From: cobarruvias@asd2.jsc.nasa.gov
Subject: Boxing: Holyfield/Bowe Fight Review
Organization: NASA/JSC
Date: Mon, 16 Nov 1992 20:32:26 GMT

                        Holyfield Bowe Fight Review
                           Friday, Nov 13, 1992
                         Mirage, Las Vegas Nevada

                       Bowe wins by 12 round decision.

Well, the king is dead, long live the king!. Unfortunately what boxing lost was
a very respectable human being who was also the heavyweight champion of the
world. And what boxing has gained is another soon to be thug, gunning for as
much money as the gullible audience will dish out with the help of his munchkin
manager, Rock Newman. 

Bowes performance was nothing less than spectacular. He was bigger, faster, and
hit harder than Holyfield. Never in the fight did he seemed to be noticeably
tired or hurt while Holyfield on several occasions stumbled back to his corner
either from exhaustion or from the number of blows he took. Holyfield, to his
credit, was rocked a number of times especially in the 10th but was able to
last the round without going down, except in the 11th. Bowe landed a number of
shots to the head set up by body shots and put Holyfield down for the second
time in his career. Holyfield was able to last the round by holding, running,
and actually trading punches with Bowe.

What I found to be odd was Holyfields discussions prior to the fight on
retirement. He was definitely going to retire after this fight to spend more
time with his family, but did he have to disclose that prior to the fight?
Bowe's confidence level was already at an all time high for a challenger, maybe
second to Clay's against Liston. Holyfields discussion about retirement just
flamed the fire in Bowes belly. Holyfield just seemed ready to quit prior to
stepping in the ring. Even hours after this story hit the press, the odds went
in Holyfields favor from -130 to -150! Bowe went to even.

Now for a man that knew he was going to retire, win, lose, or draw, Holyfield
fought one heck of a fight, yet he was whipped pretty good. He didn't have to
answer the bell for round 12, or get up after his knockdown in the 11th, or gut
it out in the 10th, but he did and he earned his 20 million as well as the
respect from the fans. Unfortunately, Holyfield probably will be remembered as
a real good Christian Heavyweight Champion who fought a lucky, fat, Douglas, 2
old, slow, geezers, and a drugged up Cooper who almost knocked him out. And
once he fought someone good, he got the hell beaten out of him. He is only
28-1, a record that some champions begin their quest for a title with, much
less end a career with. And he is extremely rich which shows the stupidity of
this sport. $12 to fight fatso Douglas, another $15M for Mr. Tubby Foreman,
another $7M for Drugs Are Us, $19M for R-E-S-P-E-C-T Holmes, and $20M to get
the crap beaten outa him. Does this earn him a spot in the Hall of Fame? Or in
the Hall of Lame? Probably neither. He is just a good guy who finished
last......but filthy rich.

And now for the New Heavyweight Champion of The WOOOOORRRRLLLDDD .......Riddick
"Big Daddy" Bowe. He's a baaaaaaddddd man! And he will soon be the champion
driven by money regardless of the repercussions to the heavyweight division.
Bowe immediately has stated that a Bowe/Foreman fight for $20M each will be a
priority instead of the No. 1 contender Lennox Lewis. And Mr. Munchkin Newman
has said that if Bowe/Foreman can produce a $20M fight then that is the one
they will go for while they hype up the Bowe/Lennox since that wont draw $20M.
Its nothing more than a business deal. GREAT! Just what we need another Don
King Wanna Be! Rock needs to take a look at his marbles and balls for that
matter. I've seen Don King, I've hated Don King, and you Rock Newman are no Don
King. Rock doesnt have the same pull Don has. Only Don could do something that
stupid and get away with it.

Look what happened to Spinks when he pulled out of the heavyweight tournament
to chase the mythical peoples championship against Cooney. He got stripped and
then got his ass kicked by Tyson. What could happen to Team Bowe is that he
will get stripped by all organizations, fight for his $millions, and never get
a chance at the 3 new champions since Don King will be in charge of at least
one of them! But then again, Team Bowe will be RICH and since that is the name
of the game, then he will win it.

PRE-FIGHT THOUGHTS:
The fight was once again at the Thomason Mack Convention Center. It wasn't sold
out with lots of $200 seats not sold. In fact $100 seats were available at the
door! We tried to sneak into the $500 seats but got a bit too cautious and
decided to retreat to our original seats. Beer line weren't long at all.And the
casinos provided return transportation! Lots and Lots of babes everywhere! And
lots of movie stars as well as other sport figures like Sugar Run Away Leonard,
Magic I'm not Really Retired Johnson, Mel Gibson, Kevin Costner, and countless
others. Besides the fact that a ring of $200 seats didn't sell out, it seemed
like a sell out crowd and one that was partial to Bowe.

Round 1:
Great round for heavyweights. Both fighters wanted to get after it. There was
little feeling out in this round with both landing and trading hay makers. The
crowd gave a standing ovation to the fighters at the end of the round. I gave
the round to Holyfield, but then again, I was in the cheap seats!

Round 3:
At the end of the 3rd Holyfield gets rocked with a wicked left uppercut.
Holyfield staggers back to his corner and gets revived for round 4. It is
obvious that Bowe is hurting Holyfield and Holyfield is not hurting Bowe. Not a
good sign especially with 9 rounds to go. Holyfield is fighting inside with
Bowe and pushing against Bowe. This just seemed to be the wrong strategy for
Holyfield, yet Bowes jab was on target and at times whipped Holyfields head
back. At this point we had Bowe winning 2 outa 3 rounds.

Rounds 4-9:
Good rounds, but they still showed that Bowe was stronger and faster than
Holyfield and he was not being phased by Holyfields power. Sometime in the
later rounds Holyfield accidently thumbs Bowe. It noticeably affects Bowe for a
bit, but Holyfield cannot capitalize.

Round 10:
Early in the round Bowe attacks and hurts Holyfield. Holyfield is pounded
against the ropes and pushed and followed around the ring for a good 30
seconds. Holyfield finally holds on to a punched out Bowe and begins to punch
back. This is the most exciting round of the fight. Holyfield miraculously
weathers the beating and is able to administer his own to Bowe, but it doesnt
do enough damage. This is probably one of the best rounds of a heavyweight
fight ever and the crowd gives a standing ovation to the fighters!

Round 11:
Again Bowe rocks Holyfield, but this time Holyfield eventually goes down. He
gamely gets up, holds, runs, and even trades punches, but is badly beaten and
exhausted by the end of the round.

Round 12:
Evander continues to take a beating, but Bowe is not able to stop Holyfield.
The fight ends with Holyfield and Bowe holding each other, Holyfield stumbling
to his corner, Bowe holding his hands up expecting the victory, and Rock Newman
being a jerk and starting fights with Lennox Lewis.

Bowe wins by unanimous decision. So all in all, it was a great fight, but we
lost a great individual with a somewhat questionable record and we gained a
side show with a Don King look alike. Sounds like boxing as usual.


*****************************************************************
John R. Cobarruvias, Texas A&M Class of '78, 
NASA Johnson Space Center Houston Tx.
(713)483-9357

"And to think..................I hesitated" (Hellraiser II)
*****************************************************************