BLACK SOCIAL HISTORY : AFRICAN AMERICAN PROFESSIONAL BOXER RIDDICK LAMONT BOWE WORLD HEAVY WEIGHT CHAMPION :l

                                   BLACK              SOCIAL           HISTORY                                                                                                                                                                           Riddick Lamont Bowe born August 10, 1967, Brooklyn, New York City is an American professional boxer. He is a former two-time World heavyweight champion, first winning the WBA, WBC and IBF titles in 1992, becoming undisputed heavyweight champion. Bowe's second reign as heavyweight champion was in 1995 when he won the WBO title. Bowe retired in 1996 but made a return to the ring in 2004. He has currently been inactive since 2008.
Riddick Bowe became the first fighter to defeat Evander Holyfield when he beat him in 1992 for the world heavyweight title. He then became the first fighter to knock Holyfield out, when he beat him in their rubber match in 1995. Bowe's professional boxing record stands at 43-1-0 (1 NC) with 33 KO's. He has defeated every opponent he has fought except Buster Mathis, Jr. (their bout ended as a no-contest). Bowe was ranked as the 21st greatest heavyweight of all time by Boxing Scene.
Bowe was born on August 10, 1967, the twelfth of his mother Dorothy Bowe's thirteen children. He was born and raised in the Brownsville section of Brooklyn, which at the time was one of New York City's most infamous slums. His brother Henry died of AIDS and in 1988 his sister Brenda was stabbed to death by a drug addict during an attempted robbery.

As an amateur, Bowe won the prestigious New York Golden Gloves Championship among other tournaments, (in 1984 at the age of 17 he knocked out opponent James Smith in just 4 seconds) and in the 1985 National Golden Gloves championship he lost to Ft. Worth Lt. Hvy. wt. Donald Stephens, and he also won the silver medal in the 1988 Seoul Olympics, stopped in 2 rounds by Lennox Lewis.

Amateur Record: 104-18

• 1983 at United States Junior Championships, as a middleweight, lost to Adolpho Washington by 2nd round TKO
• 1985 Junior World Champion as a light heavyweight, in competition in Bucharest. Defeated Péter Hart of Hungary in final.
• 1987 Heavyweight Bronze Medalist at Pan-American Games in Indianapolis. Lost to Jorge Luis Gonzalez on points
• 1988 Super Heavyweight Silver Medalist at 1988 Seoul Olympic Games. Results were:
  • Defeated Biko Botowamungu (Zaire, Congo) KO 2
  • Defeated Peter Hrivnak (Czechoslovakia) TKO 1
  • Defeated Alex Miroshnichenko (Soviet Union) points
  • Lost to Lennox Lewis (Canada) TKO by 2

Riddick Bowe won four New York Golden Gloves Championships. Bowe won the 1985 178 lb Novice Championship, 1986 178 lb Open Championship and the 1987 and 1988 Super Heavyweight Open Championship. Bowe trained at the Bed-Stuy BA.

Bowe turned pro 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 Riddick had more potential than any boxer he had ever trained.
Turning professional in March 1989, he knocked out novice (but future #1 contender) Lionel Butler. His 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 he made his first step up in class, fighting faded ex-champ Pinklon Thomas, who he dominated until Thomas was pulled out after 8 rounds. The following month he knocked out Bert Cooper in two rounds, which added to his reputation and high ranking. By the end of 1990 he had fought 8 times.
In March 1991 he overcame some rocky opening rounds to knock out the 1984 Olympic Super-Heavyweight Gold medallist Tyrell Biggs. However his image suffered when in his next fight, slick boxing ex-champ Tony Tubbs, whose own career had suffered with drugs and weight issues, appeared to outbox and outsmart Bowe, only to have the judges award Bowe with a unanimous decision that was jeered loudly by the crowd. In August 1991 he knocked out future champ Bruce Seldon in one round, and in July 1992 fought Pierre Coetzer in an eliminator, knocking out the durable South African in 7 rounds.

Bowe fought a duo of interesting bouts against journeyman Elijah Tillery in 1991. Their first fight is known for its bizarre conclusion. Bowe dominated the first round and dropped Tillery. After the round ended, Tillery walked toward Bowe and taunted him and Bowe responded by punching Tillery. Tillery then threw several low kicks at Bowe, who then unleashed a flurry of punches on Tillery as Tillery lay on the ropes. Bowe's trainer, Rock Newman, then grabbed Tillery and pulled him over the ropes as Bowe continued to throw punches. Tillery somersaulted over the ropes and was quickly detained by security. After order was restored and the fighters returned to the ring, Tillery and Bowe continued a war of words and there continued to be minor incidents as the ring was cleared. Tillery was controversially disqualified for the kicking with Bowe getting the win, much to the surprise of the television announcers.
The fighters rematched two months later, with Bowe dominating and stopping Tillery - his first TKO loss.

Main articles: Evander Holyfield vs. Riddick Bowe, Riddick Bowe vs. Michael Dokes, Riddick Bowe vs. Jesse Ferguson, and Riddick Bowe vs. Evander Holyfield II

In November 1992 he fought reigning champ Evander Holyfield for the undisputed heavyweight title. With his heart and dedication still in question, Bowe won a unanimous decision in an entertaining fight, even flooring Holyfield in the 11th. However, it was the 10th round that most boxing fans will remember. The epic and 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!"
Only a couple of weeks earlier in London, Bowe's old Olympic rival Lennox Lewis knocked out Canadian Donovan "Razor" Ruddock in 2 rounds, establishing himself as the WBC's #1 contender. The Bowe/Holyfield and Lewis/Ruddock fights were part of a mini-tournament where all four fighters agreed that the two winners would meet each other for the championship. Bowe's manager Rock Newman made a proposal that the $32 million purse HBO were offering be split 90-10 in Bowe's favor, an "absurd" offer which Lewis rejected. Lewis's manager Frank Maloney rejected another offer of $2 million for Lewis to fight on a Bowe undercard, citing his distrust of the Bowe camp after the aforementioned negotiations. So in a move that would hurt Bowe's image he held a press conference in which he dumped the WBC belt in a trash can rather than fight Lewis.
Bowe's first defense of his remaining titles came on February 6, 1993 when he fought 34-year-old former champion Michael Dokes at Madison Square Garden and knocked him out in the first round. In Bowe's next fight, May 22, 1993 at RFK Stadium in Washington, D.C., he 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, but 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 7th round.