Herbie Hide 22 Months in Prison – Former Heavyweight Champion Locked Up – BOXING NEWS

By Geno McGahee

Boxing has many moments when you have to scratch your head and wonder how this could happen. This is certainly the case with the lock up of former WBO Heavyweight champion, Herbie Hide, 49-4, 43 KO’s.

Hide was a devastating puncher with a brash attitude, he became an attraction. In 1994, he would end the career of Michael Bentt and pick up the WBO heavyweight crown in the process. He would lose it in his first defense to Riddick Bowe, but would sting the big man a few times before losing to anxiety and exhaustion. Hide would rebound quickly and regain the WBO title with a knockout of former champion, Tony Tucker.

In 1999, he would be pitted against the much larger Vitali Klitschko and he would be stopped quickly by Dr. Iron Fist. The rest of Hide’s career would be unremarkable and he would soon fade away into obscurity. The next time he would resurface would be under very dubious conditions.

Hide would be caught on tape selling cocaine and also freely discussed fixing boxing matches. His drug charges would send him away on a 22 month sentence. He will join other great fighters that made their mark but could never keep their noses clean. Michael Nunn, Riddick Bowe, Ike Ibeabuchi and now Hide are only a small sampling of the pugilists that cannot handle success and bank enough money to comfortably retire from the game.