Golota given pain-killer prior to Lewis fight

Dean Juipe

Thursday, Oct. 16, 1997 | 11:27 a.m.

A revelation of sorts has emerged that may help to explain Andrew Golota's nervous appearance before he stepped into the ring with Lennox Lewis Oct. 4 in Atlantic City. It turns out Golota -- unbeknown to his trainers, manager and promoter -- received a pain-killing injection in his right knee prior to leaving his hotel room for the arena.

Wednesday's news baffled those associated with the heavyweight contender, who was knocked out 95 seconds into the WBC title bout.

"They didn't even tell my father," promoter Dino Duva said, referring not only to the doctor who administered the pain-killer lidocaine but to Duva's father, Lou, who trains Golota. Dino Duva added that Golota was currently in Columbia-Presbyterian Hospital in New York City and would be undergoing additional neurological testing this week.

Golota attracted suspicion the night of the fight when he arrived at the arena only an hour before he was due in the ring. The referee who worked the bout, Joe Cortez of Las Vegas, said he could tell something wasn't right.

"He looked very nervous when I went into the dressing room to give the prefight instructions," Cortez said. "I've seen a lot of fighters who were tight before a big fight, but he was exceptionally tight."

Golota was knocked down twice before Cortez stopped the fight.

"I gave him every opportunity to get up," Cortez said. "No one could believe it that he lost so fast. This is a man who looked so superior to Riddick Bowe when he fought him, then he fights Lewis and he doesn't even look like the same guy.

"I guess that's what makes boxing so interesting. You have to expect the unexpected."

Following the fight, Golota collapsed in his dressing room in what was described at the time as an anxiety attack.

Tropicana undercard

Saturday's Forum Boxing card at the Tropicana that headlines Hector Lopez vs. Angel Beltre also includes five other bouts, topped by heayweights Ed Mahone and Everett "Big Foot" Martin. They're scheduled for 10 rounds.

"What's this guy like?" Martin asked as he glanced at Mahone's ring resume. "This is the first time I've heard of him. I see he's never gone 10 rounds in his whole life and I'm always in a fight for 10 rounds, so he's going to have to hit me a lot harder than he hit those other folks."

Those "other folks" haven't taken Mahone past five rounds as he's 13-0-1 with 13 knockouts. Martin, a true veteran of heavyweight wars, is 20-19-1 with nine KOs.

"I'm still new to the game and looking to gain experience," Mahone said. "I've been asked if I'm impatient to fight the leading contenders and I've always said 'yes,' but I know it takes time. However, Forum Boxing can take a fighter like me to a championship and I know they have my best interests at heart."

Also scheduled: Nestor Garza, 27-1, vs. an opponent yet to be determined, eight rounds, featherweights; Julio Damian Garcia, 10-0, vs. Juan Mesa, 9-6-1, six rounds, middleweights; Carlos Marquez, 13-11-3, vs. Daniel Lujan, 11-4-2, six rounds, lightweights; and Josie Blocus, 5-0, vs. Gene Jones, 0-3, four rounds, lightweights. First bell is 7:30 p.m.

Primm undercard

Aside from Diego Corrales vs. Juan Angel Macias Saturday at Buffalo Bill's in Primm, the Top Rank card also includes five other bouts. On tap: Augie Sanchez, 13-0, vs. Felipe Castillo, 10-17, eight rounds, featherweights; Daniel Santos, 11-0, vs. Miguel Gonzalez, 37-11-2, eight rounds, welterweights; Vassiliy Jirov, 9-0, vs. Mario Osuna, 3-8-1, 10 rounds, cruiserweights; Adarryl Johnson, 6-0, vs. an opponent yet to be determined, six rounds, featherweights; and Renard Jones, 3-0, vs. David Bostice, 4-0-1, six rounds, heavyweights. First bell is 7 p.m.

Quick hits

The main event for Arizona Charlie's Oct. 22 card is set and it's a 12-round lightweight bout between Roberto Cobos, 19-5-1, and Raphael Olivera, 12-2. Las Vegas welterweight Ross Thompson also has a spot on the card. ... Las Vegas heavyweight Cliff Couser fights tonight in Richmond, Va., against veteran "opponent" Kimuel Odom. ... Las Vegas-based junior lightweight Justin Juuko improved to 30-1-1 with a decision win over Vladimir Matkievsky of the Ukraine last Sunday in Juuko's native Uganda. A crowd of 10,000 allegedly was on hand as Juuko handed Matkievsky his first loss in 19 fights. ... Junior lightweight Floyd Mayweather of Las Vegas upped his record to 11-0 with nine KOs by stopping Felipe Garcia, 19-18-1, at 2:56 of the sixth round Tuesday in Boise, Idaho. "Bring on Genaro (Hernandez) or (Arturo) Gatti," Mayweather said of his desire to face either of two reigning world champions. ... Former UNLV quarterback Glenn Carano will replace Nat Carasali on the Nevada State Athletic Commission effective Oct. 31. Carano, 41, is a marketing director at a Reno hotel.

Helga Risoy of Las Vegas fights Oct. 24 in Atlantic City against Kathy Collins in a bout to be televised by ESPN. This is a rematch of an earlier fight that ended in a draw. ... Cruiserweight Dale Brown of Las Vegas has taken a Nov. 11 fight in Montreal against an opponent yet to be determined. "I'm glad to see Dale coming along so fast," said his trainer, Jerome Coffee. ... Nevada won nine of 15 bouts in last Saturday's amateur competition against a team from Utah at the Nevada Partners Gym. The main event saw Jason Ingwaldson, ranked No. 1 in the country at 125 pounds, knock out Shane Stoneman in the third round. "It was a great fight but Jason wore him down," said coordinator Richard Steele, adding that Stoneman held a six-year age advantage on the 17-year-old Ingwaldson. ... WBA welterweight champ Ike Quartey figures to have his hands full with Jose Luis Lopez in the main event of an HBO-televised card from New York City on Friday. ... New York has also landed a Dec. 19 HBO card that will offer Kennedy McKinney vs. Junior Jones in a co-main event, with Naseem Hamed vs. Kevin Kelley in the other. ... Referee Joe Cortez of Las Vegas went from the Golota-Lewis fight to England, where he handled the Chris Eubank vs. Joe Calzaghe fight last weekend. It was his 98th world-title fight and he'll put No. 99 in the books Saturday when he works Lopez vs. Beltre at the Tropicana.

DEAN JUIPE is a Las Vegas SUN sportswriter. His office phone number is 259-4084. He can be reached on the Internet at juipe@lasvegassun.com

Andrew Golota