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BOWE'S BERLIN BLITZKRIEG
BATTERS BAFFLED BRITON

Monday 14 January 2002

For some time after his knockout loss to Lennox Lewis in the Gold Medal match at the 2000 Olympic Games, Riddick Bowe was being referred to with the unfortunate nickname of "Riddickulous". It was true that Bowe's performance in the Olympic Final was disappointing, but some felt that thrusting such a moniker upon him was more than unfair.

Well, the Olympic Games are now sixteen months in the past and judging by Bowe's debut professional fight, no one will be able to refer to him as "Riddickulous" ever again.

Bowe dominated 18 year-old Englishman Tom Cowler to the point where after the fight, Bowe admitted that he could have "ended it at any moment" and that he was simply "eager for time in the ring".

Bowe's entry to the arena was no-nonsense, somewhat surprising considering the superstar-like attitude he has adopted when the camera has been in front of him. It was just Bowe and his corner men, all of them decked out in simple white with red trim.

Bowe came out fast, overwhelming Cowler and landing twice as many punches as his opponent over the course of the bout. The Brooklyn native took the first four rounds with ease, delighting the crowd with a mix of dazzling combinations and punishing power punching. Cowler never looked like he was going to threaten his taller opponent. Bowe eased off in the fifth, allowing Cowler to take the round on one of the cards. Cowler, born and raised in the north-west England county of Cumberland, tasted the canvas in the fourth round courtesy of a blow to his ribs and again in the sixth round, when he walked right into a thunderous uppercut. The fight was stopped ninety seconds later, with Bowe landing shots at will.

"I'm not really interested in first round knockouts," Bowe said. "I know how strange that sounds, but I think it's important to spend as much time in the ring as I can. This is the professional game. It's a whole new deal compared to the Olympics, the amateur ranks. I want to get as many rounds under my belt as possible, especially in these early fights. The HBF decided that I should be able to easily beat these guys, that's why they are seeded low and I'm seeded high. So, if I know that there's no chance I'll lose, why shouldn't I try to make the fight last longer?"

"So are you saying that you were carrying Tom Cowler?" asked ESPN's Larry Slater.

"You can call it that if you want," laughed Bowe. "It's all valuable experience to me, though. And I'm sure it was for Tom Cowler, also."

"I noticed when you entered the ring tonight ... no razzle dazzle at all. I think a lot of people were expecting something more "Hollywood" from you."

Bowe shook his head, smiling. "Nah, man. I'm all Brooklyn, through-and-through."

"Well, I must say that this crowd absolutely loved you."

On cue, the sold-out arena erupted into a sustained period of applause.

Bowe smiled and acknowledged the crowd. "Thank you very much, everyone. It was great to be able to treat you all to such a good show."

Riddick Bowe has indeed shown that he will be a force to be reckoned with in the HBF's World Championship tournament.

UNDERCARD ACTION

OPENING BOUT

25 year-old Gus Ruhlin of Akron, Ohio, lost the slimmest of split decisions to 21 year-old Chicago native Toxie Hall in a 1st Defense tournament bout. Ruhlin knew that he was behind on points going into the final round, and was able to put Hall on the canvas a minute into the round. But it was not enough. The damage had been done early and Hall took the decision, 57-56, 56-57, 57-56.

PRELIMINARY 1

Argentinian Cesar Brion and Bill Tate (like Toxie Hall, from Chicago) fought to a draw. It was a spirited bout, with Tate finishing strongly, taking the fifth round on two cards and the final round on all three cards to earn the draw. An emotional Brion could not mask his disappointment, knowing that his conditioning had not been good enough to allow him to perform at his peak for the entire fight.

PRELIMINARY 2

Hein Ten-Hoff, the 60th seed in the World Championship tournament delighted his hometown fans by scoring an impressive 5th round knockout of New York's Gerry Cooney (76th seed). At first, it appeared that Cooney was going to cruise to victory. He won the opening two rounds quite comfortably and was doing the same in the third when at the 2:32 mark a short, clean uppercut dropped him to the canvas, bringing the crowd to their feet as one. Cooney was back to his feet at the count of five, but looked badly shaken. He survived the round, despite absorbing a crunching right cross, but then found himself on the canvas again, two minutes into round four. The home crowd was working wonders for Ten-Hoff and he seemed to draw energy directly from them. Once again, Cooney beat the count, but looked out on his feet as the fourth round drew to a close. The fight came to a spectacular finish early in the fifth, with a terrific five punch combination - left jab, straight right, right hook, left hook, right uppercut - sending Cooney crashing to the canvas for a third and final time. He was counted out exactly thirty seconds into the round.

SUPPORT BOUT

Alex Miteff was the second Argentinian to appear on the card, and once again, the result would not be a victory for the South American nation. Miteff was knocked out in the fourth round by Norway's Otto Von Porat. The Argentinian started well, sending Von Porat to the canvas late in the first round, the bell saving the Norwegian with the count at eight. The action was quite slow through the second and third rounds before Von Porat came out blazing in the fourth, unleashing a number of damaging blows before landing a flush overhand right at the 2:46 mark. Miteff fell to one knee, and when he tried to rise, his legs buckled and he was counted out at 2:57 of the fourth round.

CO-FEATURE

At just 17 years of age, Hungarian-born Englishman Joe Bugner is one of the youngest fighters in the World Championship tournament. At 6'4", 225 pounds, he's also one of the bigger men in the tournament. The HBF has high hopes for him, as his 28th seeding in the tournament suggests. But against the 108th seed, Italy's Sante Amonti, Bugner struggled. Some who watched the fight felt that he was lucky to escape with a draw. Amonti clearly won the 1st, 3rd and 5th rounds, with the others seeming pretty close. Amonti was able to fight on the inside and score well with a punishing uppercut that had Bugner hanging on for dear life at times. Bugner is the 2nd seed in group five, and as such is expected to be the one fighter in the group who has the best chance of defeating the top seed, Riddick Bowe. But based on this performance, many have said that he has no chance unless he shows considerable improvement between now and when he clashes with Bowe on the 8th of July.