Riddick Bowe : The Best I've Faced

While he was on the run Hide landed more than Bowe did and won the first few rounds. I don't blame him for being on the move and relying on his handspeed to stick and move. Bowe was 27 pound heavier and made Hide look like a light heavyweight by comparison.

 

Bowe has mentioned several times that Hide was the best puncher he faced. A bit surprising, but there you go...

 

No Tubbs? You can see why Rock Newman kept Bowe away from dangerous punchers. If Herbie Hide can hurt you, and according to Bowe out box him...Newman balked at matches with Tommy Morrison and Lennox Lewis.

 

I watched that fight recently, Bowe seemed to be alseep in the first few rounds, he was very very lazy

 

It is too much of a coincidence that both Frazier and Bowe fought in eras with punchers yet they fought none.

Well Frazier had Foreman, and we know what happened there and if Bowe thinks Hide was a dangerous puncher id loved to have seen his opinions on Tyson, Morrison, Tua, Ruddock etc

 

I completely agree. Eddie Futch knew both Frazier and Bowe were a bit more vulnerable to punchers in comparison to say other great fighters before them, so they were matched accordingly.

Frazier never fought Liston, The WBA tournament, Martin, Lyle, Shavers, Norton, ...

 

Maybe Futch decided it was best to avoid punchers due to their styles as well, both took a lot of punishment, this is fine against the Holyfields and Alis, but it wont work against the Foremans and Tysons

 

Uhhh, at the point that Liston and Frazier could have fought Liston was avoiding anyone with a pulse. When he finally came back from his European bum tour he turned down a nice payday against Quarry who Frazier savaged. Lets see, the WBA tournament featured Patterson (who refused to fight Frazier, and saw the final featuring Quarry (who Frazier had beaten the hell out of in sparring at the Main St Gym and the twice in the ring) and Ellis (who avoided Frazier after the tournament for two years and with good reason as we saw since Frazier crucified him twice). Frazier didnt fight Shavers he fought the guy who knocked him out and knocked that guy out. Norton wasnt what I would class a "puncher" with guys like Foreman and Shavers but hes damn lucky that he could fall back on the "Frazier and I are friends and stablemates" argument or else he would have been whipped just as easily as he was in sparring in Philadelphia in 1971. Of the big punchers that Frazier "could" have fought he consistently fought the guys that knocked them out before he could get to them. Not exactly the track record of a guy avoiding tough fights.

 

Bowe was slow and Hide's major asset was his speed.

If Hide had a bit more power he may have floored Bowe during the first few rounds. Even later on when Hide was fighting almost from memory after being floored multiple times himself he hit Bowe with flurries of punches and stopped Bowe in his tracks.

It looks a better win on paper for Bowe than it really was.

 

To some a previous poor performance might signify that said fighter was shot or past it. Unless you know a better way to decipher this than the fighter's previous performance.

So, let's just write off the fact that he was beaten to the jab all night and plain beaten up by a B-level fighter. He arrived in the ring with a built-in excuse.

It's sad when a youthful fighter is exposed for being physically fragile and not possessing the skills and ability previously attributed to him.

 

Bowe didnt face too many great fighters did he. That is why Evander is in every category.

 

Holyfield the fastest? I'd say Hide

Nah Pinklon did have a better jab even if Golota should have finished the job

 

But the other side of the coin is, had that been a Mike Tyson or Lennox Lewis in there, things may have been different for Big Daddy

 

As I said above:

"If Hide had a bit more power......."

 

I dont think Tyson or Lewis would ever have struggled with Hide

Probably got him out of there in a couple of rounds.