HW tourney round 1 fight 2: Larry Holmes vs Riddick Bowe

I can see it going the way the article says it

 

Can't speak for others with any authority, but I'd imagine the jabbing issue would be pretty central to any argument in Bowe's favour.

Holmes' jab is legendary, and across his whole career it might have been the most reliable jab in Heavyweight history...But Witherspoon and Williams both showed that even Larry could be outjabbed now and then. There is a school of thought (devil's advocate) which says that the legend of Holmes' jab was established largely against shorter guys who had to come at him, which accentuated his jab and made it look a little better than it really was. But like Witherspoon and Williams, Bowe had the height advantage over Holmes, had a tremendous jab of his own and could fight incredibly well on the inside for a 6'5", c. 240 lb guy.

Before this post gets torn apart, let me clear up a few things...

1) I appreciate that Bowe's star shone only very briefly, and that to imagine him beating Holmes you'd have to focus on the very, very best version he showed of himself (so essentially, Holyfield I and the first few rounds of II, maybe Gonzalez), and be willing to ignore his less than stellar moments, because he only has two or three really world-class performances or wins, compared to the many of Holmes'.

2) There's a fair case to be made that Father Time was starting to catch up with Holmes by the time he fought Witherspoon, and certainly by the time he fought Williams. Also, he was slightly heavier than his absolute peak years for both bouts.

3) I actually had him winning the 'Spoon fight, a fight which many feel he lost. While he lost the jabbing exchanges and was hurt in round nine, he outfought and outworked Tim enough in the rest of the fight (aided by Tim being too conservative) to hold on to his title narrowly. On the other hand, I felt he lost a close fight to Williams, while the majority seem to think he just about won that one. Again, Holmes was reliant on body shots and aggressive, big rights in that fight, rather than his trusty jab.

 

There can be lots of speculation on this fight except on one point, Larry Holmes is a notch above Bowe as a fighter. Larry ain't going to lose to him. Over 15 rounds Larry either stops Bowe in 14 or takes a UD 144-141, 9 rounds to 6.

 

With Bowe we are dealing with a very specific window where he was great but that window is less than a handful of bouts. I’ll use that Bowe for mythical match purposes.

I still think Holmes having the edge in speed, jab and the ability to bounce on his toes edges out Bowe. Bowe can do well jabbing with Bowe and win exchanges inside but overall you’ve got to like Holmes. Holmes via close but clear enough decision.