Big Daddy’s big flop in Muay Thai – FOX19.com-Cincinnati News, Weather & Sports

By JOCELYN GECKER
Associated Press

PATTAYA, Thailand (AP) – Wincing in pain and clutching his shins, Riddick Bowe ended his debut in Thai kickboxing with a thud in the second round.

The 45-year-old former world heavyweight boxing champion came to a rude awakening on Friday that Muay Thai is just as punishing.

“It’s much harder than boxing,” Bowe said after limping out of the ring.

Bowe took a big beating from his 30-year-old Russian opponent Levgen Golovin, who assaulted the former champion with repeated kicks to the shins.

Bowe lost his balance and fell five times before the bout was ended by technical knockout after his last fall.

“You can recover from a head shot or a body shot, but when you get kicked in the leg it lasts a long time,” he said. “My leg is still hurting. I don’t know how long it’s been – 15 minutes?”

Bowe’s last boxing match was in 2008. He says he decided to try Muay Thai because he was bored with retirement and needs the cash.

He made $150,000 from Friday’s fight, organized by Thai promoters trying to increase the international appeal of Thailand’s national sport. The bout was held at an outdoor ring set up beside the beach in Pattaya, a Thai town best known for its seaside red-light district.

Bowe beat Evander Holyfield in 1992 to become the undisputed world heavyweight champion.

Now weighing 300 pounds, Bowe was heavy and slow and barely landed a punch in Friday’s fight.

Despite the pain in his legs, Bowe smiled for the cameras after the fight and mustered some optimism.

“I had a lot of fun. I’m going to do it again. Next time it’s going to be different,” he said. “I’ll be back soon.”

Bowe’s opponent shook his head in disbelief when told the aging boxer isn’t giving up on Muay Thai.

“It would be a big mistake. It’s not for him,” Golovin said. “He’s too slow and a bit too old.”

Copyright 2013 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Article source: http://www.fox19.com/story/22593624/big-daddys-big-flop-in-muay-thai

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Article source: http://www.muaythaiauthority.com/2013/06/xavier-vigney-wins-road-to-glory-usa.html

Muay Thai must adapt to claim Olympic berth

Whoever becomes the next president of the International Olympic Committee will face mounting pressure from combat sports organisations seeking inclusion into the Olympic Games.

Riddick Bowe lies on the canvas after being knocked down by Levgen Golovin.

Six candidates are vying for IOC presidency in the Sept 10 election _ IOC vice-presidents Thomas Bach (Germany) and Ng Ser Miang (Singapore), IOC finance commission chairman Richard Carrion (Puerto Rico), pole vault great Sergei Bubka (Ukraine), international amateur boxing chief Wu Ching-kuo (Taiwan) and rowing federation boss Denis Oswald (Switzerland).

While Bach is considered the front-runner, the record number of candidates indicates there is no consensus and votes will be split.

All the six candidates have submitted their manifestos for the development of Olympic sports, and all have been lobbied by a core of combat sports organisations representing boxing, wrestling and martial arts.

As for wrestling, which was axed from the 2016 Olympics, the sport could make a quick return to the Games in 2020.

The IOC will later this year pick one of three sports _ wrestling, squash and baseball (and softball) _ to be included in the 2020 Olympics.

Wrestling has gone through a major overhaul after being dropped by the IOC in February.

Following a global outcry from wrestling organisations _ particularly those in the United States and Russia _ the IOC chose wrestling as a candidate to be included in the 2020 Games at a recent conference.

It came after wrestling bosses made a series of rule changes to make the sport more exciting and easier for spectators to understand.

Sports that failed to make the cut for consideration for inclusion in the 2020 Games include roller sports, sport climbing, squash, wakeboarding and the Chinese martial art of wushu.

All these sports will have to wait another four years to find out if they can make the 2024 Olympics.

Muay Thai wasn’t nominated as a new Olympic sport, as it failed to pass the basic Olympic criteria along with mixed martial arts and kickboxing.

The man behind wrestling’s move to make a return to the Olympics is Nenad Lalovic, acting president of the International Wrestling Federation.

Not surprisingly, Lalovic is not concerned about the plight of other sports and issued some tough advice for sports like Muay Thai that have Olympic aspirations.

“We don’t think about their sport. We think about our sport, and we prepare ourselves without watching what’s going on around us,” he said.

Lalovic put wrestling through three months of reorganisation after the embarrassment of being dropped by the IOC in February.

The sport has made several changes to its rules to make it a spectator-friendly completion and easy to understand.

The changes include reducing wrestling matches to two three-minute sessions instead of three two-minute rounds. Scoring is streamlined so that it can be clearly understood round-by-round.

Lalovic said: “We have the strength to change. We made mistakes in the past, for sure. Now we are looking forward.”

The US was instrumental in getting wrestling back on track by presenting impressive numbers of 300,000 high school students competing in the sport.

USA Wrestling executive director Rich Bender said wrestling was able to show the IOC that young wrestlers all over the world had the same goal to become an Olympic champion.

So what can Muay Thai learn from wrestling?

Firstly, there is still a long way to go for Muay Thai to get the nod to become an Olympic sport.

Wrestling made constitutional changes to include women in major decision making. That’s a tough order for Muay Thai which has few _ if any _ female administrators and it is a tradition in Thailand that women are not allowed to enter the ring.

Another obstacle is that the IOC has made it clear that all new sports seeking Olympic admission must make the necessary changes to make their sport “more viewer-friendly”.

By reducing the rounds, wrestling has become more attractive, and Muay Thai needs to address the first and last rounds for its five-round bout that are often extremely slow and irrelevant.

The two-minute rest periods between each round are too long and boring for many fans but appreciated by the gamblers.

To improve its chances of becoming an Olympic sport, Muay Thai has to revise the scoring system to reward the fighters who show effective attack as well as eliminating prolonged grappling.

Muay Thai bosses must have an understanding that all sports must evolve and that includes allowing more women to enter its upper echelons of administration and encouraging more women to compete in Muay Thai.

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‘Big Daddy’ Bowe flops big time in Muay Thai

Riddick Bowe now understands why people warned him that Muay Thai is a dangerous sport.

“I would have to say, they have a valid point,” Bowe said after his debut in Thai kickboxing ended with a thud in the second round. “It’s much harder than boxing.”

The former world heavyweight boxing champion had hoped to show he could come out of retirement into an entirely new sport and revive some of his past glories.

However, Bowe is now 45 years old and weighs 136kg. He looked it on Friday in his first fight since 2008. Slow and out of shape, the fighter known as “Big Daddy” took a beating from unheralded 30-year-old Russian opponent Levgen Golovin, who attacked with repeated kicks to the shins that knocked Bowe off his feet five times. The bout was ended by a technical knockout after his last fall, with Bowe sitting on the ground clutching his legs, wincing in pain.

“You can recover from a head shot or a body shot, but when you get kicked in the leg it lasts a long time,” Bowe said. “My leg is still hurting. I don’t know how long it’s been — 15 minutes?”

Not once during the fight, which ended two minutes into the second round, did Bowe land a punch or a kick. However, he was happy to trade barbs with reporters afterward, showing the wit that made him one of boxing’s charismatic personalities during his brief reign as champion two decades ago.

“This ain’t a setback, it’s a getback,” Bowe said. “I had a lot of fun. I’m going to do it again. Next time it’s going to be different.”

Like so many prize fighters, Bowe lost the struggle to stay out of the ring. He had his reasons: He was bored with retirement; his millions are gone and he needs the money; he misses the adoration of fans; he loves to fight.

Bowe made US$150,000 for his Muay Thai debut, organized by Thai promoters trying to increase the international appeal of the sport.

The money is a far cry from the millions he earned per bout by beating Evander Holyfield in 1992 to become the undisputed world heavyweight champion. In his heyday, Bowe fought on boxing’s grandest stages. His return to fighting took place at an outdoor ring set up beside the beach in Pattaya, a Thai town best known for its sprawling red-light district.

Bowe’s fight was one of a dozen at the venue, which had the atmosphere of a fairground with loud music and amusement park rides nearby. Promoters had hoped to draw about 20,000 people, but a crowd closer to 1,000 turned up, even though admission was free.

Despite his loss, Bowe was optimistic.

“Hey, we’re going to do this again. I’ll be back soon,” he said. “I’m not a quitter. I want to do it until I get it right.”

Bowe’s opponent shook his head in disbelief when told the boxer plans to return to Muay Thai.

“It would be a big mistake. It’s not for him,” Golovin said. “He’s too slow and a bit too old.”

Article source: http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/sport/archives/2013/06/16/2003564906

Big Daddy’s big flop in Muay Thai

PATTAYA, Thailand (AP) — Wincing in pain and clutching his shins, Riddick Bowe ended his debut in Thai kickboxing with a thud in the second round.

The 45-year-old former world heavyweight boxing champion came to a rude awakening on Friday that Muay Thai is just as punishing.

“It’s much harder than boxing,” Bowe said after limping out of the ring.

Bowe took a big beating from his 30-year-old Russian opponent Levgen Golovin, who assaulted the former champion with repeated kicks to the shins.

Bowe lost his balance and fell five times before the bout was ended by technical knockout after his last fall.

“You can recover from a head shot or a body shot, but when you get kicked in the leg it lasts a long time,” he said. “My leg is still hurting. I don’t know how long it’s been — 15 minutes?”

Bowe’s last boxing match was in 2008. He says he decided to try Muay Thai because he was bored with retirement and needs the cash.

He made $150,000 from Friday’s fight, organized by Thai promoters trying to increase the international appeal of Thailand’s national sport. The bout was held at an outdoor ring set up beside the beach in Pattaya, a Thai town best known for its seaside red-light district.

Bowe beat Evander Holyfield in 1992 to become the undisputed world heavyweight champion.

Now weighing 300 pounds, Bowe was heavy and slow and barely landed a punch in Friday’s fight.

Despite the pain in his legs, Bowe smiled for the cameras after the fight and mustered some optimism.

“I had a lot of fun. I’m going to do it again. Next time it’s going to be different,” he said. “I’ll be back soon.”

Bowe’s opponent shook his head in disbelief when told the aging boxer isn’t giving up on Muay Thai.

“It would be a big mistake. It’s not for him,” Golovin said. “He’s too slow and a bit too old.”

Article source: http://news.yahoo.com/big-daddys-big-flop-muay-thai-161055155.html

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