Could Lennox Lewis have stayed disciplined and methodical against Riddick Bowe?

I think vintage Lewis beats Bowe more times than not, but a wild, foul fested brawl would go in Bowes favor, probably with Lewis getting KOd.

Do you think Bowe could make it happen?
Or would Lewis be able to work him down like he did against the smaller guys?

Off my head idk how tall Bowe was compared to Lewis, but I think he would have been up there as one of Lewis's larger opponents.
McCall was a pretty big dude. And even though I credit Lewis with a clean kill over Vitali, it was definitely one of his tougher fights, which I credit more towards Vitalis size than I do Lennox being supposedly out of shape

 

Lewis and Bowe are the exact same height - both 6'5.

Lewis would have smoked Bowe, regardless of the tone of the fight. Bowe was too easy to hit, and Lewis had too many weapons.

 

Bowe would have beaten Lewis had they met in 93 as scheduled but he went downhill fast an was finished by 96.

 

Yes, 92 to 93 Bowe stops Lewis in 7. Lewis was still unrefined.

It's quite possible Lennox could have dropped Bowe at some point, but Lewis was reckless. I think the latter would come storming out ala Ruddock, learned quickly that Bowe didn't stop easy, tried to box him (and this is far before Stewart) and found no luck there, either. I see Bowe outjabbing him and starting to land the overhand right relatively early. It would still look like a competitive fight until the big shot lands that takes Lewis to night-nights.

Anytime after the 2nd Holyfield fight Bowe loses, progressively worse as time wears on.

 

Pretty much described exactly what I was thinking....
I wouldnt even consider a fight after 1996 since Bowe was so far gone at that point....but I guess that's not really fair to Lewis since he didn't really hit his prime untill 1997-1998.

For the record I consider Lewis's prime to be the Golota fight, which was after Bowe had basically been tarnished beyond repair
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And Bowes prime was most likely the first Holyfield fight, which was while Lennox was still coming into his own...

I still think a green Lewis vs a prime Bowe would have been one hell of a fight, and not necessarily picking one side over the other.

I will add that Lewis's prime was much more consistent, where as Bowe seemed much more flash in the pan.

Between the two I have Lewis rated much higher on ATG status, and I was a huge fan ....but I was still a bigger fan of Bowe and would have loved to see his career turn out better than it did....

For the record, when do you think Bowe started declining? Was it second or third Holy fight? Or was it a different opponent who took it out of Bowe?

 

This really depends on when the fight happens and Lewis' attitude. The later in the decade it occurs, the more likely Lewis wins. If Lewis let's Bowe get in his head trash talking him or suckering him into a brawl at ring center, there's a good chance Bowe might pull off the win since Lewis wasn't very durable and left himself open when he became overconfident.

Eddie Futch is also a big x factor and a big advantage for Bowe. He's a genius coach with decades of experience, but the same is true for Emmanuel Steward. I would pay actual money to see what sort of strategy these two would come up with.

 

He had lost some interest in the second fight, but I had him winning by 2 points. I don't think we should discount the Rodriguez win, but even that seemed like a very different fighter overall from the Bowe of 1992.

 

I feel that Bowe might have the better chin and more grit. But Lewis to me was always the better boxer, more accurate and hitting much harder. I've always fancied Lewis over Bowe and I think Bowe knew Lewis had his number too.

 

Tough to say but Bowe never faced a massive puncher, had poor defense, and wasn't a one punch KO guy so I'd favor Lewis here, even if it got ugly.

 

I will pick Lennox Lewis over Riddick Bowe by Decision. I believe Bowe was pretty durable, but I also believe that Lewis was the better all around fighter.

 

He beat Herbie hides ***

 

Hide was a big puncher but he was cruiserweight size and he wasn't very good.

 

Lewis would fare better post 96. After Holyfield 3, the end of the road came for Bowe he could not compete at a high level anymore. Steward would make a big difference too.


Yes yes I know this gets hammered a lot but it still is a factor that Bowe threw the belt away. Think their amateur fight would haunt Bowe to a degree even if its the 92 version so I dont rule Lewis out.

 

Close call, a genuine 50/50 fight which could go either way, there was a two year window where Bowe could have beaten Lewis, had it happened when it should have circa 93', i would have favoured Bowe in about 7 or 8 rounds, he was a more complete fighter than Lewis on & around that period & had less holes in his game, whereas Lewis was still considered a work in progress. Bowe's prime was relatively brief though & picking a winner is a difficult one, a very close call either way & a travesty we didn't get to see it.

 

There wasn't really a time when they were both in their prime. Could've had a fight when Lewis was green and Bowe was in his prime, or could have had a fight when Bowe was on a big downslide and Lewis was in his prime.