Riddick Bowe vs Herbie Hide - Highlights (7 KNOCKDOWNS, 1 KNOCKOUT)

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March 11th, 1995. Riddick Bowe aka "Big Daddy" took on "The Dancing Destroyer" Herbie Hide in a fight for the WBO Heavyweight Championship in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Bowe who was the 5-1 betting favorite had a number of advantages; he outweighed Hide by 27 pounds and was 3” taller and 6” longer in addition to being the more experienced fighter who had faced the highest level of competition while Hide had mostly fought against domestic level opponents in the United Kingdom.
Prefight records; Bowe 35(29)-1, Hide 26(25)-0.
In March 1994, Hide lifted the WBO Heavyweight Title via TKO7 over Michael Bentt who was subsequently forced into retirement after spending 4 days in a coma followed by a recovery period of several weeks in the hospital due to severe head injuries endured in the bout.
For Hide’s 1st defense, he was set to take on the former Undisputed World Heavyweight Champion from Brooklyn.
In November 1993, Bowe suffered his 1st career loss via MD12 against Evander Holyfield and was relieved of his IBF & WBA Heavyweight Titles. It was a world title fight best remembered for the “Fan Man” incident in which parachutist James Miller crashed into the ring ropes using a paraglider that caused a chaotic 21-minute long fight delay.
In August 1994, Bowe attempted to rebound after his setback against Holyfield by taking on Buster Mathis Jr. It ended in a no contest (as ruled by the SACB) after Bowe knocked Mathis out while he was down on the canvas.
4 months later, Bowe defeated Larry Donald via a lopsided UD12 to bag the WBC Continental Americas Heavyweight Title and earned a world title opportunity against the undefeated British-Nigerian.
Going into the fight, the 23 year old Hide had top wins over Jeff Lampkin & Michael Bentt while the 27 year old Bowe hold notable triumphs over Bert Cooper, Michael Dokes, Larry Donald, Tony Tubbs, Tyrell Biggs, Lionel Butler, Pierre Coetzer, Bruce Seldon, Pinklon Thomas & Evander Holyfield.
It was a brutal affair where both fighters absorbed tremendous punishment. The champion had his way during the first 8 minutes by sticking and moving to great effect. However, the challenger weathered the storm and found his opening en route to winning the WBO Heavyweight Championship in grueling fashion.
In round 2, timeout was called by referee Richard Steele when Bowe was headbutted while he was holding and throwing uppercuts at Hide’s head which accidentally hit the top of his left eye. Hide was bizarrely warned by Steele of the possibility of a disqualification after a complaint by Bowe despite the fact that it was evidently no fault of his.
In round 3, an exhausted Hide fell to the canvas during a clinch and he got back on his feet unsteadily thus Bowe went after him with barrages of blows to deck him twice within 40 seconds in the final minute. Hide showed great resolve with ferocious retaliations after beating the count both times.
In round 4, Bowe slipped after missing with a wild left hook counter against a string of shots by Hide who was floored twice with punches and once with a push in the latter part of the round.
In round 5, Bowe scored another knockdown with a 3 punch combo but Hide came back strong and buckled his legs with 2 thunderous right uppercuts followed by 3 power shots upstairs.
In round 6, Hide slipped from fatigue and shortly after he got up, Bowe sent him to the canvas for the 6th time with a looping right hand. A towel was thrown into the ring from his corner but Steele ignored it and continued counting as the fight cannot be stopped in that manner. With a little less than a minute to the bell, Hide went down for the 7th and final time courtesy of 2 big right hands while he was pinned to the ropes.
Overall, Hide went down 10 times (3 were slips or shoves) in 6 rounds but to his credit he put up an enormous effort and did way better than expected by most who considered him to be nothing more than a filler opponent for Bowe to look impressive in order to set up subsequent big money fights.
By CompuBox Punch Stats, Hide landed 41 punches more than Bowe (120 over 79) and connected at a rate of 53% against Bowe’s 50%.
"He (Herbie Hide) was very courageous. I must admit that I do not think tonight was one of my best performances…”
Riddick Bowe (Post fight interview)
Enjoy this highlight of a Heavyweight war with 7 KNOCKDOWNS, 1 KNOCKOUT and don’t forget to SUBSCRIBE!