Former heavyweight champion Riddick Bowe was scheduled to fight for the first time in eight years Saturday night, facing journeyman Marcus Rhode in a makeshift ring on an Indian reservation.
His comeback began amid concerns that he is risking brain damage by fighting again at 37.
Bowe, the former undisputed heavyweight champion, trained in Oklahoma for more than two weeks for his first fight after a long retirement.
Bowe (40-1, 32 KOs) plans to fight 15 times over the next 18 months in preparation for a run at the heavyweight title. It doesn’t matter to him that his opponent is still a mystery.
“A fighter’s a fighter whether he’s Mike Tyson or Joe Blow,” Bowe said. “You’ve still got to prepare the same way.”
Some have expressed concern about Bowe’s health after attorneys used brain damage as a defense for Bowe in a trial on charges related to his abduction of his first wife and their five children. Bowe, who eventually pleaded guilty to domestic violence, has said his lawyers made up the brain damage claim to keep him out of prison.
Bowe and his manager, Jimmy Adams, said there was no medical documentation of any brain injury to Bowe.
