[0] BOWE BREAKS WHEN GOLOTA GOES TOO LOW : RIOT IN RING ERUPTS, DUVA INJURED.

Byline: Ed Schuyler Jr. Associated Press 

Riddick Bowe, the winner, was on his back writhing in pain.

A friend was hitting Bowe's opponent, Andrew Golota, over the head with a walkie-talkie.

That was the wild, riotous scene at Madison Square Garden on Thursday night when Bowe - taking a beating from a heavy underdog - won on a seventh-round disqualification.

With Bowe on the canvas and the referee raising his hand to signal victory, the ring filled with people punching and kicking while debris and chairs were thrown from the crowd.

``There was a confirmed riot there,'' police spokeswoman Kathleen Kelly said.

Lou Duva, Golota's 74-year-old trainer, was carried from the ring after being hit by a walkie-talkie. An oxygen mask was on his face while he was removed by stretcher.

Kathy Duva, Duva's daughter-in-law, said he was resting comfortably at NYU Medical Center.

Michael Buffer, the ring announcer, said tensions heightened 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.''

Dr. Andrew Bazos, the Garden physician, said there were no major injuries and 12 minor ones. Police said there were 10 arrests. In addition, eight police officers were injured, none seriously.

Thirty-five minutes after the bout, Garden authorities ordered the crowd of 11,252 to evacuate the building.

The mayhem raised questions about security at the Garden, which has been trying to revive a sport that once flourished in New York. There were no bouts in the Garden from March 6, 1993 to Dec. 15, 1995.

After Bowe was knocked down for the second time by a low blow, one of Bowe's handlers charged the ring and attacked Golota, who was gashed on the back of his head.

Golota was controlling the fight and had Bowe, the former undisputed heavyweight champion, in trouble several times. He had already been penalized three points for low blows before landing the low blow that led to his disqualification.

``Andrew has a habit of looping his punches and Bowe kept pulling his hands down,'' said Roger Bloodworth, one of Golota's cornermen. ``He (Bowe) hit Andrew behind the head three or four times and was warned only one time. ... I'm not going to argue who started it. It happened. This is a disgrace.''

Golota knocked Bowe down with a low left hook that caused an 81-second delay and cost Golota a point in the second round. Golota also was penalized a point in the sixth when Golota landed another low left hook. Bowe didn't go down but he was given a break.

``He's a decent fighter,'' Rock Newman, Bowe's promoter, said of Golota, ``but he's a dirty and nasty fighter.''

As soon as the fight ended, Newman entered the ring and signaled to Golota at the other end. One of Bowe's followers sprinted across the ring and hit Golota at least once. The Polish heavyweight was bleeding from the back of his head as he left the ring.

Garden security couldn't keep spectators from storming the ring. Fights then started in the stands. Security officers would gather at one side of the stands but fighting would break out again on the other end.

Golota, as he left the ring, pawed at a man gesturing at him, but bystanders got between the two. The initial chaos lasted about 15 minutes, subsided, then started again. A young man in a wheelchair was knocked over.

Riot police with helmets and nightsticks arrived but another fight broke out almost 30 minutes after the bout had ended. The boxers scrapped their postfight news conference.

With about 20 seconds left in the seventh round, Golota landed a left hook far below the belt. Bowe went down, his face a mask of pain.

At that point, referee Wayne Kelly signaled the fight over. As Kelly was doing so, Newman climbed into the ring and gestured at Golota.

Bernard Brooks, a friend of Bowe's, claimed he approached Golota and said, ``Take it easy, take it easy,'' and went to take hold of the fighter. Golota tried to punch Brooks. Bernard Brooks Jr. then attacked, Golota, hitting him several times in the head with a walkie-talkie, drawing blood.

It was the first fight in eight months for Bowe, and he showed the effects of the layoff as well as his weight of 252 pounds, highest of his career.

Bowe, Brooklyn-born and fighting in the Garden for the second time, came out jabbing, but Golota was soon outjabbing him and he often landed the harder blows.

Golota had Bowe in real trouble in the fifth round. He landed a right and left to the head that stunned Bowe. He followed with a hard right and left. Later in the round, he wobbled Bowe.

At the end of six rounds, The Associated Press had Golota ahead by three points, but it would have been five but for the penalty points assessed against Golota.

The fight was advertised for 10 rounds, but the contract had called for 10 or 12. Earlier in the day, Newman insisted on 12 rounds. The sides argued most of the day, and Golota even threatened to not fight. The disagreement was resolved about 5:35 p.m.

Although Bowe holds no titles, Newman said he wanted the fight to be 12 rounds because ``it's for the real heavyweight championship of the world.''

Newman, unsuccessful in trying to get a fight against Mike Tyson, the WBC champion, has boasted that Bowe is the people's champion.

If it hadn't been for Golota's fouls, Bowe likely would have been a beaten fighter on this bizarre night.

Bowe, who earned $5 million, has a 39-1 record with 33 knockouts. Golota, 28, who emigrated from Poland to the Chicago area in 1991, lost for the first time after 28 victories, 25 by knockouts.

Pete Pharaoah, a spectator from Massapequa, N.Y., was distressed to see one brawl following another at ringside.

``It was very, very ugly,'' he said. ``It's sad. This takes away from the sport. Boxing was just coming back to New York.''

CAPTION(S):

2 Photos

Photo: (1--color) Andrew Golota fends off security and p ersonnel from Riddick Bowe's corner who charged into the ring after the disqualification.

(2--color) Riddick Bowe sinks to the canvas after the final low blow from Andrew Golota, while referee Wayne Kelly tries to help him.

Associated Press