The Bowe–Golota Fight Ended. The Violence Spread.

Riddick Bowe won at Madison Square Garden on July 11, 1996, while down on the canvas after another low blow. Referee Wayne Kelly disqualified Andrew Golota in the seventh round. As Kelly signaled the end, Bowe’s manager, Rock Newman, climbed through the ropes and gestured at Golota. Within moments, the ring was filling with people punching and kicking. The fighting spread into the stands.

Golota had been controlling the bout, repeatedly putting Bowe in trouble. But he had also accumulated three penalty points for low blows before the final punch below the belt. The disqualification gave Bowe the victory and Golota his first defeat after 28 wins. It did not bring the violence to an end.

“You just can’t let a fighter foul another fighter like that,” Newman said afterward. Golota left the ring with cuts on the back and top of his head after being struck with a walkie-talkie. Contemporaneous reports differed over who wielded the device: one described Bernard Brooks Jr. swinging it at Golota, while Brooks Jr. said he was defending his father; the next day, police identified Jason Harris as the man who struck Golota with it.

Garden security could not keep spectators from entering the ring. Chairs and debris were thrown, and a young man in a wheelchair was knocked over. Police arrived several minutes after the stoppage but also struggled to break up the fights. More than half an hour passed before order was restored and the building was evacuated.

Ring announcer Michael Buffer said tensions had risen between the sixth and seventh rounds. “You could hear people yelling ‘You’re hurting my fighter,’” he said. “When it ended there was a wave of humanity. I didn’t even try to get in the ring. There was no security ringside.”

Golota’s 74-year-old trainer, Lou Duva, was carried out on a stretcher with an oxygen mask on his face. He was taken to NYU Medical Center with chest pains and admitted after a night under observation. Bowe said afterward, “I’m fine.” Golota was not available for comment.

At a news conference the next day, police commissioner Howard Safir said 16 arrests had been made, including four members of Bowe’s entourage. Harris, who surrendered to police that day, was charged with second-degree assault and criminal possession of a weapon. Safir said investigators were reviewing tapes and that more arrests were possible. He attributed the riot to people rushing across the ring from Bowe’s corner toward Golota.

Newman held a separate news conference and apologized for the actions of “all those participants in the uncivilized-like behavior.” He also said Bowe wanted a rematch. Madison Square Garden president Dave Checketts said there was no way the two would meet again in the Garden.