Riddick Bowe vs. Evander Holyfield II

Last updated
Repeat or Revenge
Bowe vs Holyfield 2.jpg
DateNovember 6, 1993
Venue Caesars Palace, Paradise, Nevada
Title(s) on the line WBA and IBF heavyweight titles
Tale of the tape
Boxer Riddick Bowe Evander Holyfield
Nickname Big Daddy The Real Deal
Hometown Brooklyn, New York Atlanta, Georgia
Purse $11,000,000 $9,000,000
Pre-fight record 34–0 (29 KO) 29–1 (22 KO)
Age 26 years, 2 months 31 years
Height 6 ft 5 in (196 cm)6 ft 2+12 in (189 cm)
Weight 246 lb (112 kg) 217 lb (98 kg)
Style Orthodox Orthodox
Recognition WBA and IBF
Heavyweight Champion
WBA
No. 2 Ranked Heavyweight
IBF
No. 3 Ranked Heavyweight
2-division undisputed world champion
Result
Holyfield wins via 12-round majority decision (114-114, 115-114, 115-113)

Riddick Bowe vs. Evander Holyfield II, billed as Repeat or Revenge, was a professional boxing match that took place on November 6, 1993, for the WBA and IBF heavyweight championships. [1]

Contents

Background

The two fighters had previously met a little less than a year before on November 13, 1992. In what was considered one of the greatest heavyweight fights of all time, Bowe defeated Holyfield by unanimous decision to become the Undisputed Heavyweight Champion. Bowe's reign as Undisputed Champion would not last long, as his victory over Holyfield meant he would have to make the first defense of his newly won titles against Lennox Lewis, the man who had defeated him at the 1988 Olympics to capture the Gold Medal. After the two sides could not get a deal done, Bowe chose to forfeit his WBC title rather than face Lewis, throwing the belt in the trash at a press conference. [2] Bowe would then go on to successfully, and easily, defend his remaining WBA and IBF titles twice, first knocking out 34-year-old former WBA Heavyweight champion Michael Dokes in the first round, and then defeating journeyman Jesse Ferguson by way of second round knockout. [3] [4]

Holyfield, meanwhile, would have only one fight between his two Bowe fights, a rematch with Alex Stewart. Though Holyfield looked sluggish throughout the fight, he nevertheless was able to earn the victory via unanimous decision. It was also his first bout with new trainer Emanuel Steward. [5]

On August 12, 1993 the much anticipated rematch between Bowe and Holyfield was announced. [6]

The Fight

Bowe started off strong, winning the first three rounds. Holyfield stormed back to take rounds 4, 5 and 6. In round 7, Holyfield hit Bowe with a right hook and Bowe responded by throwing a powerful combination, landing several punches in the process. Shortly after this exchange, the fight was stopped after James Miller crashed into the ring with his powered paraglider causing a 21-minute delay. After the delay, the two fighters finished the remainder of the round with one judge awarding Holyfield the round, one judge awarding Bowe the round and one judge awarding a draw. Holyfield dominated round 8, reopening Bowe's wounds with a five-punch combination. Knowing he was behind in the cards, Bowe became more aggressive in rounds 9, 10 and 11; however, in the final 30 seconds of rounds 10 and 11, Holyfield hit Bowe with several combinations, winning five of the judges' six scores for those two rounds. The two men hammered each other in round 12, both attacking until the final bell.

Like in the previous fight, the bout would go to the judges, this time with Holyfield earning the victory in a close fight via majority decision, becoming only the third man to regain the Heavyweight championship from the man who defeated him for it, after Floyd Patterson (who beat Ingemar Johansson in their 1960 rematch) and Muhammad Ali (who defeated Leon Spinks in their 1978 rematch). It would be the only loss in Bowe's professional career.

HBO's unofficial scorer Harold Lederman scored the fight 114-114, the Associated Press scored the bout 115-113 for Bowe, and the New York Times had it 117-112 for Holyfield.

Main event scorecards

Nevada Athletic Commission
Official score card
Title: Repeat or Revenge Referee: Mills Lane  Supervisor:
Date: 6 November 1993Venue: Caesars Palace Promoter: Kathy Duva
Bowevs.HolyfieldBowevs.HolyfieldBowevs.Holyfield
RSTSRdTSRSRSTSRdTSRSRSTSRdTSRS
1019 1019 1019
919219101020218910202189
102932891030327910303279
938438109394371093943710
947548109485471094854710
956658109576571095765710
9657681010677669106776710
974878109768761097687710
108498791086985910869869
993109710995109510995109610
101031110699104111051091041110610
101131211591011412114910114121159
FINAL SCORE113115FINAL SCORE FINAL SCORE114114FINAL SCORE FINAL SCORE114115FINAL SCORE
LostWonDrawDrawLostWon
Judge: Jerry Roth Judge: Chuck GiampaJudge: Patricia Morse Jarman
Suspensions: NonePoint deductions: NoneDecision: Majority Decision for Holyfield

The "Fan Man" incident

In a highly bizarre moment, parachutist James "Fan Man" Miller would crash into the ring during the second minute of round 7 causing a 21-minute delay of the fight. Miller was immediately pulled from the ropes into the crowd by security. He was attacked by both fans and security eventually being knocked unconscious by a member of Bowe's security team. After a short hospital stay, Miller was then taken to the Clark County detention center and charged with dangerous flying, being released after paying $200 bail. The "Fan Man" incident was named Event of the Year by The Ring magazine.

Aftermath

After his victory, Holyfield contemplated retirement, but eventually decided to continue fighting and began looking into a potential unification match with WBC champion Lennox Lewis. [7] However, both the WBA and IBF refused the notion, informing Holyfield they would only sanction a bout with undefeated number one contender Michael Moorer. [8] Holyfield was then offered $20 million by Bowe's manager Rock Newman to accept a third fight with Bowe, but Holyfield turned down the offer and went ahead with his scheduled match against Moorer, due in part to both the WBA and IBF threatening to strip Holyfield of their titles should he have accepted Newman's challenge. [9] Holyfield and Moorer would meet on April 22, 1994 with Moorer scoring an upset victory by majority decision.

Bowe's unsuccessful defense of his championship was the last time he ever fought for a major world championship. He would not return to the ring until the following August, fighting Buster Mathis, Jr. to a no contest after he hit Mathis while he was down on the canvas. In March 1995, Bowe won the World Boxing Organization heavyweight championship, which was not as widely recognized at the time. After successfully defending it once, Bowe vacated the title to pursue a third fight against Holyfield, which he won by scoring an 8th round technical knockout.

Undercard

Confirmed bouts: [10]

Broadcasting

CountryBroadcaster
Flag of Mexico.svg  Mexico Televisa
Flag of the United Kingdom.svg  United Kingdom ITV
Flag of the United States.svg  United States HBO
Flag of Thailand.svg  Thailand Channel 7

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References

  1. "Riddick Bowe vs. Evander Holyfield (2nd meeting)". boxrec.com. BoxRec. Retrieved 20 March 2024.
  2. Bowe Trashes His WBC Belt, N.Y. Times article, 1992-12-15, Retrieved on 2013-06-05
  3. No Seconds for Dokes as Bowe Wins, L.A. Times article, 1993-02-07, Retrieved on 2013-06-05
  4. Philadelphia's Ferguson Is Just No Match For Bowe, Philadelphia Inquirer article, 1993-05-23, Retrieved on 2013-06-05
  5. Holyfield Plods Way to Victory, N.Y. Times article, 1993-06-28, Retrieved on 2013-06-05
  6. Bowe–Holyfield II, N.Y. Times article, 1993-08-13, Retrieved on 2013-06-05
  7. Holyfield-Lewis a Go?, N.Y. Times article, 1993-11-30, Retrieved on 2013-06-05
  8. I.B.F. Wants Holyfield to Obey Rules, N.Y. Times article, 1993-11-30, Retrieved on 2013-06-05
  9. It Takes More Than Money To Get Holyfield to Fight, N.Y. Times article, 1994-01-05, Retrieved on 2013-06-05
  10. "BoxRec - event".
Preceded by Riddick Bowe's bouts
6 November 1993
Succeeded by
Preceded by Evander Holyfield's bouts
6 November 1993
Succeeded by