February 17, 2011
By Staff Reporter
Referee Arthur Mercante stopped the scheduled 12-rounder for the fringe IBF North American belt after a looping left hook catapulted McBride into the ropes, opening up a nasty cut under his left eye. Golota followed up with a volley of punches before Mercante intervened.
McBride, who had hurt Golota moments earlier with a brief rally, disputed his TKO loss that was officially timed at 2:42 minutes.
?No, I didn?t think the referee should have stopped it but I was having trouble seeing out of my eye. He really didn?t hurt me until the end,? said the 6-foot-six Irish national champion, whose record dropped to 34-6-1(29 KOs).
Said Golota, who upped his ledger to 40-6-1 (33 KOs): ?I proved that I can still fight with anyone.?
The combustible Pole barely survived the opening stanza, though, after being bludgeoned from pillar to post to the roar of a crowd announced at just over 7,000 but with the collective voice of a packed Croke Park.
?I thought that I had him out in the first round,? remarked McBride, who fights out of Brockton, Mass. ?It was close.?
The 6-foot-six ?Clones Colossus,? two inches taller than his man and 47 pounds heavier on the night, rocked Golota (241 lbs) with a left hook and again with a right that knocked out his mouthpiece.
Golota, who?d suffered first round KO defeats to world champions Lennox Lewis and Lamon Brewster during his 15-year career, was the worse for wear from the battering when the round ended.
McBride?s first round dominance was such that one of the three judges, scored it 10-8 in his favor, a margin that usually reflects a knockdown.
Golota was still on his stool when McBride charged out of his corner for the second round, hoping to finish off the Pole. Mercante intercepted the big Irishman and when Golota came off his stool, what had started off as a brawl turned into a boxing contest.
Working behind a snappy left jab and following up with straight rights and quick one-twos, Golota calmly took the fight to McBride who could not match his hand speed or skill level.
Although the ?Clones Colossus? stayed in the fight by countering with heavy hooks, the tide had change.
Inspired by his red and white-clad Polish fans chanting ?Andrzej! Andrzej! Andrzej!? Golota would sweep the rest of the rounds on all the cards as his slower opponent took more punishment than he gave back.
Soon, a mouse appeared beneath McBride?s left eye, courtesy of Golota?s incessant jab. Unbeknownst to everyone outside his corner, the Clones Colossus was slowly turning into a Cyclops as the vision in his left eye began to deteriorate.
At any rate, Golota appeared to be slowing down late in the sixth round when McBride staggered him again in a neutral corner with a barrage of hooks. The Pole span around and threw a hard left that hurled McBride into the ropes, tearing open the swelling below the Irish giant?s eye.
He landed several more shots before referee Mercante stepped in. McBride trailed on all the cards: 49-46 (twice) and 48-46 at the time of the stoppage.
Thus after promising at the pre-fight press conference three days earlier to retire Golota like he did Mike Tyson two years ago, it?s the 34 year-old McBride who goes back to the drawing board in his bid to become the first Irish-born heavyweight champion of the world.