Is Tyson Fury really an underachiever ?

I also believe Riddick Bowe is both overrated and an underachiever.

I also don't really understand why Bowe is given so much praise for beating Holyfield in their first fight. I feel like people conflate it being exciting with it being impressive.

It SHOULDN'T have been an exciting fight, Bowe should have dominated him. The 5 years younger, 6'5 235lbs Bowe has a 3 inch height advantage, a 3 inch reach advantage, a better jab and a 30 LBS WEIGHT ADVANTAGE over Holyfield, but because he has the ring IQ of a donut, doesn't utilise any of these things at all and then slugs it out with Holyfield, who fortunately also decided to abandon his IQ in this fight.

Furthermore, despite his big muscles he's actually not historically a hard puncher at all, so much so that he couldn't get Holyfield out of there despite landing hundreds of power shots on him over 12 rounds and actually got damaged very badly himself. Then he lost the rematch!!

Seriously. If Sonny Liston had to dig deep and have a brawl with Patterson in order to win their fight, or if George Foreman had to go life and death in a slugging match with Frazier in very competitive fight and then LOST the rematch, these would be considered demerits. But for Bowe it's enough for him to be considered the a top 5 H2H at Heavyweight?? Insanity. Couldn't dominate a 205lbs Holyfield in a slugging match and he's a H2H monster apparently. If he fought a single hard hitting heavyweight in his career he'd be exposed for his mediocre defence, ring IQ, and overlooked underwhelming punching power. The fact that people debate Bowe vs Lewis to this day is absurd lmao. 90's Tyson, Tua and even OLD Foreman, all of whom I ALSO think are overrated and who I have lower opinions on than most, I think destroy him. Let alone the likes of Joe Louis, Wlad, Liston, Shavers, Lyle, etc. Frazier also beats him with some effort, while Holmes and Ali embarrass him too.

 

If Fury had stuck to his body attack that was successful early I think he would have stopped Usyk. But he got derailed and followed a fight plan that worked into Usyk's favor. Not the greatest Ring IQ.

 

Bowe is a weird one. On the one hand his workrate and ability to fight on the inside was just crazy for a man that size. On the other, he didn't do much aside from the Holy fights and suffered career ending beatings by Golota, who achieved very little except for beating the **** out of Bowe and being DQd,

 

I often wonder if Bowe was this H2H monster he's depicted on this board, or if he merely had a style that happened to be kryptonite for a far superior fighter, that he wouldn't necessarily enjoy over others, even those inferior to Holyfield. His underwhelming record aside from Holyfield, and struggles with Golata, as well as a past it Tubbs, makes me lean toward the latter.