Polish heavyweight Andrew Golota (41-6-1, 33 KOs) continued with his successful comeback effort when he defeated prospect Mike Molla (19-2, 12 KOs) by a 12-round unanimous decision to win the World Boxing Association Fedelatin heavyweight title on Saturday night to win the Madison Square Garden, in New York City, New York. Golota, now 40 years-old, had his left eye completely swollen shut by the 7th round, but it didn’t matter much, as he had more than enough skills to pound out the 12-round decision over the completely spent 27 year-old Molla. The final judges’ scores were 116-110, 116-112 and 118-109, all for Golota.

In the first round, Molla jumped all over Golota, hitting him with a massive flurry of shuts, mostly to the body. However, when Golota remained standing, Molla had no idea what do do next, and spent most of the remaining rounds constantly clinching Golota and doing little else. It didn’t help matter that Molla was completely exhausted after trying to score a knockout in the 1st round, and was only rarely able to throw occasional shots after that point. Mostly, Molla looked like an unskilled fighter from one of the toughman or MMA contests, as he was in no type of condition to fight beyond three rounds.

Most of his wins have come against C-level fighters in the first couple of rounds, so when Golota went beyond his comfort level, Molla was far too tired to continue fighting competitively. Other than that, Golota looked huge compared to Molla, absorbing his shots well and showing worse for the wear aside from his left eye.

In the 2nd round, Golota, who looked much slower than he was 10 years ago when he was in his prime for his two bouts against Riddick Bowe, began tagging Molla with big right hands and hooks the body, snapping his head back from the force of the blows. Molla was still landing occasional shots, but none of them had any effect on Golota, who seemed to be a like a mountain next to the much smaller Molla. At the end of the round, Golota hit Molla with a flurry of hard, mostly right hands. The punches were brutal, and Molla seemed to wither under the force of the blows.

Golota would continue to trade shots with Molla in rounds three and four, out-slugging him at close quarters where Molla seemed to be most comfortable. Unlike most tall heavyweights, Golota proved to be an excellent inside fighter, throwing uppercuts, hooks and short right hands to the head of Molla. In this round, Molla began initiating a lot of clinches, as he looked totally winded from the action. Golota’s left eye began closing quickly during the round.

In rounds six through eight, there Golota continued to pound away at Molla, ripping him with short combinations and battering him from both the inside and outside. Whenever they would get close, Golota began to lean on the smaller Molla and rap him up in headlocks. Much of this was Golota trying to get even with Molla for the dirty tricks he was using on the inside, such as hitting on the break. Golota seemed totally fine with the roughhouse tactics, as it enabled him to use his won when he had the inclination.

Near the end of the 9th round, Golota hammered Molla with a series of big hands, sending him staggering to his corner at the end of the round. By this time, it was all Golota, as Molla was too tired to offer up much resistance other than some short, weak body shots in the round.

In the 10th round, Golota continued to lean on Molla when in close, trying to tire him out further. He hardly seemed to need to, as Molla looked like he could have been dropped by a stiff breeze by this point in the fight. Again, near the end of the round, Golota landed several big right hands, that hurt Molla and him staggering at the end of the round.

In rounds 11 and 12, Golota worked over an exhausted Molla, hitting him with short right hands and hooks to the side of the head. Molla was gasping for breath much of the time, looking as if he’d just completed a series of long wind sprints. He tried to land a few shots, but Molla seemed to tired to raise his hands above his waist except for when he grab Golota in a clinch, which was fairly often. The outcome was never in doubt past the 1st round, for Molla didn’t belong in the same ring as a fighter of Golota’s class.

Afterwards, and angry Golota had this to say, “I hope nobody ever calls me a quitter again.” The victory keeps alive Golota’s hopes for another title shot. He’s failed on three previous occasions, losing to Lennox Lewis, John Ruiz and Lamon Brewster.