Former unified world heavyweight champion Riddick Bowe has revealed the greatest opponent that he ever crossed paths with.
‘Big Daddy’ Bowe made his way into the paid ranks in the late 1980s after he walked away from the 1988 Summer Olympic Games in Seoul with a super-heavyweight silver medal.
He established himself as a serious contender within the first few years of his professional career before he became the undisputed heavyweight champion in 1992 when he defeated Evander Holyfield in the first of their three encounters.
Bowe suffered the first defeat of his career to ‘The Real Deal’ one year later but would go on to settle the score in their third clash to put their bitter rivalry to bed with an eighth round stoppage victory over his fellow countryman.
In a round of ‘Best I Faced’ with The Ring Magazine, Bowe made no mistake in naming Holyfield as the best fighter that he ever faced, paying homage to the outstanding abilities of the two-weight undisputed champion.
“Unequivocally. Evander was smart, he was a thinker, he was in great shape, he had all the attributes to make him a great champion. That’s why he and I fought against each other so hard and so well.”
‘The Real Deal’ became the first fighter in boxing history to win the undisputed championship at cruiserweight and heavyweight, a feat that wasn’t matched until Ukrainian great Oleksandr Usyk defeated Tyson Fury in May 2024.
Holyfield shared the ring with a number of legendary heavyweights throughout the course of his career, including the likes of Mike Tyson, Lennox Lewis and George Foreman to name a few.
