Riddick Bowe Pulled From Celebrity Boxing Fight After Criticism

By Boxing News - 09/22/2021 - Comments

UPDATE: PHOENIX –OFFICIAL CELEBRITY BOXING STATEMENT ON SAFETY CONCERNS RAISED BY ASSOCIATION OF BOXING COMMISSIONS

Official Celebrity Boxing released the following statement from CEO Damon Feldman today regarding the safety concerns expressed by the Association of Boxing Commissions:

“Official Celebrity Boxing prides itself on being a safe, fan-friendly, and low-impact alternative form of boxing entertainment. As such, all of our celebrity fighters are required to wear protective head gear and over-sized boxing gloves to addresses the inherent dangers normally associated with a professional boxing match. We fully understand the commissions’ concerns and know that nothing is more important than the continued safety of our participants. For those reasons, we will be announcing a replacement for Riddick Bowe in our Celebrity Boxing Miami 2021 event on Oct. 2.”

For more information on Official Celebrity Boxing, follow on Instagram @celebrityboxing1.

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The Official Celebrity Boxing ‘Clash of the Titans’ showdown between two-time NBA world champion Lamar Odom and former two-time heavyweight world champion Riddick “Big Daddy” Bowe will take place on Saturday, Oct. 2 at the James L. Knight Center in downtown Miami.

Tickets are on sale now and can be purchased here. The live event begins at 8 p.m. ET and will be available to watch on pay-per-view for $29.99 on FITE TV.

“Miami is the perfect place to host an event of this magnitude,” said Damon Feldman, CEO of Official Celebrity Boxing. “We have 11 fights scheduled with former world champion boxers, TV and social media celebrities, so there’s something for everyone.”

Odom, 6-10, a product of Queens, New York, won back-to-back NBA championships with the Los Angeles Lakers in 2009 and 2010. Over his career, he played 14 seasons and averaged 13.3 points, 8.4 rebounds and 3.7 assists in 961 games for the Los Angeles Clippers (1999-2003, 2012-13), Miami Heat (2003-04), L.A. Lakers (2004-11), Dallas Mavericks (2011-12). Odom (1-0) defeated popstar Aaron Carter in his first Official Celebrity Boxing appearance at the Showboat Casino in Atlantic City, N.J., on June 11. UFC Hall of Famer Chuck Lidell served as the celebrity referee for the contest.

Bowe, 54, finished his professional boxing career 43-1 with 33 knockouts. The Brooklyn, New York-native won his first title over then-undefeated heavyweight champion Evander Holyfield in 1992. In the final contest of the Bowe-Holyfield trilogy, Bowe earned the distinction of being the only fighter ever to knock out Holyfield. In 1995, Bowe became the first titleholder in boxing history for all four major sanctioning bodies (WBA, WBC, WBO and IBF) by defeating Herbie Hide to obtain the WBO belt. A decorated champion, Bowe was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 2015 and earned a silver medal during the 1988 Olympics as a super heavyweight.

Tampa-born TikTok sensation Corey “Corey B” Bonalewicz squares off against boxing veteran Paulie “Magic Man” Malignaggi in the co-main event. Corey B, known for his humorous video content on TikTok, is a social media magnate with nearly seven million followers. Malignaggi retired from professional boxing in 2017 with a 36-8 record over his 16-year career. During that span he became a two-division world champion, earning the IBF junior welterweight title in 2007 and the WBA welterweight title in 2012.

The action-packed main card features the ‘Battle of Social Media Stars’ between Wide Neck and HolyGod. Charles “Wide Neck” McDowell, a Pensacola, Fla.-native and social media influencer, went viral when a mugshot of his unusually thick neck circulated on the internet. Javante “HolyGod” Carter is famous for his unique facial expressions and entertaining skits, which have earned him 13.1 million TikTok followers.

Below is a list of eight additional fights on the card:

Pauly Paul vs. Strikes
Natalie “Nat D” DiDonato vs. TBA
Carlton Washington vs. Byson Clutch
RonDre Wright vs. Pharoah Johnson
Hazel Roche vs. Sam Bregman
Josh Colon vs. Johnny Nova
Maria Escobar vs. Stefany Baldassarra
Kevin Rostamian vs. Michael Anthony

All scheduled fights are subject to change

Official Celebrity Boxing is a promotional boxing company founded in 2002 by CEO Damon Feldman, who is scheduled to release the Official Celebrity Boxing documentary The 16th Minute in February 2022. For more information, visit OfficialCelebrityBoxing.com or follow on Instagram @celebrityboxing1.