Riddick Bowe released from prison

[HAPPYPEEKERS]

HAGERSTOWN, Maryland (AP) -- Former heavyweight champion Riddick Bowe was released from prison Monday after serving 18 months for kidnapping his first wife and their children in 1998.

The 36-year-old boxer left a federal prison near Cumberland, prison spokesman Stephen Finger said.

His formal release date is June 8, but federal inmates with good conduct credits can be freed early to serve the rest of their sentences at halfway houses or on home confinement.

Finger could not comment on Bowe's whereabouts or the terms of his release.

Bowe, of Fort Washington, had a 40-1 lifetime record. He was the undisputed heavyweight champion after beating Evander Holyfield in 1992 but lost the crown to Holyfield the next year.

He has said he planned to return to the ring after his release despite evidence his former attorneys presented in court that he suffered brain damage from fighting. He last fought in 1996, when he took two beatings from Andrew Golota.

"I'm going to shock the world again," Bowe told The Associated Press in February. "They didn't believe me the first time, and they don't believe me this time."

Bowe's attorney, Stephen Silverman, wasn't immediately available, his office said. Silverman said last month Bowe could not comment on a possible comeback until some unspecified issues were resolved.

Bowe recently dropped a lawsuit against former manager Rock Newman and apologized for claiming Newman stole money from him.

"I wish he wouldn't fight. I don't want to see him risk his health," Newman said last week.

The heavyweight division lacks a big-name champion following the February retirement of Lennox Lewis. Chris Byrd, John Ruiz, Vitali Klitschko and Lamon Brewster all hold portions of the heavyweight title, though there is no dominant fighter in the division.

In April, a judge dismissed a lawsuit filed against Bowe and Newman by a Sports Illustrated photographer who says he was hurt eight years ago during a riot after one of the boxer's bouts at Madison Square Garden.

Bowe was sentenced to a medium-security prison in January 2003 for abducting his estranged wife, Judy, and their five children from her home near Charlotte, North Carolina.

In June, Riddick was acquitted of assault charges in Maryland after his wife, Terri, and three other alleged victims failed to appear in court.

[polish_aristocrat]

and how do you think it will affect sales?

[DR_PHIL]

i really really really missed him

[AndrewKanuck]

Good for him, he deserves a cookie.

[kmanrox]

i wonder how his ass feels.

[Firehorse]

It will be interesting to see if prison has changed the way he fights in the ring!

[Gman.357]

Originally posted by Firehorse
It will be interesting to see if prison has changed the way he fights in the ring!

If Mike Tyson is any indicating factor, we can only assume it did.