Bowe regrets never fighting heated rival Lewis for title

LOS ANGELES — Riddick Bowe and Lennox Lewis were at it again on Friday, looking as if they wanted to punch each other in the face. A number of heavyweight legends were asked to pose for a picture prior to the weigh-in for Saturday night’s fight between Deontay Wilder and Tyson Fury.

But as the middle-age heavyweights lined up and it looked as if Bowe and Lewis were to stand side-by-side, Lewis wanted no part of it and squeezed Bowe out. Bowe didn’t like the reaction and glares were exchanged like it was 1993 again.

“Me and Lennox have a policy,” said Bowe, the former heavyweight champion from Brooklyn. “If he keeps my name out of his mouth, I’ll keep my foot out of his a--.”

Bowe, 50, and Lewis, 53, were among a group of legendary heavyweights here to watch Saturday’s WBC heavyweight championship bout between Wilder and Fury at Staples Center. While Evander Holyfield, Gerry Cooney, Ernie Shavers, Buster Douglas, and Michael Spinks reflected on an era when the best fought the best; the glaring omission was the bout between Bowe and Lewis that never took place.

Bowe and his manager, Roc Newman, vacated the WBC title in 1993 rather than fight Lewis, the manda- tory challenger. History will recall Bowe and Newman throwing the WBC belt into a trash can. It now ranks as Bowe’s biggest regret.

“With him being the No. 1 contender and me being the champion, the money shouldn’t have been an issue,” Bowe said. “But the money got in the way and he never fought me. He would have got his first loss if he would have fought me. That’s why I think that fight didn’t happen.”

There remains lingering doubt whether Anthony Joshua, the current WBA, IBF and WBO champion, will ever agree to fight the winner between Wilder and Fury. Wilder had hoped to negotiate a fight with Joshua this year, but couldn’t come to terms. There are those in the Wilder camp who believe Joshua and his promoter, Eddie Hearn, have no intention of ever agreeing to a fight.

“There will probably be another excuse why they don’t want to fight in April,” said Shelly Finkel, Wilder’s manager.

Bowe said he always wanted to avenge his loss to Lewis in the gold-medal round at the 1988 Olympic Games in Seoul.

“That’s the only guy I wanted to fight and never could fight,” Bowe said, adding it would be bad for boxing if a Joshua-Wilder showdown never happened. “Hopefully, it will happen.”