Great article about Freddie Miller defending his featherweight title on the road.
Yesterday’s Heroes: Cincinnati’s world champion Freddy Miller still holds a curious record
American Freddy Miller loved nothing more than defending his world title in the UK, writes Miles Templeton
By: Miles Templeton
12th December, 2023
Freddie Miller (right) and Joe Connelly fight at the Blackfriars Ring, January 1935
I’LL BET there aren’t many around who could name the foreign world champion who had the most contests in the UK while still holding the title. The answer is Freddie Miller of Cincinnati, USA. Freddie won the world featherweight title in Chicago in June 1933 by beating Tommy Paul. He finally lost the title in 1936, after defending it successfully 12 times, to Petey Sarron.
In 1934 Freddie came to the UK to defend his title against Liverpool great, Nel Tarleton, at the Stadium in Nella’s home city. Tarleton, along with Ernie Roderick and Ginger Foran, was one of the ‘big three’ in Liverpool at that time and many fancied him to beat the American. The late Vic Hardwicke, who many readers will remember as a major contributor to Ron Olver’s column 30 or 40 years ago, rated Tarleton as the best fighter he had seen. Miller easily outpointed the Liverpudlian in what was only his third 15-round contest. Back in the States, most of Miller’s bouts, including those for the title, were fought over 10 rounds.
In the 1930s it was commonplace for champions to engage in many non-title bouts in between their defences. Not only was it a good way of staying in shape but it also offered money-making opportunity with no risk. There were many in Britain and Europe who wanted to see the American and so, over the course of the next nine months he boxed on 33 more occasions, with 22 of them taking place in the UK and Ireland.
Only four days after defeating Tarleton for the world title Miller appeared at Belle Vue, Manchester, to outpoint Welshman, Billy Hazell, over 10-threes. This set the pattern for an extremely active tour. Freddie only lost two of these contests, by disqualification against Billy Gannon at Manchester, and a points defeat at the hands of Maurice Holtzer in Paris.
In June 1935, just a month before he sailed back home, he defeated Tarleton again in a title contest, this time less convincingly, for Nel fought his heart out, only to lose out on a tight verdict. During his tour, Miller also fought at the Blackfriars Ring, where he was very popular, Birmingham, Glasgow, Belfast and at the Royal Albert Hall. His final contest over here was a sensational two-round knockout of ex-British champion, Seaman Tommy Watson, back in Liverpool, at Anfield football ground. BN reported that the finish “came in the shape of a punch of which fighters dream. It was a left cross to the jaw. It didn’t land a fraction of an inch too high, and it didn’t land a fraction of an inch too low. It just landed where it was meant to land, on the fatal spot.”
Once he had lost his title to Sarron, Miller continued to barnstorm his way around America and then, in 1938 he returned to the UK again for a second tour. Just like the first time he had his first and his last contest in Liverpool, a place he really enjoyed. Starting out with a 12-round decision over Billy Charlton at the Stadium, he won all 12 over here, with wins at Leicester, Bristol, Swansea, Edinburgh, Newcastle and the Isle of Man. This latter contest was at the Villa Marina Ballroom in Douglas and Miller beat Tommy Tune, a competent fighter but no more than that, from Barnsley. The contest failed to make the pages of BN, which, given Miller’s status, is hard to believe. The bout was not recorded in the annual Ring Record Book right up until the 1980s and I unearthed it at the British Library some years ago.
Miller’s last bout over here was a 10-round decision over Johnny King, that wonderful Manchester fighter. The verdict was unpopular with the Liverpool fans as they thought King had nicked it.
Miller died from a heart attack at the young age of 51 in 1962. A great champion and well loved by British fans.
Freddie Miller defeated Panama Al Brown via a 10-round unanimous decision in Paris, France, on Christmas Eve, 1934, in a non-title featherweight bout between two boxing globetrotters, with the slippery southpaw Miller controlling the technical contest against the former bantamweight champion Brown. The legendary Panama Al Brown was one of the greatest and most intimidating fighters in boxing history. Panama Al Brown was Bantamweight champion for six years, he was tall, had long arms and was physically imposing, looking at photos of Brown, he reminds me of a giant huntsman spider, big with a freakish wing span. I'll say this about Panama Al Brown, if I were a Bantamweight during his era, I would have legit dreaded having to step in the ring with him. Great shots from the fight.
Freddie Miller (on the left), South African referee "Tiny" St John Dean and Petey Sarron. This photo was taken for their fight in South Africa in September of 1937.
Freddie Miller and Nel Tarleton fought twice, with Miller winning both encounters in Liverpool for the World Featherweight Title, once in September 1934 and again in June 1935, both times by points. Two granite-chinned fighters, Tarleton was never knocked out in a 147 fights in a career that spanned 20-years, and Miller was stopped once in 248 fights.
Nice exhibit card of Freddie Miller, these cards were purchased in vending type machines around the country in the 1920s through to the 1960s. You would insert a penny and the machine would give you a card of a boxer that was advertised on the front of the machine. If I'm not mistaken, most of them came with blank backs but some of them had postcard backs. They also had other sports exhibit cards as well, baseball, football, wrestling, etc.
Jose Napoles was nicknamed "Mantequilla" (Spanish for "Butter") because of his incredibly smooth, fluid, and skillful style in the ring. Nápoles was a two-time world welterweight champion, won 81 fights (54 by knockout), and is considered one of the greatest boxers in history, inducted into both the Ring Boxing Hall of Fame and the International Boxing Hall of Fame.
''I was described as 'pound for pound, the greatest fighter of all time.' That phrase has been like part of my name whenever I'm introduced anywhere. My ego enjoys it, but it wasn't my accomplishment. God gave me the gift. I'm a blessed man, a chosen man. As a boy, I wanted to be a doctor, but that dream ended when I quit school in the ninth grade. Another dream began: to be a gladiator.''
"The Mormon Mauler" Gene Fullmer, one of the toughest and strongest middleweights in history, fighting Gene Fullmer was like being strong-armed by a Rhinoceros.
Naoya Inoue made sure everyone in Las Vegas knew why he carries that nickname on June 19, 2021 when he destroyed Michael Dasmarinas in the third round.
Inoue (21-0, 18 KOs) dropped Dasmarinas (30-3-1, 20 KOs) in the second round with a body shot, then followed it up with two more brutal body shot knockdowns in the third. After the third knockdown, with Dasmarinas screaming out in pain, the referee called a stop to the fight.
Inoue’s win served as the main event of a Top Rank card from Virgin Hotels Las Vegas. He successfully defended his WBA and IBF world titles with his quick win over Dasmarinas, who was overmatched from the start.
Inoue, of Japan, was excited to fight in front of a crowd in Las Vegas.
“It’s a little bit different from Japan,” he said. “But I feel that it was more festive here, with the crowd.”
Rex Layne, 1950s heavyweight contender. Rex Layne was known for a crowd-pleasing, aggressive, "ploughboy" style, characterized by a willingness to trade punches, a good right hand, and knockout power, a hard-hitting, courageous fighter. He's probably best remembered for losing to the great Rocky Marciano, who didn't lose to Marciano, but Layne was a good fighter and a forgotten warrior, holds wins over Ezzard Charles, Jersey Joe Walcott, and Bob Satterfield. This is one of the most savage boxing photos ever taken, Rex Layne with blood all over his face, landing a body shot on Jersey Joe Walcott during their fight in November of 1950.
Time for a quote from Fritzie Zivic, a real "take no prisoners" fighter. Great shot of him, you can see the dent in his nose where it was broken and the scars underneath his eyes from the many ring wars. This is the face of a prizefighter, it's absolutely beautiful, his face reminds me of the Ancient Greek sculpture "Boxer at Rest" with the wounds on it's face. Zivic's face deserves it's own sculpture.
''Us dirty fighters don't make any bones about being dirty fighters. It's like I told General Phelan, the New York Commissioner, when he was conducting a hearing the day after my fight with Bummy Davis. In the first round Davis had looked at the clock to see how much time there was and I clipped him, knocked him down. He blew his stack and the next round came out and hit me low about 16 times till they stopped the fight and disqualified him. At the hearing Davis told General Phelan I thumbed him. 'Zivic', said the General, 'what do you have to say?'
'General,' I said, 'I'm going to be very frank with you. I deny that I thumbed him for the reason that I didn't have to. I knocked him down in the first round and it was an easy fight. But I'll be honest about it - if Davis would have given me a beating I would have thumbed him. I would have hit him low. I would have taken every advantage I could. I grew up in a tough neighborhood and was taught to fight one way.'
'Davis', said the General, 'We fine you $2,500 and suspend you indefinitely in New York State.''
Andrew Golota, Polish heavyweight in the 1990s, so much potential, a real warrior, just couldn't win the fight going on in his mind.
He completed a successful amateur career in 1988 by winning a heavyweight bronze medal at the Seoul Olympics. He arrived overweight and had to shed five pounds to make the limit, but later recalled the athletes’ village cafeteria as one of his fondest memories. “It was the best cafeteria I have ever seen,” he said twenty years later. “They had everything there.”
That medal was supposed to be the full stop on his boxing career. After marrying an American woman in 1990, Golota settled in Chicago, became a father and trained as a truck driver. In the meantime, he returned to boxing at a local gym, where his size and skill quickly attracted attention. A professional contract soon followed.
By 1995, Golota was an unbeaten heavyweight contender. Technically adept and powerfully built, he was dominating Samson Po’uha in Atlantic City when he bit his opponent on the shoulder in the fourth round. The referee overlooked the offence and Golota stopped Po’uha in the fifth – an early sign of the erratic behaviour that would define his career.
That volatility reached its peak against Riddick Bowe in December 1996. Though Bowe was heavily favoured, Golota outboxed him for long spells before repeatedly striking him low. Still ahead on points, Golota continued to foul and was disqualified. Chaos followed, spilling into the crowd, and his adviser Lou Duva was hospitalised during the melee.
A rematch ended in near-identical fashion, Golota disqualified again while ahead on the cards. “I can’t defend him,” Duva said. “I wish I could. I can’t explain it. I said, ‘Andrew, you’re winning the fight. Just get out there and box.’ What made him do what he did, I don’t know.”
Despite those implosions, Golota remained a leading contender. A world-title challenge against Lennox Lewis in 1997 ended in a 95-second knockout defeat. Further chances followed — against Mike Tyson, Chris Byrd and John Ruiz — but Golota never claimed a world title. His career ended as it was lived: full of talent, controversy and squandered opportunity.
Andrew Golota had two fights with Riddick Bowe in 1996, and he was outboxing Bowe both times, winning both fights, and both times Golota went off the rails mentally and hit Bowe downstairs, getting disqualified twice. These incidents earned Golota the nickname "The Foul Pole." The first fight got real ugly, members of Riddick Bowe's team attacked Andrew Golota and his corner after Golota was disqualified for the low blows, leading to a massive brawl in the ring and surrounding area, with Bowe's manager Rock Newman and associates storming in and assaulting Golota, injuring his trainer Lou Duva, and causing a riot at Madison Square Garden.
The Fight City
Boxiana
July 11, 1996: Bowe vs Golota I
By: David Como
Golota gets eleven stitches, his head smashed open with a two-way radio. His trainer, 74-year-old Lou Duva, leaves the ring on a stretcher and is taken to hospital. More than twenty others injured, fourteen arrested. Mayor Rudy Giuliani sequestered for his own safety in Golota’s dressing room. Riddick Bowe with an icepack between his legs. A riot in the Garden, and it’s ugly all around.
Six years earlier, Andrew Golota comes to the United States from Poland, fleeing prosecution for charges stemming from a bar brawl. Though he’s racked-up over a hundred wins as an amateur and won the bronze medal in the 1988 Seoul Olympics, Golota has no intention of becoming a professional boxer. He gets married, moves to Chicago, plans to work as a truck-driver.
Raised in the Warsaw ghetto, Golota grew up hard, tough, a street fighter. This is what he knows, and it calls to him. Eventually he’s drawn back into the ring and turns pro in 1992. He wins all eight of his fights that year, seven by knockout.
To Bowe’s surprise, Golota gave the former champ plenty of trouble.
He continues on like this, mowing down opponents. A beast in the ring, great jab, brutal power. Despite his unbeaten record, he doesn’t gain significant attention until his match with Samson Po’uha in 1995. He wins the fight by TKO in the fifth round after knocking his opponent down five times, but the bout also shows Golota’s reckless nature: after taking a series of hard shots, in desperation he resorts to biting Po’uha on the neck. He’s later heard saying to his trainer between rounds, “I had to bite the motherfucker.”
A year later, against Danell Nicholson, a frustrated Golota delivers one of the nastiest intentional headbutts in the history of the sport. He goes on to win despite the blatant foul, stopping Nicholson in the eighth. With a 28-0 record that includes twenty-four knockouts, Golota is becoming recognized, but perhaps as much for his viciousness as his boxing skill.
Meanwhile, Riddick Bowe has just won a rubber match against Evander Holyfield by eighth round knockout. Bowe is the top heavyweight in the world, loving the lifestyle, the fame and all that comes with it. He is a powerful fighter, huge, strong, talented, but he lacks dedication. His weight fluctuates, something he has struggled with for years. He prefers traveling the country in his promotional “Bowe Bus” to working out, hitting barbecue joints rather than the gym.
Golota just couldn’t resist aiming for Bowe’s crown jewels.
When the match against Golota is proposed, Bowe snaps it up, viewing the big Pole as an easy payday, a “bum” he doesn’t need to train for. Golota himself is hungry, pegged as a 12-to-1 underdog, determined to show Riddick Bowe and the rest of the boxing world that he is not to be taken lightly.
There is a charged atmosphere in Madison Square Garden the night of Bowe vs Golota, the former champion’s home town supporters out in big numbers. Meanwhile, Golota, the first Polish boxer to reach this level in the heavyweight division, also draws many fans. There is tension in the crowd even before the first bell, lines drawn, both racial and nationalist.
Wanting to keep things civil, and aware of Golota’s penchant for dirty fighting, referee Wayne Kelly speaks to the underdog in his dressing room before the fight. Golota tells him, “I do what I have to do to win.”
Riddick Bowe enters the ring at a career-high 252 pounds, and he looks slow, his defense terrible. From the outset Golota is attacking, getting off first, scoring with the jab and outworking “Big Daddy.” Bowe steadily slips behind on the cards; it’s Golota’s fight all the way. He looks comfortable, belongs there. Which is what makes his self-destruction so frustrating to watch.
Golota is winning the fight, controlling Bowe, and yet he chooses to slam shots below the belt, repeatedly. He’s warned by the referee three times for low blows before being docked his first point. Is it that street mentality, that do-what-you-got-to-do mindset that makes him want to foul Bowe? Or is it a desire to hurt his cocky opponent, to punish him, to teach him a lesson? Either way, Golota ends up being docked another two points for low blows before referee Wayne Kelley tells him that if he hits Bowe with one more shot south of the border, he’ll be hitting the showers.
Bowe down from yet another low blow.
Inexplicably, in the seventh round, while ahead handily on the scorecards and almost assured the victory, Golota delivers yet another shot to Bowe’s testicles, a hard left uppercut. Riddick falls to the canvas in sections, grimacing, his gloves between his legs. Golota is disqualified.
The Garden erupts as Bowe’s handlers charge across the ring. A member of his security staff, Jason Harris, breaks a two-way radio over Golota’s head. Lou Duva grabs his chest and hits the mat, his heart giving out. The ring is stormed from all sides. The crowd, angered at the non-result of the fight, the empty payoff, start climbing over the ropes. The ones remaining in the stands direct their frustrations on each other. It’s madness in every direction.
And the melee begins.
Viewers at home hear George Foreman, providing commentary for HBO, calmly reasoning with rioters: “Don’t do it, son … don’t do that … I know you want to, it’s going to be alright. It’s going to be alright.”
Things get way out, long gone, wild. Everyone’s throwing punches now, kicks too. It’s all emotion, the animal instinct that motivates the boxer but which is reined in by the rules of the sport, is now let loose through the stadium, wreaking havoc, possessing the crowd, waves of sick, brutal energy shooting off.
It takes police half an hour to get things under control. Some go to jail, some to the hospital. But there remains that feeling of unfinished business, of unfulfilled expectation. And so the rematch takes place on December 14 of the same year. And Golota is once again disqualified for low-blows. Madness.
Nothing good comes to either man after this. The two fights mark them, shake them up, and they never regain the momentum they had.
In the rematch, Golota again loses by DQ for low blows.
In his next match, Golota is knocked out in less than two minutes by Lennox Lewis. Naturally, he isn’t offered any significant fights for a while and when he is, versus Michael Grant in 1999, he is stopped again. He later loses to Mike Tyson, John Ruiz and Lamon Brewster, and spirals downward to obscurity …
Bowe goes out in a somewhat more spectacular, and saddening, fashion. After the second fight with Golota, he quits the sport of boxing to join the Marine Corps, only to drop out after three days. Upon returning to civilian life he’s accused of beating his sister. He then kidnaps his wife and children at knifepoint and tries to take them to Maryland. He’s arrested again in 2001, domestic dispute with the wife again. It’s speculated that all these bizarre actions may be attributable to brain damage, resulting from the punishment he received in the ring. It’s all badness, darkness.
July 11, 1996. The night Bowe and Golota will always be remembered for, and the beginning of the end for both.
Andrew Golota was unbelievably disqualified for low blows for a SECOND time against Riddick Bowe at the Convention Center in Atlantic City, New Jersey on December 14th in 1996.
Their first fight ended in disqualification when Golota repeatedly hit Bowe below the belt, which sparked a massive brawl at Madison Square Garden. Bowe had only lost one time, though he appeared on his way to a bad loss against Golota the first time before it all went to hell.
This time the fight was fought more on even terms, even it almost went that way by accident. Golota knocked Bowe down in round 2, but then got careless in round 4 and hit the deck himself. Golota also lost points in both of those rounds for different fouls: in the 2nd he headbutted Bowe, which cut his own eyebrow, and in the 4th he started with the insane low blows.
Golota seemed to be wearing Bowe down as the ex-champion looked exhausted and beaten up. Then in the 9th round, Golota appeared to glance at the referee and hit Bowe low once again. This time he connected with a combination to Bowe's nether regions, leading to an immediate disqualification.
"I can't defend him," said Golota's trainer Lou Duva. "I wish I could. I can't explain it."
Looking back at the Bowe-Golota fights, Bowe was past his prime in both fights, the wars with Holyfield took a lot out of him and you could tell, his reaction time wasn't there any more. Golata was damn good when he was at his best, he was one rough customer. As to why Golota went crazy in both fights, it was a mix of frustration, psychological instability, and the inability to handle the pressure. Nevertheless, the fights were entertaining and had their moments, it's a shame they went south, pun intended.
Just to elaborate on it, if Bowe and Golota were to fight prime for prime, assuming Golota keeps his mind and doesn't go crazy, I think Golota would give Bowe a good tussle, but I just can't see Golota beating a prime Bowe, a prime Bowe was no joke, a technically sound assassin of a heavyweight, one of the best jabs in boxing history, good power, chin, the heart of a warrior, there's a reason Bowe was only beaten once in his prime, he was that damn great. If Bowe doesn't outright stop him he wins a unanimous decision.
It's a shame about Andrew Golota, he was a technically skilled heavyweight with speed, power, good fundamentals, and an aggressive style, but was notoriously derailed by mental fragility, making him a "what if" talent with immense potential but a lack of discipline under pressure. He combined solid boxing skills with raw ferocity, but his inability to control his emotions cost him major victories. He gained a reputation as a loose cannon and this magazine cover says it all about Golota.
Andrew Golota vs John "The Quiet Man" Ruiz in 2004, Ruiz defeated Andrew Golota by unanimous decision retaining his WBA Heavyweight title at Madison Square Garden, despite Ruiz being knocked down twice in the second round and having his trainer ejected, with many considering it a controversial decision. Ruiz earned his nickname due to his reserved, laid-back personality and quiet demeanor in the ring, a stark contrast to the often flamboyant boxing world and the loud antics of his trainer, Norman "Stoney" Stone. Despite his calm presence, he was a tenacious fighter known for his determination, though sometimes criticized for a less exciting, clinch-heavy fighting style that matched his quiet persona. Ruiz is probably best remembered for getting sparked by David Tua but Ruiz was a sneaky good fighter, solid technician with a lot of heart.
Andrew Golota defeated Kevin McBride via technical knockout (TKO) in the sixth round on October 6, 2007, at Madison Square Garden, winning the inaugural IBF North American Heavyweight title in a hard-fought bout where Golota overcame an early scare to stop McBride after opening a cut over his eye. McBride, famous for ending Mike Tyson's career, started strong but couldn't finish Golota, who rallied with effective punching to secure the stoppage.
Andrew Golota was always hyper-aggressive and that hyper aggression made him one of the most entertaining HWs of the 90s. But one thing about him, he was a dirty fighter, he would head-butt you, bite you, and of course hit you below the belt, and Golota admitted as much.
''I'm called a dirty fighter, but I don't agree. A fight is a fight, not day care.''
Andrew Golota vs Chris Byrd in 2004, you can see what it was like trying to deal with an aggressive man the size of Golota. Byrd was a very slick defensive fighter, good fighter, this fight ended in a split draw.
Andrew Golota defeated Mike Mollo by unanimous decision (UD) in a 12-round heavyweight fight on January 19, 2008, at Madison Square Garden, winning the WBA Fedelatin title. Golota, despite suffering a severely closed left eye, used his jab and power to outpoint the younger Mollo, with judges scoring it 116-110, 116-112, and 118-109. This was one of Golota's best fights and really showed how good he could be when at his best, winning that fight despite having a grotesquely closed eye.
Andrew Golota in his younger days, at the beginning of his career. It should be noted that Andrew Golota was involved in a violent incident in Poland in 1990 and later faced legal repercussions for it. In 1990, Golota, then 22 years old and an amateur boxer, was involved in a "disco brawl" in Włocławek, Poland, where he reportedly assaulted a man. Reports indicate he beat a man, causing injuries, and allegedly took his shoes and jeans. Facing charges of assault and robbery, Golota fled Poland for the United States in 1991 to avoid a potential five-year prison sentence. In 1998, Golota returned to Poland to face these charges and was ultimately fined $7,000 in the case.
Ok, one more photo and I'll move on from Golota, I honestly loved watching the guy fight when he had his mind straight, his aggression, technical skills, and power were fun to watch, it made for exciting fights. This is my favorite image of him.
Comments
Great article about Freddie Miller defending his featherweight title on the road.
Yesterday’s Heroes: Cincinnati’s world champion Freddy Miller still holds a curious record
American Freddy Miller loved nothing more than defending his world title in the UK, writes Miles Templeton
By: Miles Templeton
12th December, 2023
Freddie Miller (right) and Joe Connelly fight at the Blackfriars Ring, January 1935
I’LL BET there aren’t many around who could name the foreign world champion who had the most contests in the UK while still holding the title. The answer is Freddie Miller of Cincinnati, USA. Freddie won the world featherweight title in Chicago in June 1933 by beating Tommy Paul. He finally lost the title in 1936, after defending it successfully 12 times, to Petey Sarron.
In 1934 Freddie came to the UK to defend his title against Liverpool great, Nel Tarleton, at the Stadium in Nella’s home city. Tarleton, along with Ernie Roderick and Ginger Foran, was one of the ‘big three’ in Liverpool at that time and many fancied him to beat the American. The late Vic Hardwicke, who many readers will remember as a major contributor to Ron Olver’s column 30 or 40 years ago, rated Tarleton as the best fighter he had seen. Miller easily outpointed the Liverpudlian in what was only his third 15-round contest. Back in the States, most of Miller’s bouts, including those for the title, were fought over 10 rounds.
In the 1930s it was commonplace for champions to engage in many non-title bouts in between their defences. Not only was it a good way of staying in shape but it also offered money-making opportunity with no risk. There were many in Britain and Europe who wanted to see the American and so, over the course of the next nine months he boxed on 33 more occasions, with 22 of them taking place in the UK and Ireland.
Only four days after defeating Tarleton for the world title Miller appeared at Belle Vue, Manchester, to outpoint Welshman, Billy Hazell, over 10-threes. This set the pattern for an extremely active tour. Freddie only lost two of these contests, by disqualification against Billy Gannon at Manchester, and a points defeat at the hands of Maurice Holtzer in Paris.
In June 1935, just a month before he sailed back home, he defeated Tarleton again in a title contest, this time less convincingly, for Nel fought his heart out, only to lose out on a tight verdict. During his tour, Miller also fought at the Blackfriars Ring, where he was very popular, Birmingham, Glasgow, Belfast and at the Royal Albert Hall. His final contest over here was a sensational two-round knockout of ex-British champion, Seaman Tommy Watson, back in Liverpool, at Anfield football ground. BN reported that the finish “came in the shape of a punch of which fighters dream. It was a left cross to the jaw. It didn’t land a fraction of an inch too high, and it didn’t land a fraction of an inch too low. It just landed where it was meant to land, on the fatal spot.”
Once he had lost his title to Sarron, Miller continued to barnstorm his way around America and then, in 1938 he returned to the UK again for a second tour. Just like the first time he had his first and his last contest in Liverpool, a place he really enjoyed. Starting out with a 12-round decision over Billy Charlton at the Stadium, he won all 12 over here, with wins at Leicester, Bristol, Swansea, Edinburgh, Newcastle and the Isle of Man. This latter contest was at the Villa Marina Ballroom in Douglas and Miller beat Tommy Tune, a competent fighter but no more than that, from Barnsley. The contest failed to make the pages of BN, which, given Miller’s status, is hard to believe. The bout was not recorded in the annual Ring Record Book right up until the 1980s and I unearthed it at the British Library some years ago.
Miller’s last bout over here was a 10-round decision over Johnny King, that wonderful Manchester fighter. The verdict was unpopular with the Liverpool fans as they thought King had nicked it.
Miller died from a heart attack at the young age of 51 in 1962. A great champion and well loved by British fans.
Freddie Miller defeated Panama Al Brown via a 10-round unanimous decision in Paris, France, on Christmas Eve, 1934, in a non-title featherweight bout between two boxing globetrotters, with the slippery southpaw Miller controlling the technical contest against the former bantamweight champion Brown. The legendary Panama Al Brown was one of the greatest and most intimidating fighters in boxing history. Panama Al Brown was Bantamweight champion for six years, he was tall, had long arms and was physically imposing, looking at photos of Brown, he reminds me of a giant huntsman spider, big with a freakish wing span. I'll say this about Panama Al Brown, if I were a Bantamweight during his era, I would have legit dreaded having to step in the ring with him. Great shots from the fight.
Check out this photo of Freddie Miller and Panama Al Brown, my god look at the sheer size of Brown, the giant huntsman spider, what a great photo.
Freddie Miller (on the right) faces off with Petey Sarron. Love the way their faces look, two beasts, Miller and Sarron had a great rivalry.
Freddie Miller (on the left), South African referee "Tiny" St John Dean and Petey Sarron. This photo was taken for their fight in South Africa in September of 1937.
Freddie Miller and Nel Tarleton fought twice, with Miller winning both encounters in Liverpool for the World Featherweight Title, once in September 1934 and again in June 1935, both times by points. Two granite-chinned fighters, Tarleton was never knocked out in a 147 fights in a career that spanned 20-years, and Miller was stopped once in 248 fights.
Not many fight photos of Freddie Miller, and there's no known fight film of Miller, so let's get some photos of the man himself in here.
I would love to own the type 1 original photo of this image of Freddie Miller.
Nice exhibit card of Freddie Miller, these cards were purchased in vending type machines around the country in the 1920s through to the 1960s. You would insert a penny and the machine would give you a card of a boxer that was advertised on the front of the machine. If I'm not mistaken, most of them came with blank backs but some of them had postcard backs. They also had other sports exhibit cards as well, baseball, football, wrestling, etc.
Freddie Miller on the cover of The Ring magazine in December 1934 after winning the featherweight crown.
The southpaw Freddie Miller points to his left arm, the weapon that helped him clean out a division.
Epic photo of Muhammad Ali.
Jose Napoles was nicknamed "Mantequilla" (Spanish for "Butter") because of his incredibly smooth, fluid, and skillful style in the ring. Nápoles was a two-time world welterweight champion, won 81 fights (54 by knockout), and is considered one of the greatest boxers in history, inducted into both the Ring Boxing Hall of Fame and the International Boxing Hall of Fame.
''I was described as 'pound for pound, the greatest fighter of all time.' That phrase has been like part of my name whenever I'm introduced anywhere. My ego enjoys it, but it wasn't my accomplishment. God gave me the gift. I'm a blessed man, a chosen man. As a boy, I wanted to be a doctor, but that dream ended when I quit school in the ninth grade. Another dream began: to be a gladiator.''
"The Mormon Mauler" Gene Fullmer, one of the toughest and strongest middleweights in history, fighting Gene Fullmer was like being strong-armed by a Rhinoceros.
Speaking of Gene Fullmer, I found the photo that was used on his 2011 Ringside Boxing Round 2 card, cool stuff.
Don’t mess with "The Monster."
Naoya Inoue made sure everyone in Las Vegas knew why he carries that nickname on June 19, 2021 when he destroyed Michael Dasmarinas in the third round.
Inoue (21-0, 18 KOs) dropped Dasmarinas (30-3-1, 20 KOs) in the second round with a body shot, then followed it up with two more brutal body shot knockdowns in the third. After the third knockdown, with Dasmarinas screaming out in pain, the referee called a stop to the fight.
Inoue’s win served as the main event of a Top Rank card from Virgin Hotels Las Vegas. He successfully defended his WBA and IBF world titles with his quick win over Dasmarinas, who was overmatched from the start.
Inoue, of Japan, was excited to fight in front of a crowd in Las Vegas.
“It’s a little bit different from Japan,” he said. “But I feel that it was more festive here, with the crowd.”
Naoya Inoue destroys Michael Dasmarinas with three brutal body shots.
Rex Layne, 1950s heavyweight contender. Rex Layne was known for a crowd-pleasing, aggressive, "ploughboy" style, characterized by a willingness to trade punches, a good right hand, and knockout power, a hard-hitting, courageous fighter. He's probably best remembered for losing to the great Rocky Marciano, who didn't lose to Marciano, but Layne was a good fighter and a forgotten warrior, holds wins over Ezzard Charles, Jersey Joe Walcott, and Bob Satterfield. This is one of the most savage boxing photos ever taken, Rex Layne with blood all over his face, landing a body shot on Jersey Joe Walcott during their fight in November of 1950.
Time for a quote from Fritzie Zivic, a real "take no prisoners" fighter. Great shot of him, you can see the dent in his nose where it was broken and the scars underneath his eyes from the many ring wars. This is the face of a prizefighter, it's absolutely beautiful, his face reminds me of the Ancient Greek sculpture "Boxer at Rest" with the wounds on it's face. Zivic's face deserves it's own sculpture.
''Us dirty fighters don't make any bones about being dirty fighters. It's like I told General Phelan, the New York Commissioner, when he was conducting a hearing the day after my fight with Bummy Davis. In the first round Davis had looked at the clock to see how much time there was and I clipped him, knocked him down. He blew his stack and the next round came out and hit me low about 16 times till they stopped the fight and disqualified him. At the hearing Davis told General Phelan I thumbed him. 'Zivic', said the General, 'what do you have to say?'
'General,' I said, 'I'm going to be very frank with you. I deny that I thumbed him for the reason that I didn't have to. I knocked him down in the first round and it was an easy fight. But I'll be honest about it - if Davis would have given me a beating I would have thumbed him. I would have hit him low. I would have taken every advantage I could. I grew up in a tough neighborhood and was taught to fight one way.'
'Davis', said the General, 'We fine you $2,500 and suspend you indefinitely in New York State.''
Absolute masterpiece.
Music time, a classic.
Andrew Golota, Polish heavyweight in the 1990s, so much potential, a real warrior, just couldn't win the fight going on in his mind.
He completed a successful amateur career in 1988 by winning a heavyweight bronze medal at the Seoul Olympics. He arrived overweight and had to shed five pounds to make the limit, but later recalled the athletes’ village cafeteria as one of his fondest memories. “It was the best cafeteria I have ever seen,” he said twenty years later. “They had everything there.”
That medal was supposed to be the full stop on his boxing career. After marrying an American woman in 1990, Golota settled in Chicago, became a father and trained as a truck driver. In the meantime, he returned to boxing at a local gym, where his size and skill quickly attracted attention. A professional contract soon followed.
By 1995, Golota was an unbeaten heavyweight contender. Technically adept and powerfully built, he was dominating Samson Po’uha in Atlantic City when he bit his opponent on the shoulder in the fourth round. The referee overlooked the offence and Golota stopped Po’uha in the fifth – an early sign of the erratic behaviour that would define his career.
That volatility reached its peak against Riddick Bowe in December 1996. Though Bowe was heavily favoured, Golota outboxed him for long spells before repeatedly striking him low. Still ahead on points, Golota continued to foul and was disqualified. Chaos followed, spilling into the crowd, and his adviser Lou Duva was hospitalised during the melee.
A rematch ended in near-identical fashion, Golota disqualified again while ahead on the cards. “I can’t defend him,” Duva said. “I wish I could. I can’t explain it. I said, ‘Andrew, you’re winning the fight. Just get out there and box.’ What made him do what he did, I don’t know.”
Despite those implosions, Golota remained a leading contender. A world-title challenge against Lennox Lewis in 1997 ended in a 95-second knockout defeat. Further chances followed — against Mike Tyson, Chris Byrd and John Ruiz — but Golota never claimed a world title. His career ended as it was lived: full of talent, controversy and squandered opportunity.
Andrew Golota had two fights with Riddick Bowe in 1996, and he was outboxing Bowe both times, winning both fights, and both times Golota went off the rails mentally and hit Bowe downstairs, getting disqualified twice. These incidents earned Golota the nickname "The Foul Pole." The first fight got real ugly, members of Riddick Bowe's team attacked Andrew Golota and his corner after Golota was disqualified for the low blows, leading to a massive brawl in the ring and surrounding area, with Bowe's manager Rock Newman and associates storming in and assaulting Golota, injuring his trainer Lou Duva, and causing a riot at Madison Square Garden.
The Fight City
Boxiana
July 11, 1996: Bowe vs Golota I
By: David Como
Golota gets eleven stitches, his head smashed open with a two-way radio. His trainer, 74-year-old Lou Duva, leaves the ring on a stretcher and is taken to hospital. More than twenty others injured, fourteen arrested. Mayor Rudy Giuliani sequestered for his own safety in Golota’s dressing room. Riddick Bowe with an icepack between his legs. A riot in the Garden, and it’s ugly all around.
Six years earlier, Andrew Golota comes to the United States from Poland, fleeing prosecution for charges stemming from a bar brawl. Though he’s racked-up over a hundred wins as an amateur and won the bronze medal in the 1988 Seoul Olympics, Golota has no intention of becoming a professional boxer. He gets married, moves to Chicago, plans to work as a truck-driver.
Raised in the Warsaw ghetto, Golota grew up hard, tough, a street fighter. This is what he knows, and it calls to him. Eventually he’s drawn back into the ring and turns pro in 1992. He wins all eight of his fights that year, seven by knockout.
To Bowe’s surprise, Golota gave the former champ plenty of trouble.
He continues on like this, mowing down opponents. A beast in the ring, great jab, brutal power. Despite his unbeaten record, he doesn’t gain significant attention until his match with Samson Po’uha in 1995. He wins the fight by TKO in the fifth round after knocking his opponent down five times, but the bout also shows Golota’s reckless nature: after taking a series of hard shots, in desperation he resorts to biting Po’uha on the neck. He’s later heard saying to his trainer between rounds, “I had to bite the motherfucker.”
A year later, against Danell Nicholson, a frustrated Golota delivers one of the nastiest intentional headbutts in the history of the sport. He goes on to win despite the blatant foul, stopping Nicholson in the eighth. With a 28-0 record that includes twenty-four knockouts, Golota is becoming recognized, but perhaps as much for his viciousness as his boxing skill.
Meanwhile, Riddick Bowe has just won a rubber match against Evander Holyfield by eighth round knockout. Bowe is the top heavyweight in the world, loving the lifestyle, the fame and all that comes with it. He is a powerful fighter, huge, strong, talented, but he lacks dedication. His weight fluctuates, something he has struggled with for years. He prefers traveling the country in his promotional “Bowe Bus” to working out, hitting barbecue joints rather than the gym.
Golota just couldn’t resist aiming for Bowe’s crown jewels.
When the match against Golota is proposed, Bowe snaps it up, viewing the big Pole as an easy payday, a “bum” he doesn’t need to train for. Golota himself is hungry, pegged as a 12-to-1 underdog, determined to show Riddick Bowe and the rest of the boxing world that he is not to be taken lightly.
There is a charged atmosphere in Madison Square Garden the night of Bowe vs Golota, the former champion’s home town supporters out in big numbers. Meanwhile, Golota, the first Polish boxer to reach this level in the heavyweight division, also draws many fans. There is tension in the crowd even before the first bell, lines drawn, both racial and nationalist.
Wanting to keep things civil, and aware of Golota’s penchant for dirty fighting, referee Wayne Kelly speaks to the underdog in his dressing room before the fight. Golota tells him, “I do what I have to do to win.”
Riddick Bowe enters the ring at a career-high 252 pounds, and he looks slow, his defense terrible. From the outset Golota is attacking, getting off first, scoring with the jab and outworking “Big Daddy.” Bowe steadily slips behind on the cards; it’s Golota’s fight all the way. He looks comfortable, belongs there. Which is what makes his self-destruction so frustrating to watch.
Golota is winning the fight, controlling Bowe, and yet he chooses to slam shots below the belt, repeatedly. He’s warned by the referee three times for low blows before being docked his first point. Is it that street mentality, that do-what-you-got-to-do mindset that makes him want to foul Bowe? Or is it a desire to hurt his cocky opponent, to punish him, to teach him a lesson? Either way, Golota ends up being docked another two points for low blows before referee Wayne Kelley tells him that if he hits Bowe with one more shot south of the border, he’ll be hitting the showers.
Bowe down from yet another low blow.
Inexplicably, in the seventh round, while ahead handily on the scorecards and almost assured the victory, Golota delivers yet another shot to Bowe’s testicles, a hard left uppercut. Riddick falls to the canvas in sections, grimacing, his gloves between his legs. Golota is disqualified.
The Garden erupts as Bowe’s handlers charge across the ring. A member of his security staff, Jason Harris, breaks a two-way radio over Golota’s head. Lou Duva grabs his chest and hits the mat, his heart giving out. The ring is stormed from all sides. The crowd, angered at the non-result of the fight, the empty payoff, start climbing over the ropes. The ones remaining in the stands direct their frustrations on each other. It’s madness in every direction.
And the melee begins.
Viewers at home hear George Foreman, providing commentary for HBO, calmly reasoning with rioters: “Don’t do it, son … don’t do that … I know you want to, it’s going to be alright. It’s going to be alright.”
Things get way out, long gone, wild. Everyone’s throwing punches now, kicks too. It’s all emotion, the animal instinct that motivates the boxer but which is reined in by the rules of the sport, is now let loose through the stadium, wreaking havoc, possessing the crowd, waves of sick, brutal energy shooting off.
It takes police half an hour to get things under control. Some go to jail, some to the hospital. But there remains that feeling of unfinished business, of unfulfilled expectation. And so the rematch takes place on December 14 of the same year. And Golota is once again disqualified for low-blows. Madness.
Nothing good comes to either man after this. The two fights mark them, shake them up, and they never regain the momentum they had.
In the rematch, Golota again loses by DQ for low blows.
In his next match, Golota is knocked out in less than two minutes by Lennox Lewis. Naturally, he isn’t offered any significant fights for a while and when he is, versus Michael Grant in 1999, he is stopped again. He later loses to Mike Tyson, John Ruiz and Lamon Brewster, and spirals downward to obscurity …
Bowe goes out in a somewhat more spectacular, and saddening, fashion. After the second fight with Golota, he quits the sport of boxing to join the Marine Corps, only to drop out after three days. Upon returning to civilian life he’s accused of beating his sister. He then kidnaps his wife and children at knifepoint and tries to take them to Maryland. He’s arrested again in 2001, domestic dispute with the wife again. It’s speculated that all these bizarre actions may be attributable to brain damage, resulting from the punishment he received in the ring. It’s all badness, darkness.
July 11, 1996. The night Bowe and Golota will always be remembered for, and the beginning of the end for both.
Riddick Bowe down from the low blows.
The cover of The Ring magazine after the first Bowe-Golota fight.
Andrew Golota was unbelievably disqualified for low blows for a SECOND time against Riddick Bowe at the Convention Center in Atlantic City, New Jersey on December 14th in 1996.
Their first fight ended in disqualification when Golota repeatedly hit Bowe below the belt, which sparked a massive brawl at Madison Square Garden. Bowe had only lost one time, though he appeared on his way to a bad loss against Golota the first time before it all went to hell.
This time the fight was fought more on even terms, even it almost went that way by accident. Golota knocked Bowe down in round 2, but then got careless in round 4 and hit the deck himself. Golota also lost points in both of those rounds for different fouls: in the 2nd he headbutted Bowe, which cut his own eyebrow, and in the 4th he started with the insane low blows.
Golota seemed to be wearing Bowe down as the ex-champion looked exhausted and beaten up. Then in the 9th round, Golota appeared to glance at the referee and hit Bowe low once again. This time he connected with a combination to Bowe's nether regions, leading to an immediate disqualification.
"I can't defend him," said Golota's trainer Lou Duva. "I wish I could. I can't explain it."
A program from the second Bowe-Golota fight.
Looking back at the Bowe-Golota fights, Bowe was past his prime in both fights, the wars with Holyfield took a lot out of him and you could tell, his reaction time wasn't there any more. Golata was damn good when he was at his best, he was one rough customer. As to why Golota went crazy in both fights, it was a mix of frustration, psychological instability, and the inability to handle the pressure. Nevertheless, the fights were entertaining and had their moments, it's a shame they went south, pun intended.
This was the scene after the first Bowe-Golota fight, pure chaos.
Epic photo of Golota and Bowe. I could make a joke about this photo, about how sausage goes good with eggs, but I'm not.
Just to elaborate on it, if Bowe and Golota were to fight prime for prime, assuming Golota keeps his mind and doesn't go crazy, I think Golota would give Bowe a good tussle, but I just can't see Golota beating a prime Bowe, a prime Bowe was no joke, a technically sound assassin of a heavyweight, one of the best jabs in boxing history, good power, chin, the heart of a warrior, there's a reason Bowe was only beaten once in his prime, he was that damn great. If Bowe doesn't outright stop him he wins a unanimous decision.
It's a shame about Andrew Golota, he was a technically skilled heavyweight with speed, power, good fundamentals, and an aggressive style, but was notoriously derailed by mental fragility, making him a "what if" talent with immense potential but a lack of discipline under pressure. He combined solid boxing skills with raw ferocity, but his inability to control his emotions cost him major victories. He gained a reputation as a loose cannon and this magazine cover says it all about Golota.
A few photos of Andrew Golota.
Andrew Golota vs John "The Quiet Man" Ruiz in 2004, Ruiz defeated Andrew Golota by unanimous decision retaining his WBA Heavyweight title at Madison Square Garden, despite Ruiz being knocked down twice in the second round and having his trainer ejected, with many considering it a controversial decision. Ruiz earned his nickname due to his reserved, laid-back personality and quiet demeanor in the ring, a stark contrast to the often flamboyant boxing world and the loud antics of his trainer, Norman "Stoney" Stone. Despite his calm presence, he was a tenacious fighter known for his determination, though sometimes criticized for a less exciting, clinch-heavy fighting style that matched his quiet persona. Ruiz is probably best remembered for getting sparked by David Tua but Ruiz was a sneaky good fighter, solid technician with a lot of heart.
Andrew Golota pounds Marcus Rhode in 2000, knocking him out in round 3.
Andrew Golota defeated Kevin McBride via technical knockout (TKO) in the sixth round on October 6, 2007, at Madison Square Garden, winning the inaugural IBF North American Heavyweight title in a hard-fought bout where Golota overcame an early scare to stop McBride after opening a cut over his eye. McBride, famous for ending Mike Tyson's career, started strong but couldn't finish Golota, who rallied with effective punching to secure the stoppage.
Great photo showing the sheer size of Golota.
Andrew Golota was always hyper-aggressive and that hyper aggression made him one of the most entertaining HWs of the 90s. But one thing about him, he was a dirty fighter, he would head-butt you, bite you, and of course hit you below the belt, and Golota admitted as much.
''I'm called a dirty fighter, but I don't agree. A fight is a fight, not day care.''
Andrew Golota vs Chris Byrd in 2004, you can see what it was like trying to deal with an aggressive man the size of Golota. Byrd was a very slick defensive fighter, good fighter, this fight ended in a split draw.
Andrew Golota defeated Mike Mollo by unanimous decision (UD) in a 12-round heavyweight fight on January 19, 2008, at Madison Square Garden, winning the WBA Fedelatin title. Golota, despite suffering a severely closed left eye, used his jab and power to outpoint the younger Mollo, with judges scoring it 116-110, 116-112, and 118-109. This was one of Golota's best fights and really showed how good he could be when at his best, winning that fight despite having a grotesquely closed eye.
Savage photo of Andrew Golota, Gladiator days.
Andrew Golota in his younger days, at the beginning of his career. It should be noted that Andrew Golota was involved in a violent incident in Poland in 1990 and later faced legal repercussions for it. In 1990, Golota, then 22 years old and an amateur boxer, was involved in a "disco brawl" in Włocławek, Poland, where he reportedly assaulted a man. Reports indicate he beat a man, causing injuries, and allegedly took his shoes and jeans. Facing charges of assault and robbery, Golota fled Poland for the United States in 1991 to avoid a potential five-year prison sentence. In 1998, Golota returned to Poland to face these charges and was ultimately fined $7,000 in the case.
Andrew Golota at the 1988 Seoul Olympics, he won a Bronze medal in the heavyweight division.
Another savage image of Golota.
Wicked shot of Golota, he had an intimidating stare.
Great images of Golota.
Ok, one more photo and I'll move on from Golota, I honestly loved watching the guy fight when he had his mind straight, his aggression, technical skills, and power were fun to watch, it made for exciting fights. This is my favorite image of him.
Andrew Golota, Polish warrior. Watching this video, man, 6'4", 240lbs, his punches had some serious thunder in them.