Riddick Bowe vs. Jesse Ferguson
Riddick Bowe vs. Jesse Ferguson, billed as The Heavyweight Debate, was a professional boxing match contested on May 22, 1993, for the WBA and Lineal Heavyweight championships. The fight took place in RFK Stadium in Washington, DC, was Bowe's second defense of the title he had won from Evander Holyfield in November 1992, and was the main event of a card that included a fight between Roy Jones Jr. and Bernard Hopkins for the vacant IBF middleweight championship, which Jones won.
Background
Since winning what was then the undisputed world heavyweight championship from Evander Holyfield in November 1992, Bowe had made one title defense. That came in February 1993 in a fight against former champion Michael Dokes, whom he knocked out in the first round to retain the WBA, IBF, and lineal championships he still held.Ferguson, meanwhile, had largely been a journeyman fighter over the course of his career. His resume featured bouts against a series of former and future champions, but he had never once fought for a world title and had been defeated nine times when he entered a bout with 1988 Olympic gold medalist and rising contender Ray Mercer on the same night Bowe fought Dokes. Despite being a significant underdog, Ferguson outboxed Mercer and won a decision victory.
Bowe, who had been seeking a fight with Mercer, instead chose to make his next defense against Ferguson. However, the IBF did not have Ferguson in its contender rankings and refused to allow Bowe to defend their title against him; therefore, when the bout was signed, only the WBA and lineal championships were placed at stake. Despite his limited success and his status as a 40-1 underdog, Ferguson remained confident that he could defeat Bowe, vowing to get the victory by knockout. Bowe responded to Ferguson's claims by calling him a "knucklehead" while also threatening to "punish" his competitor.
Bowe was a 40-1 favourite on fight night.
The Fights
Jones Jr. vs. Hopkins
In the chief support, 1988 Olympics Silver medalist Roy Jones Jr. faced Bernard Hopkins for the IBF middleweight belt vacated by James Toney following his victory over Iran Barkley to win the IBF super middleweight title in February.Both fighters were appearing in their first world title bout.
Gil Clancy on the HBO broadcast would some up the match up by saying "Bernard Hopkins is by far the best boxer and puncher Roy Jones has fought, but conversely, Roy is the most talented boxer Bernard Hopkins has ever fought."
The fight
Jones would prove too fast and too strong for Hopkins, largely controlling the action with his speed and unorthodox style. The more orthodox Hopkins would have some success whenever he backed Jones to the ropes, but these were sporadic and brief.At the end of 12 rounds all three judges would score the bout 116–112 in favour of Jones, giving him a unanimous decision victory. Unofficial HBO scorer Harold Lederman scored it 118–110 and Boxing Illustrated had 117–111 both for Jones.
Jones landed 206 of 594 punches while Hopkins connected on 153 of 670.
Aftermath
Speaking to Larry Merchant after the bout Jones said "I was very tight coming into the fight, I had so much build-up on me. Being like I am, I kind of expected that, but I thank God I made it through that one and it won’t happen no more. That was my first title and that was that."Jones would claim he had entered the bout with a broken right hand.
The two would have a rematch 17 years later at Light Heavyweight, where Hopkins would avenge his defeat with a dominant unanimous decision victory of his own.