How good Is Riddick Bowe (Holyfield 1 fight) in H2H terms?

Bottom half of the top 10 H2H heavys, probably around the 8-10 range.

 

Good but overrated. Good as Evan Fields was, Bowe just had the advantages of being a natural 230 pound man fighting a natural 190 pound man. And I find it a wee bit comical when people talk about what a great infighter he was for a big man--why do you want a man that size not making the most of his advantages?

I think it is telling that his three best wins were over Holy, Holy and Hide...three blown up cruisers. But he threw a belt in the trash rather than fight his fellow 6'5"-er.

 

beast. the cardio for a guy his size, and the durability in absorbing punishment , makes him a nightmare to beat. you cant tire him out and a bat to the head wouldn't stop him. plus, the dude could fight.

 

Bowe had all the attributes and the skill set and for a small time he lit up the division with his antics,he also gave us one of the best trilogy’s in Heavyweight History,however his headstone will say he could have achieved so much more !

 

Not as good as generally advertised. Full of flaws. His style meshed well with Holyfield and people took entertainment value to be quality. Think: Ward - Gatti.

 

Have to agree with this. Part of being great is discipline and to rate someone so highly based on 1 great performance is wrong. He should be rated right along with Andy Ruiz and Buster Douglas.

 

Riddick Bowe was one of the best fighter of all time in a prime for prime/head of head sense.

Had it all, and beat an all time great in his prime.

 

In some ways he was exceptional, for a man his size to be effective as he was on the inside and to be able to set the pace he did and slug it out made him something pretty unique at the time.

But in some other ways he was a fatally flawed fighter. Guys like Diego Corrales and Paul Williams were similar fighters, tall, big men for their divisions, who fought well up close but just like Bowe it hid a flaw. These guys were not effective from the outside.

Bowe's footwork was poor, his movement terrible. He was far too easy to hit. His jab while impressive as an offensive weapon to set up his power shots was one dimensional, he couldn't control range with it, partly due to his poor movement. He should not have been out jabbed like he was against Evander in the rematch. He was far too easy to hit.

He was carefully managed for a reason, to avoid fighters who could exploit his flaws as a fighter. On nights against the right opponent yeah he'd look like an ATG but put him in with guys who were not tailor made for his style then he'd struggle. Lewis predicted he would duck him and that's exactly what happened. Lewis would have repeated what happened in the Olympics and that's why they ducked him.

The thing that impressed me the most about Bowe was his heart and desire, in that regard he was an ATG, unfortunately that willingness to take insane punishment along with his poor discipline between fights hurt him in the long run.

 

I've said it before so I'll say it again. Bowe was some kind of monster H2H. A 'peak' that was incandescently bright but infinitesimally short. His 100/100 version; 100% his best for 100% of a fight is a handful for any heavyweight in history in my opinion. Am I over romanticising him? Yeah, possibly. But hey, that's what we do ain't it? Big Daddy is my mythical champion of the champs. Until the wheels come off...

 

Better than the best versions of Tyson Fury, Anthony Joshua, and Deontay Wilder... (among others). Could very well beat Usyk. (But, I wouldn't put any money on that.) Likely sparks Wlad and outpoints Vitali.

 

Great, but not perfect, offensively, and average defensively. Great chin, great heart, okayish ring IQ. Size also matters. 8/10.

 

Bonafide great against smaller opponents. He could cover his flaws at long range with his jab and reach advantage, and could match the best in-fighters while holding the size and power advantage.

Straight up mediocre against a big guy that can box at range and exploit his lazy defense and long-range habits. I believe he never fought a big puncher for good reason, and I don’t think he beats even a 92 Lewis.

 

Riddick Bowe had excellent footwork especially in cutting off the ring. I think you're going off the Golota fights where Bowe was shot to bits where he entered the first fight with a concussion equilibrium infection.

Also, with the Lennox Lewis situation - they signed to fight but Lennox lost to McCall. But, yes throwing the belt in a trashcan was certainly a bad look.