On May 22, Heavyweight champion Riddick “Big Daddy” Bowe defended his titles against Jesse “Boogieman” Ferguson.
Billed as “The Heavyweight Debate,” the bout was hosted at RFK Stadium in Washington, DC. The nation’s capital had been busy as the fight was just four months after the inauguration of the 42nd President, William Jefferson Clinton.
The year was 1993.
The Capitol Building, Lincoln Memorial, and the White House served as unique backdrops for fans in attendance and those watching at home live on HBO.
The night included a televised undercard bout between Roy Jones Jr. and Bernard Hopkins. After a dominant performance by Jones, winning 116-112 on all three scorecards, the big men took center stage.
Now 25, Bowe (33-0, 28 KOs) was the lineal Heavyweight champion of the world. This night marked the second defense of a crown that he had lifted from Evander Holyfield just six months prior.
After dropping the WBC title into a garbage can, Bowe’s first defense was a one-round destruction of Michael Dokes at Madison Square Garden in February.
On the undercard of the Dokes fight, Ray Mercer, slated as Bowe’s next opponent, had what appeared to be a tune-up fight against Ferguson. Incredibly, Ferguson took Mercer to school winning a unanimous 10-round decision.
Controversy then followed as Mercer faced accusations of trying to bribe Ferguson into taking a dive, both before and during the bout, in hopes of keeping a firm grasp on his upcoming title opportunity.
After thoroughly whipping Mercer, Ferguson, from Philadelphia, now had a shot at Bowe’s Heavyweight championship. HBO touted the 36-year-old journeyman’s unlikely title shot as reminiscent of another once unheralded Philadelphia fighter, Rocky Balboa.
In 28 professional bouts, Ferguson (19-9, 13 KOs) had been in the ring with many of the era’s top fighters. He had earned wins over Mercer and James “Buster” Douglas and came up short against men like Mike Tyson, Carl “The Truth” Williams and James “Bonecrusher” Smith.
The victory over Mercer catapulted Ferguson to being ranked No. 12 in the world. Odds, however, hovered somewhere in the 32-1 range as a Ferguson victory over Bowe was as likely as a Ross Perot win in the previous November’s presidential race.
As some 15,000 fans settled in for the main event, “The Boogieman” began his walk accompanied by the instrumental from the movie “Halloween” blaring through RFK Stadium. The challenger looked steely-eyed and outwardly showed little emotion as he climbed into the ring.
Seconds later, Bowe exited his dressing room and began his walk towards the waiting Ferguson. With Michael Jackson’s “Man in the Mirror” booming, Bowe entered looking confident while bouncing up and down.
With both men now inside the ring, Michael Buffer introduced referee Larry Hazzard and then the fighters.
Jim Lampley, Larry Merchant and Gil Clancy, sitting in for George Foreman, were seated at ringside to call the action. Foreman was in training for his collision with Tommy “The Duke” Morrison which was scheduled for the next month. The Duke was milling around ringside as Round 1 got underway.
At 6’5” and 244 pounds, Bowe owned a three-inch height and 20-pound weight advantage over Ferguson. Outfitted in white trunks with red trim, Bowe snapped a crisp left jab into the face of Ferguson.
The challenger, wearing black trunks trimmed in white, moved inside and looked to bang away at the bigger man in Bowe. Both men appeared comfortable standing in close at tight quarters. It was clear early on that the champion had the faster hands and was landing the harder, shaper punches.
Ferguson, looking robotic and stiff, was not moving his head and was eating a lot of leather from a much bigger man. As the first round came down the stretch, Bowe backed Ferguson against the ropes and nearly obliterated him with a crunching left hook.
Lampley howled, “And the left hook lands and Ferguson goes down! Will he make it out of Round 1!?”
A dazed Ferguson climbed to his feet as the bell sounded to end the first three minutes. He bounced up and down in his corner while trying to clear his head.
The bell rang to begin Round 2 and again both men quickly met at the center of the ring. Just seconds into the second frame, Bowe unloaded an eight-punch combination beginning with a left jab and culminating with a sweeping overhand right.
Ferguson, still fuzzy from the knockdown in Round 1, tried to cover up to no avail. The last right hand from Bowe sent him crashing face first to the canvas.
Lampley saw the end was near. “And this is going to go pretty quickly now! And that’s it! A spectacular performance by Riddick Bowe against an outclassed Jesse Ferguson.”
While Ferguson lay face down, the bout had ended at just 17 seconds into Round 2.
Ferguson rose to live on and fight another day. He would face Mercer in a November 1993 rematch, losing by a split decision.
Bowe went on to fight in a November rematch of his own, once again meeting Holyfield. In the second of their three fights, Bowe would lose his titles via a majority decision.
The Heavyweight division proved to be in a constant state of change with Frank Bruno, Lennox Lewis, Andrew Golota, Morrison, Razor Ruddock, Foreman, Michael Moorer, Holyfield, and Bowe all in the mix. Unbeknownst to many, Tyson was about to reenter the division just two years later.
But for the time being, Bowe was the kingpin in the division.
