Were former world heavyweight champions Riddick “Massive Daddy” Bowe and Gene “The Fighting Marine’ Tunney has one loss too many to be on anyone’s top ten heavyweight champions list.
In 1988, Bowe had a 104-18 amateur record and lost to future world champion Lennox “The Lion” Lewis, who represented Canada in the finals of the 1988 Olympic Games in Seoul, South Korea, winning the silver medal in the super heavyweight division.
Bowe, 43-1 with 28 stoppages from Ft. Washington, Maryland, held the WBC title from November to December 1992 before relinquishing it. He held the WBA and IBF titles from November 1992 to November 1993. He held the WBO title from March 1993 to January 1996.
After turning professional in March 1989, Bowe won his first 34 fights, winning the vacant WBC Continental Americas title by defeating Elijah “Phoenix Steel” Tillery (23-4) in his twenty-seventh fight by disqualification in October 1991.
In his previous fights, Bowe stopped former WBC and WBA champion Pinklon “Pink” Thomas, 30-4-1, in eight rounds. He then stopped 1984 Olympic gold medalist Tyrell Biggs (19-3). He defeated former WBA champion Tony “TNT” Tubbs in his next fight, 29-2. Three fights later, he knocked out former WBA champion Bruce “The Atlantic City Express” Seldon (18-1).
In November 1992, Bowe defeated 1984 Olympian and WBA, WBC, and IBF world champion Evander “The Real Deal” Holyfield (28-0) to improve his record to 32-0. In his first two title defenses, Bowe stopped former WBA champion Michael “Dynamite” Dokes (50-3-2) and Jesse “Thunder” Ferguson (19-9).
In his next title defense, he lost for the first and last time to Holyfield 29-1 via majority decision in November 1993. He again won the WBC continental title by defeating 1992 Olympian Larry “The Legend” Donald (16-0).
In March 1995, Bowe won the WBO world title by knocking out champion Herbie “Dancing Destroyer” Hide (26-0). In his first defense, he knocked out Cuban Jorge Luis Gonzalez (23-0).
In the next fight, their third, Bowe defeated former champion Holyfield 31-2, and two months later he was stripped of the title.
In his next two fights, Bowe won by disqualification against Andrew Golota (28-0) and retired. He returned eight years later and won three fights before retiring. That one loss to Holyfield, whom he had defeated in two other fights, seemingly kept him from being ranked in the top ten in his division, despite being 43-1, with his only loss being to Holyfield.
If we look at Gene “The Fighting Marine” Tunney (65-1-1), who had 48 stoppage fights under his belt, from Greenwich, Connecticut, we see that he lost only once in his career – in May 1922, to legendary former world middleweight champion Harry “Pittsburgh Windmill” Greb (196-12-5) for the U.S. featherlight heavyweight title.
He then defeated Greb twice more before the fight ended in a draw, and in the fifth fight, Greb was victorious.
Tunney won five straight fights and captured the heavyweight title by defeating NBA champion Jack “Manass Mauler” Dempsey (57-5-8) in front of a crowd of more than 120,000 in Philadelphia.
A rematch was held a year later, and Tunney was knocked down in the seventh round. Dempsey ignored the modern rule that he had to go to a neutral corner—it took about fourteen seconds for Tunney to get to his feet, a result that was later dubbed “The Long Count.”
Tunney won a decision. He defended his title a second time by stopping Tom “The Tough Rock from Down Under” Heeney (32-8-5) of Novel Zealand in eleven rounds in July 1928, retiring after the fight with a score of 65-1-1. This one loss to Greg cost him a place in most people’s top ten heavyweight champions.
In a clash of forces between two world title contenders, NABO welterweight titleholder Alexis “Lex” Rocha (25-2-0, 16 KO) will put his skills to the test against undefeated knockout and NABF welterweight titleholder Raul “El Cugar “. Curiel (15-0, 13 KO).
The 10-round main event will take place on Saturday, December 14, live from the Toyota Arena in Ontario, California, and will be broadcast worldwide on DAZN.
“‘The best versus the best’ is Golden Boy’s mantra and that’s what fans will see as Rocha and Curiel take on everything that’s on the table,” said President and CEO Oscar De La Hoya. “Rocha is a veteran whose goal is to win the world title, Curiel is an undefeated blue-chip prospect with huge potential. It’s really a 50/50 fight and I’m looking forward to it.”
Tickets for the Rocha vs. match Curiel will go on sale on Friday, October 11 at 10 a.m. PT and will be priced at $100, $75, $50 and $25, excluding applicable service fees. A confined number of Golden Boy VIP Experience tickets will also be available, including exclusive merchandise and fight night upgrades. Standard and VIP tickets are available at Ticketmaster.com, Toyota-arena.com, Goldenboy.com or at the Toyota Arena box office from Monday to Friday from 12:00 to 16:00
“I’ve seen Raul Curiel all these years and he never once mentioned my name,” Alexis Rocha said. “After my last defeat, he suddenly became interested in fighting me. If he thinks I’ve lost a step or somehow had an simple fight, he’s in for a rude awakening. I can’t wait to make a statement and show the world what I’m capable of.”
Santa Ana, California Rep. Alexis “Lex” Rocha comes from a struggling family. The younger brother of Ronny Rios, he was the youngest fighter to win a gold medal at the Junior Olympics at the age of 14 in 2012 and caught the attention of the boxing world by becoming a six-time national champion during his amateur career. Rocha signed with Golden Boy in January 2016 and made his professional debut in March 2016, defeating Jordan Rosario at the Belasco Theater in Los Angeles. Since then, he has amassed an enviable record of powerful knockouts over top contenders and plans to return to world title contention, with his last fight being a victory over undefeated Santiago Dominguez on July 19 last year.
“The fans can expect a war,” said Raul Curiel. “I’m going to prepare well to put on a great show. This will be the most essential fight of my career so far. I know Alexis is a great fighter, a good opponent and will also show up prepared. My focus is on Alexis and if I can beat him, I know it will give me a chance to fight for the world championship.
Former unified lightweight champion George Kambosos approached promoter Eddie Hearn asking for more massive fights.
Kambosos has signed a co-promotional deal with Eddie Hearn, under which the Greek-Australian slugger will continue his association with DiBella Entertainment Inc. and his own company, Ferocious Promotions.
The 21-3 star will move up to the super lightweight division of Matchroom Boxing’s lively division. He aims to become a two-weight world champion in early 2025, and as part of the deal, a title fight is promised as long as he continues to win.
Since his stunning victory over Teofimo Lopez, Kambosos has never shied away from competing against the best. Those three losses on his resume came to Devin Haney [twice] and Vasily Lomachenko, all at home and all for world titles.
The 31-year-old is now set to face compatriot Liam Paro after defending his IBF title against Richardson Hitchins in December in Puerto Rico.
“I am thrilled to be working with Matchroom Boxing. I am excited to have signed a three-way promotional cooperation agreement with my long-time promoter DiBella Entertainment Inc. and Ferocious Promotions,” Kambosos said.
“I made great success and history when I moved up the Matchroom shows by winning my UK elimination fight against Lee Selby. The most noteworthy and unforgettable is my victory against Teofimo at Madison Square Garden in Up-to-date York to become the 135-pound world champion.
“I am officially announcing that I will be moving up to 140 pounds and signing with Matchroom will ensure my continued success and the legacy I want to leave in the sport of boxing.”
Hearn, who adds an experienced campaigner to his stable, added: “I am delighted to welcome George to the team. George’s victory over Teofimo tore up the script and showed that George was the man for the massive time. He has proven to be a huge attraction in Australia and one of the real driving forces behind the rapid growth of boxing Down Under.
“The 140-pound division is full of massive names and massive potential fights. Adding George to the mix only elevates the level, and a possible fight with Liam Paro is a truly appetizing prospect. If Liam manages to win in a great fight against Richardson on December 7th [the fight could be on].
Lou DiBella, who has worked with Kambosos for years, said: “I’m glad I was able to make a deal with my antique buddy Eddie to work with George Kambosos Jr. and Ferocious Promotions.
“Throughout his career, George has been a fighter who has never shied away from a challenge, and now he wants to test himself against top junior welterweights.
Matchroom works with top 140-pounders, including George’s compatriot Liam Paro, and, like DiBella Entertainment, is heavily invested in Australia.
“It’s a natural partnership,” added the Up-to-date Yorker.
One of the hottest topics surrounding Mike Tyson’s return at the age of 58 was the possibility of the boxing legend scoring a knockout of Jake Paul.
WBN has weighed in on this topic several times, questioning the validity of five-second training clips that revealed nothing about Tyson’s abilities at this overdue age. One of the most intriguing observations during the preparations was the opinion of UFC commentator Daniel Cormier.
Speaking on his show “Funky and the Champ,” Cormier reflected on Tyson’s social media videos and offered an informed opinion on the meaning of the clips.
“I understand that [he is in amazing shape at 58]and I understand what he is saying [he feels as though he can compete]– Cormier said. “And I agree that when he hits the pads with Rafael Cordeiro, it looks like there’s still something left in him.
“But then I watch Jake Paul fight Mike Perry. I saw Jake Paul get overwhelmed to the point where he started to feel uncomfortable. It looked like Mike Perry had a chance. But Jake has a reserve tank he can go to and benefit from because he’s 28 years ancient. Then he comes back and finally finishes Mike Perry.
“At the beginning of the fight, Mike Perry gets beaten up and dropped. He looks trained and unmatched. This worries me because what if it looks like a 58-year-old man fighting a 28-year-old man while Mike can’t employ the backup tank to stay and compete with this newborn kid? I think it’s a failure for Jake Paul because if you beat Mike Tyson, everyone will love him.
He added: “What if Mike knocks him out? It’s over. Everything is ready. This would be the backfire of all time. If he gets knocked out, nothing like that has ever happened in the history of the sport.”
Unfortunately for Tyson, this revenge backfired spectacularly, as the former heavyweight champion’s return was the only event that bombed. Tyson had nothing left twenty years after he had nothing left in his tank and no desire to box in his mind.
Paul parlayed this into a money-making scheme that would forever be a success for him and his company, but would be poorly received by the die-hard boxing fraternity.
Cormier’s words resonate, especially after what happened in the ring when Mike Tyson struggled to shift into first gear, warning former fighters thinking about returning after 50.
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