Biko Botowamungu, the Congolese-born Austrian heavyweight who lost to Riddick Bowe in the second round of the 1988 Olympics in Seoul, has died at the age of 68. He was the last boxer to represent Austria in the Games.
Four years after the defeat to Bowe, who went on to win the silver medal, Botowamungu ditched the vest and turned professional. After winning eight of his first 11 bouts, he was outpointed over 10 rounds by an up-and-coming Chris Byrd. From that point forth, though all of his career victories came via KO, Botowamungu predominantly became the ‘opponent’.
He would lose to Willi Fischer, Corey Sanders and Wladimir Klitschko in consecutive bouts and only one more triumph would be recorded. Other notable fighters who defeated Botowamungu included Lamon Brewster, Obed Sullivan, Pele Reid, Albert Sosnowski and Luan Krasniqi. Though his career was all but over by 1999, Botowamungu competed – on and off – until 2004 when he walked away with a 10-15-1 (10 KOs) record.
In 2024 he was diagnosed with dementia but passed away from kidney failure and pulmonary embolism.