WBO champ Riddick Bowe KOs challenger Gonzalez in 6th round

Jet, July 3, 1995

WBO Heavyweight Champion Riddick Bowe recently took another step toward making the World Boxing Organization crown a legitimate title.

The relatively new and hardly recognized crown was successfully defended by Bowe, who scored a 6th-round knockout of old nemesis Jorge Luis Gonzalez during their bout at the MGM Grand Gardens in Las Vegas.

Bowe, who lost to Gonzalez in the Pan Am Games in 1987 as an amateur, was razor sharp in his fight against Gonzalez this time around, pounding the Cuban fighter with devastating combinations until he finally dropped in the 6th.

Bowe's win continues to cloud an already murky heavyweight unification picture.

International Boxing Federation (IBF) champion George Foreman is reportedly waiting in the wings to fight the winner between Bowe and his next possible challenger Evander Holyfield.

Foreman's crown along with World Boxing Council (WBC) champion Oliver McCall and World Boxing Assn. (WBA) title holder Bruce Seldon were considered the main titles throughout the 1980s.

In the '80s, Mike Tyson was the undisputed champion, holding the WBA, WBC and IBF belts, but now it's a whole new ball game.