RIDDICK BOWE Return to ring may not be the best move

The heavyweight is out of prison, remarried and looking to start a new life.
SHAWNEE, Okla. (AP) -- Riddick Bowe's speech was so slurred after his last fight eight years ago that he was barely understandable. A doctor later said the former heavyweight champion's brain was damaged from too many punches.
On Saturday night, in a field next to an Indian casino, Bowe will enter the ring for more blows. It's the start of a comeback he believes will lead to the heavyweight title again.
Others believe it's more likely Bowe will suffer additional brain damage -- or worse.
Former manager
"For him to be allowed to fight is a prescription for disaster," former manager Rock Newman said. "I'm outraged they would not factor in the danger he faces."
Dr. Margaret Goodman, a neurologist and the chief ringside physician for the Nevada Athletic Commission, agrees.
"This is an experiment with a man's future," Goodman said. "He has evidence of chronic brain injury caused by the sport of boxing."
Bowe is the main attraction of a five-fight card at the Citizen Potawatomi Nation's Fire Lake casino, a far cry from Madison Square Garden, where he last fought, or the glittering resorts of Las Vegas.
The Bowe that fans come to see Saturday night will also be much different than the boxer who held the heavyweight title in the early 1990s and engaged in three epic fights with Evander Holyfield.
He's now 37, hasn't been training very hard, and will enter the ring somewhere near 270 pounds to face club fighter Marcus Rhode, who has lost three of his last four bouts by knockout.
Still has millions
Still, just as he was when he tried to become a Marine, Bowe is gung-ho for his latest challenge. He says he still has millions left from his first career, and the comeback is not about money.
Bowe says he just wants to do the only thing he knows how to do.
"I'm like a kid in a candy store. I feel like I just hit the lotto," Bowe said. "I've been miserable the last eight years so why prevent me from doing something that makes me happy?"
Doctors who examined Bowe recently say there is nothing to indicate he has brain damage or other physical problems, and the former champion no longer slurs his words.
That was enough to get him a boxing license from the Indian tribe with cooperation from the Oklahoma Boxing Commission, after several other states showed little interest when contacted by his manager. Bowe never applied in Nevada, which has a medical advisory board and the strictest regulations of any state.
Opinion
Bowe is obsessed with fighting again, which troubles Newman.
"My initial reaction was, knowing Bowe's abhorrence of training, he would find a way not to go through with it," Newman said. "Now that he is, I'm just saddened by the whole thing."
Bowe said he never really wanted to retire, and that his life hasn't been the same without boxing. He's out of prison, remarried and looking to start a new life.
"This is America, why can't I have a second opportunity?" Bowe asked. "I made one silly mistake, but I'm not the worst person in the world. Why not let me be happy and make a couple more dollars for my kids?"