When bowe threw his belt in the trash...

Yes but theres more to these situations than a fighter being scared to face another fighter, which 90% of people think is the case with Bowe.

 

It is ridiculous to call any boxer scared - I'm sure most boxers are scared going into the ring, that can bring the best out of them.

I think from a logical point of view Bowe and his management wanted his career to last as long as possible and make the most money.

Bowe and his management were unsure whether he would win against Lewis and so chose the easier path.
Not fear, but doubt that Bowe had the abilities to beat Lewis.

 

No I dont think they had doubts about Bowe's ability to win.

 

Not saying its justifiable or what he did was right. I just dont think Bowe was scared of Lewis. I dont think Bowe and his people said we dont need that fight, we cant beat Lennox Lewis, lets vacate the title. I do think they felt it was too much risk for too little reward because of the situation with Lewis and the WBC.

What went down after Lewis won the title was pretty realistic anyway. He showed very sloppy technique against Bruno and Mcall and he paid for it. Lewis wasnt just sloppy in two fights, he was sloppy as pro, unpolished, but big and strong. That wasnt going to cut it against the elite competition and thats why he was exposed fairly quickly.

Lewis became a much more formidable fighter after the Mercer fight. I think he had a good understanding of his limitations, his footwork and balance were tightened up, and he no longer was just looking to bomb guys out. I think Emanuel Steward always wanted him to be exciting and I think both him and Steward knew the fighters they could take chances against and open up a bit against, and the the fighters they had to be more cautious and calculated against.
Look how Lewis approached both Tua and Morrison. I cant imagine the early 90's version boxing from the outside and keeping his righthand glued to his temple. The fact that he went after Mcall the way he did just shows the ignorance of not only Lewis, but his corner as well.

 

We shouldn't be so hard on Bowe for this...never the brightest bulb anyway, he was just following the sage advice of that idiot/racist svengali of his Rock newman.

 

True. Newman always came over as an idiot.

 

He should be awarded a spot in the HOF for "All Time Idiot".

 

Ofcourse they had doubts on his ability to win, otherwise they take the fight and make more money than Dokes and Fergusson provided. It was a big risk and they new it

 

Still like twisting things eh lefty?

The scenario you speak of is nothing like Bowe what-so-ever!!

Persuading Lewis to vacate the IBF title was the first step in what King is billing as a Heavyweight Championship Series. Ostensibly Byrd will meet the World Boxing Association champion - the survivor of Ruiz's defence against the undisputed light-heavyweight champion Roy Jones Jr on March 1. The winner may eventually meet Lewis.
"I'll preside by watching over the tournament," said Lewis. "That's what emperors do. If somebody really shines, well, I'll have to see what's going on. I do believe in fighting the best. Don't give me no small fries. I want the man at the top."
But when asked if that meant he would commit to fighting the winner of King's tournament, Lewis smiled: "Perhaps."
Lewis has been pointed toward an early 2003 defence against Vitali Klitschko but said on Saturday that he had yet to sign, and that if it does happen, it will not be in March, as his London connections had announced previously.
When it was pointed out that not only is Lewis not contractually committed to the idea of a tournament but neither were Byrd, Ruiz or Jones, King had a quick retort. "They're not signed to fight," he said. "But believe me, they will fight."

http://m.guardian.co.uk/sport/2002/dec/16/boxing?cat=sport&type=article

As you can see King had an idea for a tournament. The IBF title wasn't bringing Lewis extra $$ so he sold it with the hope at some point there'd be a unification which would bring much more cash to the table than just Lewis vs X.

 

Are you kidding with this? This is Kings way of sugar coating Lewis vacating his titles. Did he not receive large sums of money to vacate his titles?

 

How many times have I posted the link which outlines the deal with HBO that Bowe signed? It was the richest contract in boxing at the time worth an estimated 100 million. Seven fight deal including a Lewis fight down the line.

 

As much of an ******* he was, he made Bowe and himself a lot dough.

 

No I'm not kidding, it's there in black and white.

King would have shouted to the heavens about Lewis ducking Byrd, you know it, I know it, but he didn't. It's easy to visualise the meeting based on the above info.

A) King had an idea for a money spinning tourney.
B) For that to happen he needed Lewis to drop a title.
C) The only thing the IBF was good at was draining an extra 10% in sanctioning fees from Lewis.
D) King offers Lewis $1 million offering the chance down the line for a huge $$ unification fight which as I stated would bring in more $$ than just Lewis defending belts vs X.
E) Lewis takes it, what's he got to lose?

Remember, Byrd wasn't drawing for ****, Lewis wasn't much of a draw either, King had a plan to max income for himself and Lewis.

Now, you telling me Lewis warrants your "hypocrite" remark as a comparison to Bowe based on the above? Unless you have another take on what Don King meant of course.