Former heavyweight world champion boxer Riddick "Big Daddy" Bowe wants to return to boxing and fight each of the Klitschko brothers.
"If they beat me that proves they're better, then," Bowe said. "If they don't beat me, that proves I'm the cream of the crop still."
Bowe said he wants to fight Vitali and Wladimir Klitschko, who collectively possess every single World Heavyweight Title, back-to-back. By his estimation he could fight both of the Klitschko brothers within three months of each other. Bowe has not fought in nearly three years, but his agent and longtime friend Allen Ellison predicted the former heavyweight champion would easily demolish both of the Klitschko brothers if given a year to train for the first fight.
"In one year the champ would knock out either of them," Ellison said. "Look at their fighting styles. They don't have the heart. They don't have the skills. They don't have the knockout punch. The champ could beat either one of them in a year. There would be no competition. In six months, there would be competition. A year, he'd knock them out."
Bowe also agreed he could be ready to fight the Klitschko brothers in as soon as six months, and expressed no fear of the reigning champions.
"In six months they'd give me a good fight," Bowe said. "In a year, I'd just whoop them. A lion recognizes a lion. Them boys is sheeps."
Bowe said his desire to fight against the Klitschko brothers stems from meeting them in 2008. Bowe fought Gene Pukall in Mannheim, Germany, on the undercard of Wladimir Klitschko's heavyweight title match against Hasim Rahman, and Bowe said one of the Klitschkos insulted him.
"I had my last fight in Germany, and that's when I was on the Klitschkos' undercard," Bowe said. "One of them called me 'Grandpa.' You know what Grandpa's gonna do? Grandpa's gonna tap that ass."
Bowe laughed at his boast, but he was completely serious about beating the Klitschko brothers. He has not fought since 2008, but insisted he has fought for so long the three-year hiatus will not affect him.
"I've been doing it since I was 12 years old," Bowe said. "It's just what I do. I've been doing it all my life. Now I'm 43, it hasn't changed."
Ellison agreed with Bowe's assessment and said he has no concern about Bowe's age factoring into a fight with either of the Klitschkos.
"You may lose a little speed, but you never lose your skills," Ellison said. "You're always going to know how to punch. Fighting against the Klitschkos, age wouldn't be a problem because they're older guys, too. So it would be guys around the same age fighting each other. So speed wouldn't be an issue. They'd all be around the same speed, and they've got less ability."
Bowe also said he is looking for opponents other than just the Klitschkos, as getting back into fighting is even more important to him than the particular opponent.
"I'm hoping we're going to find somebody real soon," Bowe said. "Ain't too many people nowadays that want to sign up for a good old-fashioned whooping."
Bowe frequently touted his ability to deliver "whoopings" and knockouts, but his friend Leslie Williams said the former heavyweight champion's aggressive nature inside of the ring doesn't reflect the type of person he is when he's not fighting. Williams, a former boxer who said he met Bowe through mutual acquaintances approximately eight years ago, said Bowe is "like a giant teddy bear" outside of the ring.
"He's a jokester, so he jokes around and plays around, and that's who he is," Williams said. "At the same time, he understands the business of boxing, so when he steps into the ring it's like being a professional anything. You've got your personal life and you've got your professional life. He understands the difference between the two, and that's what allows him to make that transition between boxing and who he really is."
Bowe agreed, saying his in-the-ring persona does not remotely match the type of person he really is.
"Once you get to know me, you realize the type of person I am," Bowe said. "I love almost everybody and everything. When I'm in the ring, I ain't nothing but the truth. When I'm out of the ring, I'm a family man."
Bowe's fun-loving side will be taking the back seat in the near future. Now he has decided to return to boxing, he is focused on the business side of boxing and trying to schedule new fights.
"Bowe's back open for business," Ellison said. "We're reaching out to promoters, we're seeing what we can do to get on the fight cards. Anyone who's interested in a matchup can go ahead and give me a call."