00:52:50Fine.
00:52:50So now Bowe with his second time out of the fight due to low blows.
00:52:54And Golada has lost a second point.
00:52:56And Harold, what comes next?
00:52:58Jim, the thing that comes next, without question, is a disqualification.
00:53:03I mean, I don't know how much of this Wayne Kelly's going to put up with.
00:53:06Andrew Golada has been whacking him low the entire fight.
00:53:10He's taken two points.
00:53:11I don't think he'll take three.
00:53:12I think if Andrew Golada hits him low again flagrantly, Wayne Kelly throws him out.
00:53:18And you have to assume that that's what Kelly was telling Golada moments ago in that neutral corner.
00:53:22Here's the low blow.
00:53:24You know, it's obviously not deliberate, but that doesn't make any difference.
00:53:28You know, I wouldn't give this guy any extra courage.
00:53:44Hey, you heard him hit me below the belt.
00:53:46The Peter Rabbit punch, go right back and fight back quick.
00:53:51A hook by Golada.
00:53:53Reestablishes his authority as soon as they go back together.
00:53:56And we've reached the midpoint of the fight.
00:53:59Well, I'll tell you, Riddick Bowe has taken a beating, whether it's legal or illegal, one way or another.
00:54:04He's getting hit a lot of punches from his knees to his head.
00:54:09You can't walk in like this.
00:54:10You've got to walk.
00:54:11You've got to move the head with the outside.
00:54:12You've got to move the head because you're standing right in front of him, and all he's got to do is punch.
00:54:15Okay?
00:54:17Okay, Bo?
00:54:18You've got to fix his tape.
00:54:19Both tapes.
00:54:20And we've got to take care of the tape with Riddick's punch here.
00:54:22He's coming off.
00:54:23No, you've got to do better than that.
00:54:24Wait, wait, wait.
00:54:24What are you doing about him?
00:54:25Riddick, you worry about the fighting.
00:54:29I took two points off him.
00:54:30Okay?
00:54:31All right?
00:54:32Well, I guess you take care of your business.
00:54:34All right?
00:54:34You've got it.
00:54:38It almost sounded there like Riddick, Bo was looking for a disqualification.
00:54:44A stunned crowd here at Madison Square Garden.
00:54:57They are near silent as the seventh round begins.
00:54:59Obviously, it's a heavily pro-Bo crowd, and now Galata goes to a neutral corner as Kelly once again gives Bo time out.
00:55:10Time in this time, beginning of the seventh round.
00:55:13He said to us the other day, why don't I have to train so hard to fight a bump?
00:55:23He's finding out right now.
00:55:25Not only that, he's finding out how it feels to be hit below the belt.
00:55:29He's done a lot of that in his career.
00:55:30That's right.
00:55:31This is not exactly the world's cleanest fighter in there getting hit below the belt.
00:55:34He's had his own fouls.
00:55:36Bo tentatively trying to establish something.
00:55:42Galata just keeps beating him to the punch.
00:55:44Now Bo goes back to the jab, but he's tasted so many power punches, George,
00:55:49and he's not aggressive enough to step in there hard anymore.
00:55:52And he can't seem to take one of Galata's double jabs.
00:55:55As soon as he doubles jabs, Bo stands still.
00:55:59Galata right on the belt line with that right hand, and Kelly was watching all the way.
00:56:02There's a left right on the belt line.
00:56:06Galata's going to have to be careful about this stuff.
00:56:10Bo landed an uppercut, finally.
00:56:12That's it.
00:56:13One point.
00:56:14Is he taking a third point for low blows?
00:56:17That is the third time that he's deducted a point for low blows.
00:56:21I've never seen that before, and we're only in the seventh round.
00:56:30And now he's going to talk to Bo about holding and hitting.
00:56:33And that was the second time in the fight that Bo did that.
00:56:36Come on.
00:56:36Come on.
00:56:37Now the tape is coming loose on Galata's glove.
00:56:41There was another one of those body punches right on the belt line.
00:56:45Galata is flirting with disqualification here in a fight that he seems to be winning big
00:56:50against the guy called by many, the best heavyweight active in the division.
00:56:56Giant right hand over the top by Galata again.
00:56:59All because Riddick Boyd standing still, underestimating the reach.
00:57:03Yep.
00:57:03Not miscalculating how long this guy's arms are.
00:57:06I heard him in Bo's corner saying you can't stand right in front of him, but he keeps standing
00:57:11right in front of him, and he keeps paying the price.
00:57:13And Galata loaded a right hand up there and looked for a one-punch knockout and just missed.
00:57:19He's just hammering Bo in close.
00:57:33Just hammering it.
00:57:34That was another low blow.
00:57:36Down goes Bo.
00:57:36That's it.
00:57:37That's it.
00:57:37That's it.
00:57:38Great.
00:57:38And now there's a fight in the ring that's been started by some of Bo's handlers who went
00:57:50after Lou Duvain.
00:57:51Somebody's going to get hurt in there.
00:57:53Somebody's going to get hurt.
00:57:55And there are more people trying to go in and security.
00:57:57Don't do it.
00:57:58Don't do it.
00:57:59Don't do it.
00:57:59Don't do it.
00:58:00They'll stop it.
00:58:01Don't come.
00:58:02Get back.
00:58:02Go back where you'll see the talk.
00:58:03Get on back.
00:58:05My microphone got knocked off my head.
00:58:07Don't do it, son.
00:58:08Don't do that.
00:58:09There's danger all over the place here.
00:58:11This is a very desperate situation.
00:58:13Lou Duva's in trouble.
00:58:15Lou Duva's in trouble on the ring back.
00:58:19Duva's down and hurt.
00:58:20They're lifting Duva out of the rim.
00:58:22They're going to cool it out.
00:58:23You know Duva trying to help his dad out.
00:58:26This is just an awful looking situation in there.
00:58:29Don't do it.
00:58:30Don't do it.
00:58:31Wait a minute.
00:58:32It'll be okay.
00:58:34George Foreman.
00:58:35George Foreman trying to be the peacemaker.
00:58:37I'm not going to do it.
00:58:38What are you doing?
00:58:39What are you doing, guys?
00:58:39What are you going to accomplish in there?
00:58:42Look.
00:58:43Look.
00:58:43Now the fight has spread off the ring now.
00:58:46George Foreman doing his best to stop it.
00:58:48Two more guys going into the ring.
01:00:20I'm beginning to quiet down now.
01:00:22I'm under the impression that a lot of Bo's friends or would-be friends may have stormed
01:00:33in the ring and protest over those low blows, the blows that may indeed have saved the
01:00:39fight.
01:00:40And now it's poor Bo, and now the riot in the ring flares up again.
01:00:48Meanwhile, we're all wondering where Lutube is and how he is.
01:00:52Howdy and his wife is right there in that ring with her children.
01:00:56Well, I don't know what you're seeing on camera, because I don't have a monitor.
01:01:02But I can say that in 21 years of reporting as a sports reporter and a news anchor, I've
01:01:08never been involved in a more personally terrifying situation than that one.
01:01:11This ring has been stormed by dogs and hooligans.
01:01:15Obviously, emotions were flowing high on both sides.
01:01:18We're very concerned about the status of Lutube, who appeared to be in extremely, extremely dire
01:01:25physical straits.
01:01:26He was taken away on a stretcher.
01:01:28In fact, Lutube is being taken out on a gurney right now.
01:01:33And we hope that they can get it through the crowd.
01:01:37And it appears to us that Lou is moving his head.
01:01:40Yes, in fact, he's lifting his head up off the gurney, so he's obviously conscious.
01:01:44That's a very good sign.
01:01:45If you follow boxing, you know that Lou has had coronary difficulties within the past year.
01:01:50It's of extreme importance to his life that they get him out of there.
01:01:54We're told that police are being knocked down at ringside, and that police have been thrown
01:01:59out of the ring by some of the thugs who are in there conducting this ongoing riot.
01:02:04It happened right in front of us on our side of the ring, and it appeared to begin when
01:02:09somebody raced across the ring from Bo's corner area into the Galata corner area, apparently
01:02:16for the purpose of attacking Galata after the last low blow and the disqualification.
01:02:21And now the riot has spread to the far side of the ring.
01:02:25And I see some people who are jumping on top of people at ringside and beating people with chairs.
01:02:32Larry, what do you see down there?
01:02:34Well, I don't see anything except a lot of energy, bodies being thrown around, people watching,
01:02:42trying to see who these last of the hooligans are who insist on imposing themselves on what
01:02:52is supposed to be organized mayhem.
01:02:55We have disorganized mayhem in the ring at this moment.
01:03:00Yeah.
01:03:01Well, this kind of scene took place after the first Bo Holyfield fight as well.
01:03:06And maybe it's just a coincidence that the same fighter was involved,
01:03:11but it's a black mark on the sport.
01:03:14This has been an extremely ugly scene so far, and it continues at ringside,
01:03:18where now the riot has moved down to floor level.
01:03:24Now we're told that Riddick Bowe is still a part of that crowd down there,
01:03:27and they're trying to escort Bowe to the locker room, and they've gotten him into the tunnel area.
01:03:31There's a melee of people surrounding Riddick, and now he's into the tunnel area and out of harm's way.
01:03:37Where's Galata? Does anybody know where Galata is?
01:03:47I can't see Galata at all. I don't, you know, basically I'm standing here and watching like everybody else
01:03:52and seeing about 10% of what really is going on.
01:03:56I find myself wondering what Riddick Bowe was doing down in there.
01:04:00Galata was smart enough to get out of here, although I assume he was the target
01:04:05of some of these angry Bowe fans.
01:04:10But they ought to be, I don't know, thankful for what happened,
01:04:14because Bowe looked like he was on his way to losing his, to losing the fight,
01:04:20to losing his stature and status in prize fighting up until the time
01:04:25that Galata just couldn't control that left hand, George.
01:04:29And I think it was really an accident. He just, he's fighting a taller guy.
01:04:33He's not accustomed to it. His waist is wet real high. It wasn't intentional.
01:04:37He's winning the fight. There are a lot of people upset about the way that thing went.
01:04:41And I'm sorry to have to show off like this.
01:04:43Well, I'll tell you.
01:04:44I think it was a nice man. He shouldn't have to be hurting the...
01:04:46Hey, George. Yes.
01:04:47I want to thank you for helping to keep us safe.
01:04:50Obviously, our viewers didn't see it.
01:04:52But George Foreman protected Larry Merchant and me from a lot of harm there at ringside.
01:04:57He kept at least two or three guys out of the ring by himself.
01:05:00And I pin a big medal of honor on George tonight.
01:05:03He did a big service for Larry and me and the rest around us at ringside
01:05:06and for a lot of people who were over on our side of the ring.
01:05:09Thank you, George, for your forceful and honorable presence tonight.
01:05:13The only thing I know that may have been comparable but in a different situation,
01:05:17and it's flaring up again now behind us, another riot.
01:05:24Guys jumping over chairs.
01:05:25And these riots and fights are breaking out at ringside with no police in sight.
01:05:31It's impossible to imagine what's going to be done to restore order here.
01:05:35But right now, there are no police in sight as young men of all descriptions
01:05:41go hard against each other at ringside.
01:05:47Let's go! Let's go! Let's go! Let's go!
01:05:51Well, in case you've just joined us, you're looking at the aftermath of an explosive
01:05:55and all-too-unfortunately-explosive event in Madison Square Garden.
01:05:58Jim, I'm with Roger Bloodworth, who is a trainer of Andrew Gulotta.
01:06:03Roger, how did this start?
01:06:07I think it started with an unintentional low blow.
01:06:11Andrew has a habit of looping his punches.
01:06:13The goal kept pulling his head down.
01:06:16He hit Andrew behind the head three or four times.
01:06:19Hit him a couple times low. He was only worn one time.
01:06:23I think they got scared.
01:06:24But your fighter clearly was in the wrong for landing so many low blows.
01:06:30Don't you agree?
01:06:31My ball was in the wrong, too, for landing behind the head and landing low blows.
01:06:35I'm not going to argue who started. I'm not saying it's right. It happened.
01:06:38But this is a disgrace.
01:06:40What happened with Lou? Was he hit or was it his heart?
01:06:44He hit, but he grabbed his chest in one round. He did it in the second round.
01:06:49And I told him not to come up anymore because I didn't know whether it was his heart
01:06:53or if somebody had thrown something or what it was.
01:06:56But I didn't want him up in the ring anymore because I didn't want him to get hurt.
01:06:59All right. Other than this, what do you think of Gulotta's performance?
01:07:04What was he doing in there that frustrated Bo?
01:07:07I think he was hitting him. You know, he has a good jab. He's got good power.
01:07:12He clearly rocked Bo two or three times, had him going.
01:07:15And I think everything he was doing was frustrating.
01:07:19I think that's why Bo, you know, I'm not saying he didn't get hit low,
01:07:22but I think he put on a little bit of an act.
01:07:24He could have gotten up there.
01:07:26All right. Thank you very much.
01:07:29Well, there's a part of the scene at ringside,
01:07:37and we'll do the best we can to sum up this calamitous occasion.
01:07:41Once again, Andrew Gulotta is disqualified.
01:07:44Riddick Bowe emerges without accepting the loss that he might have been headed toward
01:07:49had this fight not been marred by low blows.
01:07:51We'll be back to try to collect ourselves and see what's going on here.
01:07:54But first, let's look ahead to some upcoming programming here on HBO.
01:08:00Jesse Parrish had fallen on hard times.
01:08:05But then, a stroke of luck changed everything.
01:08:10And he never looked back.
01:08:13Now, good fortune has gone bad.
01:08:16And he's about to discover there's no such thing as easy money.
01:08:21HBO Pictures presents Eric Stokes' Don't Look Back.
01:08:25Premieres Saturday night at 9.
01:08:27Only on HBO.
01:08:28It's the biggest music event in the kingdom.
01:08:32And it's coming to HBO.
01:08:34Eric Clapton.
01:08:35The new highlights with Roger Finna.
01:08:37Bob Dylan.
01:08:38And it's coming to HBO.
01:08:41Eric Clapton.
01:08:45The new highlights with Roger Finna.
01:08:47Bob Dylan.
01:08:51Bob Dylan.
01:08:54A land of sports set.
01:08:59The MasterCard Masters of Music Council.
01:09:01With a Prince's Trust.
01:09:03Sunday night at 8.
01:09:04Only on HBO.
01:09:07Smashing.
01:09:08I'm Brian Gumbel.
01:09:11Next up on Real Sports.
01:09:13In an All-Olympics Special Edition, we take a real hard look at the man who runs it.
01:09:18We'd rather have corrupt people under him than ice people.
01:09:21The corporations that buy it.
01:09:23The muscles that move it.
01:09:25Physically speaking, Mark Henry is the strongest man in the world.
01:09:28And the glory beyond it.
01:09:30Everything today is marketing.
01:09:31The Emmy-winning Real Sports with Brian Gumbel.
01:09:34Premieres Monday night at 10 on HBO.
01:09:37Real Sports.
01:09:38Nothing is out of bounds.
01:09:44We welcome you back to what has to be seen as one of the most bizarre occasions
01:09:48in more than two decades of boxing coverage here on HBO.
01:09:52Apparently fireworks going on behind me.
01:09:55Many more of New York's finest have been rushed in off the streets of New York
01:09:59to try to bring order and control here in Madison Square Garden.
01:10:02Just to recap.
01:10:03Through a long and eventful day, the possibility existed for several hours
01:10:06that this fight between Riddick Bowe and Andrew Gulotta might not take place
01:10:10because of a discrepancy, at least a discrepancy as Gulotta and his people saw it in the contract,
01:10:15which ultimately required him to fight 12 rounds instead of the 10 rounds that he believed he had agreed to fight.
01:10:21The situation was resolved, apparently, when 50,000 more dollars were pushed Gulotta's way.
01:10:26So he came in tonight with those extra 50 grand in his jeans after a long day of stress
01:10:31to enter this big occasion in which he was given virtually no chance to beat Riddick Bowe.
01:10:37And yet, through the first six rounds, Gulotta dominated the action in the fight.
01:10:41And that dominance was marred only by the fact that Gulotta was repeatedly penalized for low blows,
01:10:47justifiably and correctly penalized for landing several brutal low blows during the fight.
01:10:52Wayne Kelly had deducted three points from Gulotta for low blows, each one an entirely proper deduction,
01:10:59giving Gulotta as many chances as he possibly could to stay in the fight.
01:11:02Finally, in the seventh round, as Gulotta battered Bowe up top, landing lefts and rights with abandon,
01:11:08he once again went downstairs and landed yet another crushing low blow.
01:11:12And at that moment, again, quite properly in our view, referee Wayne Kelly stopped the fight, disqualified Gulotta,
01:11:19and awarded victory to Bowe.
01:11:21At that moment also, a riot broke out as some of the men from Bowe's corner moved across the ring toward a confrontation with Gulotta and the people around him.
01:11:31And we're going to take a look at how all that transpired.
01:11:33Here's a look now at the events that finished the fight.
01:11:37Again, Gulotta looking to land up top.
01:11:39There's a left below the belt.
01:11:41It was the latest in a series of repeated low blows.
01:11:44And you see Kelly disqualifying Gulotta.
01:11:46And at this moment, as our overhead camera trained on Riddick in distress,
01:11:51men moved across the ring and began the confrontation with Gulotta
01:11:55that ultimately led to the riot in the ring and at ringside.
01:12:00A series of skirmishes which still have not been entirely brought under control.
01:12:04Now, you can see there the silver-haired Lou Duva, Gulotta's trainer.
01:12:09And as we mentioned, he's been subject to a series of coronary events within the course of the past couple of years.
01:12:15Duva went down.
01:12:16You heard Roger Bloodworth, the co-trainer, saying that he was concerned about Lou's heart.
01:12:21And since that time, Duva is the one identifiable figure that we have seen taken from Madison Square Garden on a gurney.
01:12:29George Foreman joining me now.
01:12:31Big man, you okay?
01:12:32Yeah, I'm really good.
01:12:33But I'm sorry about what happened for the people at home.
01:12:36Gulotta, Bo, they're really not totally responsible for what happened.
01:12:40But there was a lot of emotions out there.
01:12:41And it caused people to do a lot of things they're going to be sorry about tomorrow.
01:12:44Was it the scariest situation you've ever seen at a prize fight, George?
01:12:47Well, I've seen these things happen before.
01:12:49Whenever you've got fighters who are prone to hit behind the head and hit below the belt, it always causes situations like this.
01:12:55It just spreads throughout the whole crowd.
01:12:57And you totally agreed with the disqualification at the moment that it came.
01:13:00I really like the disqualification, but I'm certain that Gulotta could whip Bo.
01:13:04No doubt about it.
01:13:05He could have whipped him.
01:13:06He was whipping him easily.
01:13:07But it should have been a disqualification because that's what can happen if it continues.
01:13:11Well, let's hope off the potential that Gulotta showed tonight that he can learn to fight without fouling because there's something there.
01:13:16He is a great fighter.
01:13:17He doesn't need that in his career at all.
01:13:19Riddick Bowe, he's got to go back to school.
01:13:21And I mean in a big way about really conditioning.
01:13:23Riddick Bowe's taking a lot of accumulated punishment, too.
01:13:25Is it too early in his career, George, for that to become a factor in his life?
01:13:28It can become a factor tonight, as a matter of fact.
01:13:31I'd like to see him come down to my ranch and help me herd some cows for a change.
01:13:35All right.
01:13:36Thanks very much, George.
01:13:37We appreciate, once again, the protection you provided at ringside.
01:13:40All right.
01:13:41We're not going to be able to get any post-fight interviews in the locker rooms.
01:13:43We had hoped to do that.
01:13:45But for reasons that I'm sure you can understand, those interviews are not going to be available at this time.
01:13:50You'll have to wait until your morning papers to find out what parties on both sides had to say about the aftermath of this riot situation.
01:13:56Myself, I got a 16-year-old daughter in here somewhere, and I'm looking to be sure that she's safe.
01:14:02So right now, let's take you to a look at what's coming up immediately following tonight's coverage of world championship boxing.
01:14:08Stay tuned now for Multiplicity, HBO First Look on the East Coast, followed by Serpent's Lair on the West Coast.
01:14:16Stay tuned for that on HBO.
01:14:18And now for George Foreman, Harold Letterman, and Larry Merchant, I'm Jim Lampley saying so long from Madison Square Garden in New York.
01:14:32The executive producer of HBO Sports is Ross Greenberg.
01:14:35Tonight's telecast of world championship boxing was produced by Rick Bernstein and directed by Mark Payton.
01:14:41The feature producers were Brian McDonald and Kendall Bridges-Reed.
01:14:45Associate producers, Adam Berger and Steve Cohen.
01:14:48Assistance to the producer, Lisa Bennett and John Crystal.
01:14:52Ladies and gentlemen, these are live shots you're looking at.
01:14:55Unfortunate live coverage of the aftermath of the disqualification of Andrew Gulotta against Riddick Bowe tonight.
01:15:02Production manager John McAuley, technical supervisors, Spike Jones, all the rest of these brave people working on our telecast and trying to bring you the best coverage we can bring you from an extremely troubling situation in Madison Square Garden tonight.
01:15:17Where are we, America?
01:15:19Why do we have so much trouble handling public events?
01:15:22For real fans
01:15:29No real fans
01:15:34Spot our Wright children
01:15:37No real Weak
01:15:39No real fans
01:15:42No real fans
01:15:45No real fans
01:15:47This has been a presentation of HBO Sports,
01:16:15the network of champions.
Recommended
9:00
|
Up next
53:54
1:26:44