Riddick Bowe 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 champion in 1992, and as an amateur he won a silver medal in the super heavyw ...

vs.

Buster Mathis Jr. Buster Mathis Jr. (born March 25, 1970) is an American former professional boxer who competed in the heavyweight division. Early life Mathis Jr. was the son of Buster Mathis, a heavyweight boxer from the 1960s. The senior Mathis had been invi ...

, billed as "Raging Bowe" was a professional boxing match contested on August 13, 1994.

Background

Riddick Bowe had lost his previous fight on November 6, 1993, to

Evander Holyfield Evander Holyfield (born October 19, 1962) is an American former professional boxer who competed between 1984 and 2011. He reigned as the undisputed champion at cruiserweight in the late 1980s and at heavyweight in the early 1990s, and is the o ...

for the WBA and IBF heavyweight titles. With his one-year reign as champion over, Bowe's first comeback fight was announced the following month to take place on February 5, 1994, against

Francois Botha Francois "Frans" Botha (born 28 September 1968) is a South African former professional boxer and kickboxer. He competed in boxing from 1990 to 2014, and is perhaps best known for winning the IBF heavyweight title against Axel Schulz in 1995, ...

. However, only a month later, Bowe, while training for the fight, suffered a cut above his left eye that required 10 stitches leading to the bout to be officially cancelled. Instead, it was announced that Bowe would meet undefeated prospect Buster Mathis, Jr. on June 11, however this fight was also cancelled when Bowe suffered a back injury. A July 15 date was then announced for the Bowe–Mathis fight, however for the third time in the year, Bowe had to again cancel a fight as he was still suffering from back issues. The fight was finally confirmed for August 13 after medication and working with fitness guru Mackie Shilstone helped Bowe recover from his injury.

The fight

Bowe had little trouble with the outmatched Mathis, easily out-boxing him throughout the first 3 rounds. However, the fight ended in controversy in round four. With around a minute left in the round, Bowe hurt Mathis with a series of power punches, causing Mathis to take a knee in order to take a break. However, just after Mathis took the knee, Bowe landed a strong right hook that briefly knocked Mathis unconscious. Feeling that Mathis was in no shape to continue after the foul, 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 ...

immediately stopped the fight, though no decision was announced. Mercante and

New Jersey State Athletic Control Board The New Jersey State Athletic Control Board (SACB) regulates all contests and exhibitions of unarmed combat within the state of New Jersey, including licensure and supervision of promoters, boxers, kickboxers, mixed martial arts fighters, secon ...

head

Larry Hazzard Larry Hazzard Sr. (born 7 December 1944) is a former amateur boxer, boxing referee, athletic control board commissioner, teacher and actor. He is a member of the International Boxing Hall of Fame, being inducted during 2010. Hazzard has served as ...

would then have discussion in regards to whether the decision should be a disqualification victory for Mathis, a knockout victory for Bowe, if they should go to the judges scorecards and award whoever was ahead a victory by technical decision or declare the fight either a technical draw or no contest. After nearly 20 minutes of deliberation, the fight was finally declared a no contest. Bowe apologized for the foul stating that he could not tell that Mathis, who used a crouching stance and was five inches shorter than Bowe, had taken a knee.Riddick Bowe
Sports Illustrated article, 1994-08-22 Retrieved on 2020-01-21

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bowe, Mathis 1994 in boxing

Mathis Mathis is a name of French origin. It is common as a surname and is also a masculine given name. People with the surname *Buster Mathis (1943–1995), American heavyweight boxer *Buster Mathis Jr. (born 1970), American heavyweight boxer *Clint ...

1994 in sports in New Jersey August 1994 sports events in the United States Boxing matches at Boardwalk Hall