It was 28 years ago today (Nov. 13th) when Riddick Bowe defeated Evander Holyfield to become world heavyweight champion. Bowe was expertly managed by Rock Newman, who posted the following reminiscence on his Facebook page: When I signed to manage Bowe on Dec. 19, 1988, I promised that if he followed my game plan he’d become heavyweight champion on the night of September 21st, 1992. I was seven weeks off... my buddy Michael Buffer bellowed “annnndd the newwww heavyweight champion of the world, Riddick "Big Daddy" Bowe!!!" It was on Friday, Nov. 13, 1992.
This was an accomplishment thought impossible by all the boxing experts and big wigs. They derided Bowe as a talented but heartless underachiever. Nearly everyone in the industry hated me and put up road blocks every step of the way because I never joined their “fraternity.” I constantly called out their foul, corrupt ways. I wore their disdain as a badge of honor and we kept making a way out of no way. In training camp for this fight, I brought in two close friends Dick Gregory and Rev. Willie Wilson. Gregory pumped Bowe full of some of the earth’s most nutritious elements and Rev. Wilson’s adroit spiritual guidance provided him with that higher level of belief, concentration and serenity. Eddie Futch, Bernard Brooks, Kareem Muhammad, Thell Torrence and fitness guru Mackie Shilstone prepared him and catered to his every need. It was our best training camp!
During fight week in Las Vegas, I experienced the calm that comes when you know you’ve absolutely maximized your capabilities and left no stone unturned. I knew he was ready... The inspector yelled 5 minutes. My heart rate quickly elevated. Rev. Wilson’s prayer calling on our African ancestors was powerful. To this day I don’t remember my feet touching the floor as we marched through crowd to the ring. Big Daddy was masterful! Holyfield and his camp “knew” Bowe would run out of gas around round six or seven.
What they didn’t know was how precisely he’d been prepared to get stronger. Bernard Brooks monitored and relayed his heart rate to me each round and I knew he’d dominate the late rounds. I didn’t know round ten would be judged one of the greatest action rounds in boxing history. Even after that scorching three-minute slugfest, his heart rate slowed perfectly and Bowe totally controlled rounds eleven and twelve. Then we heard that sweetest of words “annnndd the newwww!!!"
