Bowe shells out $360,000 in gun buy-back campaign

Jet, Feb 7, 1994

Gun owners from grandmothers to teenagers recently waited in single-digit temperatures in Washington, DC to cash in on boxer Riddick Bowe's offer of $100 cash for each firearm.

By the end of the day, Bowe manager Rock Newman said more than 3,600 guns were exchanged for cash at Union Temple Baptist Church in the District. Newman said, "There were 13-year-olds to 87-year-olds."

While the number of guns turned in exceeded their expectations, Newman said the $360,000 expense to him and the former heavyweight champ was "well worth it." The guns ranged from.357 magnums to rifles and sawed-off shotguns. Newman said, "It was a magnificent day."

Bowe, who is scheduled to fight Feb. 5, had to cancel his match with South Africa's Francois Botha due to a facial cut (JET, Jan. 31).