Riddick Bowe Brutalized in Muay Thai Debut (original) (raw)

As most of us know, Muay Thai is a rough sport. Your body is battered, your head is sliced open, your guts are kneed into oblivion, and perhaps more painful than everything else combined- your legs are absolutely destroyed each and every time you step into a ring. Riddick Bowe, the 45 year old former boxing champion, nearly ten years retired from training, discovered that last fact tonight in Pattaya, Thailand during his professional Muay Thai debut.

None of us had much hope for Riddick. In fact, the rumor is that a large bet was put down before the fight on whether or not Bowe would attempt a single leg kick. Facing off against the little-known Levgen Golovgin, who Bowe outweighed by nearly 30 kilos, the boxing champion’s cardio, determination, and drive were all called into question. and this fight certainly provided the answers.

Below is an (oddly) sped up video of the encounter, but it should suffice until we get something a bit clearer.

From the opening bell it was exceedingly clear that Bowe had no intention to fight Muay Thai. He stood in a boxing stance and made no attempt to throw anything with the semblance of a kick. Bowe’s lead leg was begging to be smashed, and Levgen Golovgin was only too happy to oblige.

The Russian fighter threw only 5 leg kicks in the first round. Of those 5, Bowe was knocked down 2 times. At the end of the first the American was in visible pain. The second round held more of the same for Bowe, who was knocked down three more times from leg kicks without putting up so much as the shadow of a defense. The match was called to a stop halfway through the second round. Bowe was unable to stand on his own after the fight.

The boxer was reportedly paid $150,000 for the fight.

In the co-main event of the evening, Holland’s Fred Sikking emerged victorious against America’s Dewey Cooper in one of the better matches on the card. While Cooper certainly had good movement and wasn’t content to let Sikking destroy him, Fred’s power and technique proved to be too much for the Black Mamba. For his victory, Sikking took home the WPMF heavyweight title.

Also on the card, Marvin “The Beastman” Eastman lost to Ricardo Van De Bos by Knockout, while Canada’s Simon Marcus put on a dominate display against an admittedly smaller and older Suriya. Finally, Singmanee Kaewsamrit continued his winning ways, defeating Salardine Etnaker by TKO with a vicious livershot.

You can catch the full results below, and remember to stay with FSA for all your Retired American heavyweight boxer vs. Muay Thai needs.

FULL RESULTS

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Levgen Golovgin def. Riddick by TKO in Rd. 2

Fred Sikking def. Dewey Cooper by Unanimous Decision

Ricardo Van De Bos def. Marvin Eastman by KO

Sean Kearney def. Petrungroth Kaewsamrit via KO

Simon Marcus def. Suriya Prasarthinmai by Unanimous Decision

Singmanee Kaewsamrit def. Salardine Etnaker by TKO