Riddick Lamont Bowe (born August 10, 1967) is an American former professional boxer who competed between 1989 and 2008. He reigned as the undisputed world

heavyweight Heavyweight is a weight class in combat sports and professional wrestling. Boxing Professional Boxers who weigh over are considered heavyweights by 3 of the 4 major professional boxing organizations: the International Boxing Federation, the W ...

champion in 1992, and as an

amateur An amateur () is generally considered a person who pursues an avocation independent from their source of income. Amateurs and their pursuits are also described as popular, informal, self-taught, user-generated, DIY, and hobbyist. History ...

he won a silver medal in the super heavyweight division at the

1988 Summer Olympics The 1988 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XXIV Olympiad () and commonly known as Seoul 1988 ( ko, 서울 1988, Seoul Cheon gubaek palsip-pal), was an international multi-sport event held from 17 September to 2 October ...

. After turning professional in 1989, Bowe went on to become a two-time world heavyweight champion. In 1992 he won the undisputed WBA, WBC and IBF titles by defeating then-unbeaten former undisputed

champion Evander Holyfield. That same year, Bowe was named Fighter of the Year by '' The Ring'' and the Boxing Writers' Association of America. Bowe vacated the WBC title later that year in protest, instead of defending the title against their number one contender,

Lennox Lewis Lennox Claudius Lewis (born 2 September 1965) is a former professional boxer and boxing commentator who competed from 1989 to 2003. He is a three-time world heavyweight champion, a two-time lineal champion, and the last heavyweight to hol ...

. This left the undisputed championship fragmented until 1999. In a rematch with Holyfield in 1993, Bowe narrowly lost the WBA and IBF titles in what would be his only professional defeat. He later regained a portion of the world heavyweight championship in 1995, defeating Herbie Hide for the

WBO The World Boxing Organization (WBO) is an organization which sanctions professional boxing bouts. It is recognized by the International Boxing Hall of Fame (IBHOF) as one of the four major world championship groups, alongside the World Boxing ...

title. In doing so, Bowe became the first boxer in history to win the titles of all four major sanctioning bodies: the WBA, WBC, IBF, and WBO. Later that year, Bowe vacated the WBO title in order to fight Holyfield for a third time, and won decisively by being the first boxer to defeat Holyfield by

knockout A knockout (abbreviated to KO or K.O.) is a fight-ending, winning criterion in several full-contact combat sports, such as boxing, kickboxing, muay thai, mixed martial arts, karate, some forms of taekwondo and other sports involving strikin ...

. 1996 saw Bowe engage in two brutal slugfests with Andrew Golota, both of which ended controversially when Golota repeatedly hit him with low blows. Bowe retired from boxing after the Golota fights, making low-key comebacks in 2004 and 2008. In a 2010 article by Boxing Scene, Bowe was ranked the 21st greatest heavyweight of all time. In 2015, he was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame.

Early years

Bowe was born on August 10, 1967, the twelfth of his mother Dorothy Bowe's thirteen children. Bowe was born and raised in the East New York section of

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

. His brother Henry died of

AIDS Human immunodeficiency virus infection and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS) is a spectrum of conditions caused by infection with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), a retrovirus. Following initial infection an individual ma ...

, and his sister Brenda was stabbed to death by a drug addict during an attempted robbery. Bowe was in the same

elementary school A primary school (in Ireland, the United Kingdom, Australia, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, and South Africa), junior school (in Australia), elementary school or grade school (in North America and the Philippines) is a school for primary ed ...

sixth-grade class with Mike Tyson. "We went to school together the sixth grade in P.S. 396 (in Brownsville.) I really didn't know him," Bowe recalled.

Amateur boxing career

Bowe was training at the Bedford-Stuyvesant Boxing Association Gym or the "Bed-Stuy BA" for short. As an

, Bowe won the prestigious New York Golden Gloves Championship and other tournaments. In 1984, age 17, he knocked out opponent James Smith in just 4 seconds. In 1985, at the National Golden Gloves championships, he lost to Fort Worth heavyweight Donald Stephens. Apart of boxing he attended Kingsborough Community College, where he studied

drama Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance: a play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, or on radio or television.Elam (1980, 98). Considered as a genre of poetry in general, the dramatic mode has b ...

— in hopes of an acting career after boxing — also he took up a

business administration Business administration, also known as business management, is the administration of a commercial enterprise. It includes all aspects of overseeing and supervising the business operations of an organization. From the point of view of management ...

study. His friends called him " Don King" because of his hairstyle. Bowe said he was emulating Mark Breland, "I got a majority of my experience with Mark, I'm inspired by what he's accomplished. It makes it possible for me to do the same," said Bowe in an interview.

New York Golden Gloves Championships

Bowe won four

New York Golden Gloves The New York Golden Gloves boxing tournament was considered by many boxing aficionados as one of the most elite Golden Gloves titles, along with the Chicago Golden Gloves. Named for the small golden gloves given out to the winners of each weig ...

Championships. He won two bouts as a 178-pounder in 1984 before failing to show for a third bout. He won the 1985 178 lb Novice Championship, 1986 178 lb Open Championship and the 1987 and 1988 Super Heavyweight Open Championship. Already in 1985 Bowe was ranked #1 light heavyweight in the United States.

1986 Goodwill Games

He was a light heavyweight runner-up for the 1986 World Championships and 1986 Goodwill Games but for some reason didn't qualify. Meanwhile, during the year-and-a-half hiatus he gained well above thirty pounds and jumped from light heavyweight to super heavyweight, coming back for the 1987 United States Olympic Festival.

1987 Pan Am

Prior to 1987 Pan American Games, Bowe said he had suffered a hairline fracture in his right hand during one of his two fights at the Olympic Festival in July 1987. The injury, he said, was revealed in X-rays he had taken at home. Roosevelt Sanders, the head coach, said he was aware that Bowe's hand was being treated, but had not known it was broken. Bowe said he kept those injuries secret from the U.S. team coaching staff for fear of being kept out of the tournament.

Olympic qualifiers

At first, Bowe was dismissed from the Olympic-year training camp, because U.S. Olympic boxing Coach Ken Adams didn't like him. U.S. Army superheavyweight Robert Salters, a Brooklyn-born 25-year-old artilleryman of Fort Bragg, NC, who took up boxing in 1986, and had less than twenty amateur fights in his 16-months-long record before they first met at the 1988 AAU National finals, where Salters floored Bowe twice before ref stopped the fight, became a real nemesis for Bowe during his amateur career, as they fought each other to nearly a draw in the 1988 Olympic Box-offs at Caesars Palace, after Bowe lost to Salters in the Olympic Trials (Bowe came in at 231 lbs, Salters at 247.). "He was talking' trash about me, and that helped me mentally," Salters said. Bowe had been boxing reportedly with ligament damage on the middle knuckle of his right hand, which he got the day before the Box-offs, and with a damaged right ankle, eventually managed to win, for the judges had to pick up a winner despite the even 58–58 score. The fifth unidentified judge, who scored the bout 58–58, gave it to Bowe on unidentified subjective grounds. Despite giving Bowe a hard time on four occasions in a row, Salters never turned pro.

1988 Olympics

Bowe won the silver medal in the 1988

Seoul Olympics The 1988 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XXIV Olympiad () and commonly known as Seoul 1988 ( ko, 서울 1988, Seoul Cheon gubaek palsip-pal), was an international multi-sport event held from 17 September to 2 October ...

, outpointing Soviet Alex Miroshnichenko in the semifinals, and losing a controversial match in the finals to future world heavyweight champion

. Bowe had a dominant first round, landing 33 of 94 punches thrown (34%) while Lewis landed 14 of 67 (21%). In the first round the referee from

East Germany East Germany, officially the German Democratic Republic (GDR; german: Deutsche Demokratische Republik, , DDR, ), was a country that existed from its creation on 7 October 1949 until German reunification, its dissolution on 3 October 1990. In t ...

gave Bowe two cautions for headbutts and deducted a point for a third headbutt, although replay clearly showed there was no headbutt. Commentator

Ferdie Pacheco Fernando Pacheco Jimenez, M.D. (December 8, 1927 – November 16, 2017) known publicly as Ferdie Pacheco, was the personal physician and cornerman for world heavyweight boxing champion Muhammad Ali as well as numerous other boxing champions. ...

disagreed with the deduction, saying they did not hit heads. In the second round, Lewis landed several hard punches. The referee gave Bowe two

standing eight count A standing eight count, also known as a protection count, is a boxing judgment call made by a referee during a bout. When invoked, the referee stops the action and counts to eight. During that time, the referee will determine if the boxer can ...

s and waved the fight off after the second one, even though Bowe seemed able to continue. Pacheco disagreed with the stoppage, calling it "very strange," but Marv Albert said Bowe took "a pounding."

Highlights

United States Junior Championships (middleweight), 1983: *Lost to Adolpho Washington RSC 2

(light heavyweight),

, February 1984: *1/16: Defeated Richard Newton RSC 1 *1/8: Defeated Hezekiah Salone *1/4: Lost to ? by walkover

(light heavyweight), Elks Club,

Queens, New York Queens is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Queens County, in the U.S. state of New York. Located on Long Island, it is the largest New York City borough by area. It is bordered by the borough of Brooklyn at the western tip of Long ...

, and

Madison Square Garden Madison Square Garden, colloquially known as The Garden or by its initials MSG, is a multi-purpose indoor arena in New York City. It is located in Midtown Manhattan between Seventh and Eighth avenues from 31st to 33rd Street, above Pennsylv ...

, February 1985: *1/4: Defeated Alonzo Knowles KO 1 *1/2: Defeated Jose Guzman KO 3 *Finals: Defeated Alfred Walcott KO 1 New York State Golden Gloves, novice division (light heavyweight),

, March 1985: *1/2: Defeated Gil Walden KO 1 *Finals: Defeated n/a National Golden Gloves (light heavyweight),

Little Rock, Arkansas ( The "Little Rock") , government_type = Council-manager , leader_title = Mayor , leader_name = Frank Scott Jr. , leader_party = D , leader_title2 = Council , leader_name2 ...

, March 1985: *1/16: Defeated Keith Sudduth KO *1/8: Defeated Odell Jones by decision *1/4: Defeated Cornell Harris RSC 1 *1/2: Defeated Gregory Everett RSC 3 *Finals: Lost to Donald Stephens by split decision, 2–3 Junior World box-offs (light heavyweight), El Paso Civic Center,

El Paso, Texas El Paso (; "the pass") is a city in and the seat of El Paso County in the western corner of the U.S. state of Texas. The 2020 population of the city from the U.S. Census Bureau was 678,815, making it the 23rd-largest city in the U.S., the ...

, August 1985: *Defeated Razz Chapin KO 1 Junior World Championships (light heavyweight), Bucharest, Romania, September 1985: *1/4: Defeated Mikhail Sadovsky (Soviet Union) RSC 1 *1/2: Defeated Damian Vasile (Romania) RSC 1 *Finals: Defeated Péter Hart (Hungary) RSC 1 World Cup (light heavyweight), Seoul, South Korea, November 1985: *1/4: Lost to Nurmagomed Shanavazov (Soviet Union) by unanimous decision, 0–5 U.S. Olympic Festival Eastern Qualifier (super heavyweight),

Lake Placid, New York Lake Placid is a village in the Adirondack Mountains in Essex County, New York, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 2,303. The village of Lake Placid is near the center of the town of North Elba, southwest of Plattsburgh ...

, May 1987: *1/4: Defeated Bryant Farris RSCH 1 *1/2: Defeated Mark Anthony by walkover *Finals: Defeated George Kilbert Pierce by unanimous decision, 5–0

U.S. Olympic Festival The U.S. Olympic Festival was a junior multi-sport event held in the United States by the United States Olympic Committee in the years between the Olympic Games. It was started in 1978 as an American counterpart to the communist Spartakiad – a si ...

(super heavyweight),

Raleigh, North Carolina Raleigh (; ) is the capital city of the state of North Carolina and the seat of Wake County in the United States. It is the second-most populous city in North Carolina, after Charlotte. Raleigh is the tenth-most populous city in the Sout ...

, July 1987: *1/2: Defeated Nathaniel Fitch RSC 2 *Finals: Defeated Kevin Ford RSC 3 Pan Am Box-offs (super heavyweight), International Center of the Broadmoor,

Colorado Springs, Colorado Colorado Springs is a home rule municipality in, and the county seat of, El Paso County, Colorado, United States. It is the largest city in El Paso County, with a population of 478,961 at the 2020 United States Census, a 15.02% increase since ...

, July 1987: *Defeated Carlton Hollis Pan American Games (super heavyweight),

Indianapolis, Indiana Indianapolis (), colloquially known as Indy, is the state capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the seat of Marion County. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the consolidated population of Indianapolis and Mar ...

, August 1987: *1/2: Lost to

Jorge Luis González Jorge Luis González (born October 19, 1964) (DOB disputed) is a former heavyweight boxing contender and prospect born in Havana, Cuba. He won the gold medal at the 1983 Pan American Games and the 1987 Pan American Games and the former WBO La ...

(Cuba) by split decision, 2–3 USSR−USA Duals (super heavyweight),

Moscow, Soviet Union Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million r ...

, 1988: *Lost to Alex Miroshnichenko (Soviet Union) by decision United States National Championships (heavyweight),

, March–April 1988: *1/16: Defeated James Ernst RSCH 1 *1/8: Defeated Tevin George RSCH 2 *1/4: Defeated Kevin Ford *1/2: Lost to Robert Salters RSCH 2 Olympic Trials (super heavyweight), Concord Pavilion, Concord, California, July 1988: *1/4: Defeated Nathaniel Fitch by unanimous decision, 5–0 *1/2: Defeated Louis Savarese DQ 2 *Finals: Lost to Robert Salters by majority decision, 1–4 Olympic Box-offs (super heavyweight), Caesars Palace,

Las Vegas, Nevada Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vega ...

, July 1988: *Day 1: Defeated Robert Salters by split decision, 3–2 *Day 2: Defeated Robert Salters by split decision, 3–2

Summer Olympics The Summer Olympic Games (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques d'été), also known as the Games of the Olympiad, and often referred to as the Summer Olympics, is a major international multi-sport event normally held once every four years. The ina ...

(super heavyweight), Seoul, South Korea, September–October 1988: *1/8: Defeated

Biko Botowamungu Ikomoniya "Biko" Botowamungu (born 22 January 1957) is a former boxing, boxer from Austria. Born in Kisangani, Stanleyville, Belgian Congo, he competed at the Boxing at the 1988 Summer Olympics, 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul, South Korea in the ...

(Austria) KO 2 *1/4: Defeated Peter Hrivnák (Czechoslovakia) RSCH 1 *1/2: Defeated Alex Miroshnichenko (Soviet Union) by unanimous decision, 5–0 *Finals: Lost to

(Canada) RSC 2 Bowe finished his amateur career with a record of 104 wins, 18 losses.

Professional boxing career

Bowe turned

professional A professional is a member of a profession or any person who works in a specified professional activity. The term also describes the standards of education and training that prepare members of the profession with the particular knowledge and sk ...

after his Olympic loss. Highly regarded trainer Eddie Futch took on the job of developing Bowe, as he saw the talent. Eddie would say that Bowe had more potential than any boxer he had ever trained. Bowe turned professional in March 1989 and knocked out Lionel Butler. His then manager, Rock Newman, kept Bowe active, fighting 13 times in 1989, beating journeymen — the most notable being Garing Lane, whom he beat twice. In September 1990, Bowe made his first step up in class, fighting faded ex-champion Pinklon Thomas, whom he dominated until Thomas gave up after eight rounds. The following month, Bowe knocked out

Bert Cooper Bertram Cooper (January 10, 1966 – May 10, 2019), nicknamed Smokin' Bert Cooper, was an American professional boxer who competed between 1984 and 2012. He fought Evander Holyfield, George Foreman, Riddick Bowe, Michael Moorer, Chris Byrd, Ray M ...

in two rounds, which added to his reputation and high ranking. In March 1991, Bowe knocked out 1984 Olympic Super Heavyweight Gold medalist

Tyrell Biggs Tyrell Biggs (born December 22, 1960) is an American former professional boxer who competed from 1984 to 1998, and challenged once for the undisputed heavyweight title in 1987. As an amateur he won a gold medal at the 1984 Summer Olympics, havin ...

. In Bowe's next fight, ex-champion Tony Tubbs appeared to outbox and outsmart Bowe in a close bout, only to have the judges award Bowe a unanimous decision. In August 1991, Bowe knocked out future world heavyweight champion Bruce Seldon in one round. In July 1992, he knocked out South African

Pierre Coetzer Pierre Coetzer (born 6 December 1961) is a former heavyweight boxer from Pretoria, South Africa. Coetzer's most notable fights include those against Johnny du Plooy, Riddick Bowe, Frank Bruno and George Foreman. Professional career Coetzer bega ...

in the seventh round of a world title eliminator.

Fights against Elijah Tillery

Bowe fought two interesting bouts against

Elijah Tillery Carlton Elijah Tillery (born August 8, 1957) is an American former boxer in both the cruiserweight and heavyweight divisions, nicknamed "Phoenix Steel". Amateur career Born in Albany, NY, Tillery had an amateur record of 45-2. Professional car ...

in 1991. Their first fight was in Washington D.C. at the

Washington Convention Center The Washington Convention Center in Washington, D.C. was a convention center located one block southwest at 909 H Street NW, occupying the city block bounded by New York Avenue, 9th Street, H Street, and 11th Street.Evander Holyfield for the undisputed heavyweight title. Bowe won a unanimous decision in an entertaining fight, flooring Holyfield in the 11th round. However, it was the tenth round most boxing fans will remember. The epic brutal back and forth exchanges helped make it Ring Magazine's " Round of the Year." Commentator Al Bernstein exclaimed, "That was one of the greatest rounds in heavyweight history. Period!" A couple of weeks earlier in London, Bowe's old Olympic rival,

, knocked out Canadian Donovan "Razor" Ruddock in two rounds, establishing himself as the World Boxing Council's number one contender. The Bowe-Holyfield and Lewis-Ruddock fights were part of a mini-tournament, whereby all four fighters agreed the two winners would meet each other for the undisputed world heavyweight championship. Bowe's manager Rock Newman made a proposal: the $32 million purse HBO was offering should be split 90–10 in Bowe's favor, an 'absurd' offer which Lennox Lewis rejected. Lewis's manager,

Kelley Maloney Kellie Maloney (born Francis Maloney, 23 January 1953) is an English boxing manager and promoter, and television personality. She managed Lennox Lewis between 1989 and 2001, who earned the title of undisputed heavyweight championship of the wo ...

(known as Frank Maloney at the time), rejected another offer of two million for Lewis to fight on a Bowe undercard, citing his distrust of the Bowe camp after the aforementioned financial negotiations. Bowe responded by holding a press conference in which he dumped the WBC world heavyweight championship belt into a trash can and relinquished it in order to protest the actions of the WBC and WBC President José Sulaimán concerning the fight payoff. Bowe's first defense of his remaining titles came on February 6, 1993, when he fought 34-year-old former champion Michael Dokes at

and knocked him out in the first round. In February 1993, Bowe met Pope

John Paul II Pope John Paul II ( la, Ioannes Paulus II; it, Giovanni Paolo II; pl, Jan Paweł II; born Karol Józef Wojtyła ; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 1978 until his ...

during the pope's general audience at the Vatican, a day after Bowe completed a goodwill mission to

Somalia Somalia, , Osmanya script: 𐒈𐒝𐒑𐒛𐒐𐒘𐒕𐒖; ar, الصومال, aṣ-Ṣūmāl officially the Federal Republic of SomaliaThe ''Federal Republic of Somalia'' is the country's name per Article 1 of thProvisional Constitut ...

. In Bowe's next fight, May 22, 1993 at

RFK Stadium Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium, commonly known as RFK Stadium and originally known as District of Columbia Stadium, is a defunct multi-purpose stadium in Washington, D.C. It is located about due east of the U.S. Capitol building, near the ...

in Washington, D.C., Bowe knocked out Jesse Ferguson in the second round to retain the title. This set up a rematch with Evander Holyfield. In the rematch with Holyfield, Bowe looked overweight. He had entered training camp at a 266 lbs and weighed in at 246 lbs, eleven pounds heavier than in the first fight with Holyfield. Bowe and Holyfield exchanged hard punches. Bowe ended up losing the belts to Holyfield by a majority decision. This fight was also known for a bizarre stunt in which parachutist James "Fan Man" Miller dropped into the open air arena, landing in the ropes by Bowe's corner. This surreal scene delayed the fight in the seventh round by nearly a half-hour. Bowe stated afterwards he thought the bout should have declared a 'technical draw' or a 'no contest' owing to the unfair delay.

After title loss

In August 1994, Bowe fought two comeback fights. He faced the much smaller Buster Mathis Jr and, after struggling to connect with his bobbing and weaving target, hit Mathis while he was down with what was ruled an accidental blow, and the bout was ruled a 'No Contest' by referee

Arthur Mercante, Sr. Arthur Mercante Sr. (January 26, 1920 – April 10, 2010) was an American boxing referee. His career lasted from the 1960s until 2001. Mercante's son also became a noted referee. In his youth, Arthur Mercante Sr. was a member of the Merchant M ...

In December 1994, Bowe punched

Larry Donald Larry Ali Donald (born January 6, 1967) is an American former professional boxer. As an amateur he won a bronze medal in the super heavyweight division at the 1991 World Championships and won a gold medal at the 1992 World Championship Challeng ...

at a prefight press conference, later beating him by 12 round unanimous decision for the WBC Continental Americas Heavyweight title, giving the 16-0 heavyweight contender Donald his first loss.

WBO heavyweight champion and Holyfield rubber match

In March 1995, Bowe won the

version of the world heavyweight championship by knocking down England's Herbie Hide six times en route to scoring a sixth-round knockout. In June 1995, after a heated build up, Bowe defended the WBO heavyweight title against his archrival in the amateurs,

, At the MGM Grand in Las Vegas. The prefight hype contained bizarre trash talk, which included Gonzalez declaring a desire to eat Bowe's heart and likening himself to a

lion The lion (''Panthera leo'') is a large cat of the genus '' Panthera'' native to Africa and India. It has a muscular, broad-chested body; short, rounded head; round ears; and a hairy tuft at the end of its tail. It is sexually dimorphic; adu ...

while making Bowe out to be a

hyena Hyenas, or hyaenas (from Ancient Greek , ), are feliform carnivoran mammals of the family Hyaenidae . With only four extant species (each in its own genus), it is the fifth-smallest family in the Carnivora and one of the smallest in the cl ...

. Bowe won by sixth-round knockout over Gonzalez. He vacated the WBO championship soon after. After the Gonzales fight, Bowe fought a rubber match with Evander Holyfield, their third and final meeting. Holyfield knocked Bowe down during the fight, but Bowe maintained his composure, and persevered to score an eighth round stoppage victory.

Bowe vs. Golota I and II

After defeating Holyfield in the third bout of their trilogy, Bowe was matched against undefeated heavyweight contender Andrew Golota at the

in an HBO Boxing event. Bowe's weight problem again resurfaced, as the favorite entered the ring at a career high of 252 lbs. Though ahead on points, Golota was penalized several times for low blows, and was finally disqualified in the seventh round after a volley of punches to Bowe's testicles. Seconds after Golota was disqualified, Bowe's entourage rushed the ring, attacked Golota with a two way radio (Golota traded punches with one of them, requiring 11 stitches to close the wound caused by the radio) and assaulted Golota's 74-year-old trainer

Lou Duva Louis Duva (May 28, 1922 – March 8, 2017) was a boxing trainer, manager and boxing promoter who handled nineteen world champions. The Duva family promoted boxing events in over twenty countries on six continents. Lou Duva was inducted into the I ...

, who collapsed in the ring and was taken out of The Garden on a stretcher. The entourage began rioting, fighting with spectators, staff and policemen alike, resulting in a number of injuries before they were forced out of the arena in what evolved into a lengthy televised ring spectacle. The fight made many sports shows, including '' SportsCenter'', and there was a good amount of public interest in a rematch. The rematch was on Pay Per View. Golota, after dropping Bowe in the second round, and being dropped himself later, was leading on the scorecards, only to be disqualified in the ninth round, once again for repeated shots to the testicles. Despite not having another riot, this fight also proved to be controversial, with an unsuccessful protest filed by Golota's camp to try to overturn the fight's result. This fight was featured on HBO's documentary ''Legendary Nights: The Tale of Bowe-Golota''.

Return to boxing

On September 25, 2004, after seven and a half years away from boxing, Bowe returned with a second-round knockout over Marcus Rhode. In a second comeback fight, in April 2005, an overweight Bowe narrowly defeated journeyman Billy Zumbrun by ten round split decision. Bowe declared bankruptcy in 2005. On December 13, 2008, with the help of new manager Bob Bain, Bowe, 41, returned to the ring for the first time in over three and a half years on the undercard of the Wladimir Klitschko versus

Hasim Rahman Hasim Sharif Rahman (born November 7, 1972) is an American former professional boxer who competed from 1994 to 2014. He is a two-time world heavyweight champion, having held the unified World Boxing Council, WBC, International Boxing Federation, ...

world heavyweight title bout in

Mannheim Mannheim (; Palatine German: or ), officially the University City of Mannheim (german: Universitätsstadt Mannheim), is the second-largest city in the German state of Baden-Württemberg after the state capital of Stuttgart, and Germany's ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwee ...

and won an eight-round unanimous decision over

Gene Pukall Gene Pukall, (born 16 January 1975 in Berlin, Germany) is a German professional boxing, professional boxer fighting in the heavyweight division. Debut Pukall turned professional in April 2000 in the Neuruppin, Brandenburg, Germany. In his debut ...

Legacy and reputation

Riddick Bowe's boxing record stands at 43 wins and 1 loss, with 33 knockouts. In the autobiography of veteran former referee Mills Lane, ''Let's Get It On'', who had officiated at some of Bowe's fights, he professed that Bowe could have been one of boxing's greatest boxers but foolishly squandered the opportunity through immaturity and lack of discipline. Bowe's fighting weight during his career ranged from . His prime fighting weight was . It was within this weight span that Bowe achieved all of his most notable victories. BoxRec ranks Bowe as the 32nd best heavyweight of all time. Noted for his in-fighting skills,

jab A jab is a type of punch used in martial arts. Several variations of the jab exist, but every jab shares these characteristics: while in a fighting stance, the lead fist is thrown straight ahead and the arm is fully extended from the side of th ...

and combination punching, Bowe's first fight with Evander Holyfield is considered one of the greatest world heavyweight title fights of all time. Following this victory, he met

Nelson Mandela Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela (; ; 18 July 1918 – 5 December 2013) was a South African anti-apartheid activist who served as the first president of South Africa from 1994 to 1999. He was the country's first black head of state and the ...

during a visit to South Africa. Bowe's trainer at the time, Eddie Futch, lamented that upon his return, Bowe failed to ever achieve the same physical condition for his subsequent fights. Yet, as late as 1995 and past his peak, Bowe was good enough to become the first man to stop Evander Holyfield, outclass former amateur standout and undefeated pro,

, and bludgeon over-matched Herbie Hide to win the then lightly-regarded

version of the world heavyweight championship. In 2017, ''The Ring'' magazine ranked Bowe as the 19th best heavyweight of all time in a poll of a panel of 30 trainers, matchmakers and members of the boxing media. The consensus was that Bowe, described as both a "super talent" and a "super waste", only had one great fight, when winning the title from Holyfield, and ultimately disappointed in squandering his obvious natural ability due to laziness. Bowe's reputation suffered because of the weak challengers he faced as champion ( Michael Dokes and Jesse Ferguson) before losing the title to Holyfield in their rematch. He is also widely criticized for relinquishing the WBC title rather than defending it against

mandatory challenger In professional boxing and some other combat sports, a mandatory challenger is an opponent whom a champion must either fight or be forced to vacate their title as champion. A mandatory defence is the opposite of a voluntary defence, where the champ ...

, thus fracturing the undisputed championship until Lewis unified the titles in 1999. Bowe is the first boxer in any division to hold all four major versions of the world championship ( WBA, WBC, IBF, and

) during his career, an accomplishment emulated in the heavyweight division only by

Tyson Fury Tyson Luke Fury (born 12 August 1988) is an English professional boxer. He is a two-time world heavyweight champion, having held the WBC title since defeating Deontay Wilder in 2020, and '' The Ring'' magazine title from 2020 to August 202 ...

. Bowe's sole loss, to Evander Holyfield in 1993, was avenged in 1995, meaning that he finished their trilogy 2-1 ahead. With the exception of a 1994 no-contest with Buster Mathis Jr., Bowe defeated every opponent he faced as a professional. Alongside Gene Tunney, Rocky Marciano, Sultan Ibragimov and Nikolai Valuev, Bowe is one of five former heavyweight champions to have never suffered a stoppage defeat during his career.

Professional kickboxing career

In March 2013, Bowe announced his Muay Thai debut, having trained under Kru Airr Phanthip and Kru Chan in Las Vegas. He faced Levgen Golovin for the WPMF Super Heavyweight World Title in Pattaya,

Thailand Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is b ...

. On June 14, 2013, Bowe was knocked down five times from kicks to his leg. The championship match was called to a stop halfway through the second round.

Life outside of boxing

Joining the Marine Corps

After the Golota fights, Bowe retired from boxing and decided to join the

United States Marine Corps Reserve The Marine Forces Reserve (MARFORRES or MFR), also known as the United States Marine Corps Reserve (USMCR) and the U.S. Marine Corps Forces Reserve, is the reserve force of the United States Marine Corps. It is the largest command, by assigned p ...

. He said he made the decision both to make his mother proud and to rededicate himself to training, with the intention of returning to boxing shortly after. Bowe arrived at

Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island (often abbreviated as MCRD PI) is an military installation located within Port Royal, South Carolina, approximately south of Beaufort, the community that is typically associated with the installation. ...

on February 10, 1997. On his first day of recruit training, Bowe discussed leaving the Corps with Marine commanders, and quit after three days of heavy physical training with his platoon in

Parris Island, South Carolina Parris Island is a district of the city of Port Royal, South Carolina on an island of the same name. It became part of the city with the annexation of the Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island on October 11, 2002. For statistical purposes, the ...

on February 21, 1997.

Humanitarian Activities

Shortly after winning his first title against Evander Holyfield, Bowe saw a news story on television that revealed a million dollars worth of medicines donated to the Somali refugees and orphans were not able to be transported to the war-torn region due to a lack of funds to pay for the charter aircraft needed. Bowe immediately had his representatives contact

AmeriCares Americares is a global non-profit organization focused on health and development that respond to individuals affected by poverty, disaster, or crisis. The organization addresses poverty, disasters, or crises with medicine, medical supplies and h ...

, the NGO leading the effort, and pledged the 100,000 dollars needed to fund the trip - on the condition he could go to the country with the goods, and make sure they got to their intended recipients. While in Somalia, he visited U.S. Marines and an orphanage on the Kenyan border. He was accompanied by several members of his management team, including manager Rock Newman and Head of International Sales Alexis Denny (CEO of an independent media distributor). Bowe also took action when he heard news of other tragedies. In 1995, when Alexis Denny was in Indonesia on other business, she read Asian news coverage of Rodolfo Yap, a young man in the Philippines who was electrocuted while positioning his antenna so his family could watch a Riddick Bowe fight. She relayed this news to Bowe, and explained to the media at the time 'The heavyweight champion was very moved by the story and having lost a brother and a sister earlier in life, decided to make a financial contribution to the family of Mr. Yap." Bowe authorized her to fly to the Philippines and try to locate the man's family, make a contribution to their expenses, and also provide funds to support the Philippine boxing Team training for the Olympics (in the name of the deceased).

Prison

Bowe was convicted of the February 1998 kidnapping of his estranged wife Judy, and their five children. Thinking it would reconcile his marriage, Bowe went to his wife's

Cornelius, North Carolina Cornelius is a suburban town located along Lake Norman in northern Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, United States. It is a major suburb in the Charlotte metropolitan area. The population was 24,866 at the 2010 census. History Potts Plantation ...

home and threatened her with a knife, handcuffs, duct tape, and pepper spray. He forced her and their children into a vehicle and set out for his Fort Washington, Maryland home. During the kidnapping, Bowe stabbed his wife in the chest. Police captured Bowe in South Hill, Virginia, freeing his family. Bowe agreed to a plea bargain of guilty to "interstate domestic violence", and was sentenced to 18 to 24 months in prison. Despite the agreed sentence, on February 29, 2000, the judge sentenced Bowe to only 30 days, due to a claim of brain damage by Bowe's defense. This sentence, counter to the plea agreement, was later overturned. Bowe served 17 months in Federal prison. On February 8, 2001, Bowe was arrested in

Long Island Long Island is a densely populated island in the southeastern region of the U.S. state of New York, part of the New York metropolitan area. With over 8 million people, Long Island is the most populous island in the United States and the 18 ...

after a domestic dispute with his new wife. Bowe allegedly dragged his wife and left her with cuts on her knees and elbows.

Attempted professional wrestling debut

In 2013, Riddick Bowe announced his intentions to start training to be a professional wrestler. He was to make his debut for the UK-based Preston City Wrestling organization on March 1, 2014. On December 14, 2013, Preston City Wrestling announced on their Facebook Page that Bowe would no longer be appearing due to a disagreement with Bowe's new agent.

In popular culture

In 1993, a video game entitled '' Riddick Bowe Boxing'' was released for various platforms. Also that year, Bowe appeared in an episode of ''

The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air ''The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air'' is an American television sitcom created by Andy and Susan Borowitz for NBC. It aired from September 10, 1990, to May 20, 1996. The series stars Will Smith as a fictionalized version of himself, a street-smart ...

'', entitled " You Bet Your Life", as a bully named "Bo". In 1997, Bowe appeared in the music video “ Mo Money Mo Problems” by

The Notorious B.I.G. Christopher George Latore Wallace (May 21, 1972 – March 9, 1997), better known by his stage names the Notorious B.I.G., Biggie Smalls, or simply Biggie, was an American rapper. Rooted in East Coast hip hop and particularly gangsta ...

Professional boxing record

Muay Thai record

, - style="background:#fbb;" , 2013-06-14 , , Loss , , align=left , Ievgen Golovin , , WPMF Super Heavyweight Title , , Pattaya, Thailand , , TKO (right low kick) , , 2 , , N/A , , 0–1 , - , colspan=9 , ''Legend'':

Notes

References

External links

*
CBZ Profile
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Bowe, Riddick 1967 births Living people Sportspeople from Brooklyn African-American boxers Boxers from New York City American male kickboxers Heavyweight kickboxers Kickboxers from New York (state) International Boxing Federation champions World Boxing Association champions World Boxing Council champions World Boxing Organization champions World heavyweight boxing champions Pan American Games bronze medalists for the United States Olympic silver medalists for the United States in boxing Olympic boxers of the United States Boxers at the 1987 Pan American Games Boxers at the 1988 Summer Olympics American male boxers American sportspeople convicted of crimes American people convicted of kidnapping Medalists at the 1988 Summer Olympics Pan American Games medalists in boxing People from Brownsville, Brooklyn Medalists at the 1987 Pan American Games United States Marine Corps reservists 21st-century African-American people 20th-century African-American sportspeople International Boxing Hall of Fame inductees