A Discplined Riddick Bowe...

He would have had a chance of beating Tyson because of his size and excellent jab.

http://www.amazon.com/Joe-Gans-Biography-American-Champion/dp/0786439947/ref=pd_bxgy_b_img_b

 

I disagree,

Sure its possible that a peak Bowe might have gotten the better of a pre-Steward Lewis, but even then I'm not so sure. Riddick lost handely to Lewis in the amateurs and continued to struggle with men who had a strait jab and good generalship throughout his career. The Lewis who was utterly anialating men like Andrew Golata, Shanon Briggs, Michael Grant, etc, would have to be favored against Riddick Bowe.

Lewis did what to Briggs? Maybe you watched some other fight because in the one i watched Briggs almost knocked out Lewis with a grazing punched and then gassed himself out. Micheal Grant had no chin so beating him proves what? Bruno manhandled Lewis until he gassed out as well.

Lewis best wins came against a washed up Tyson and a washed up Holyfield, Bowe didnt fight to many great fighters either but he did beat a prime Holyfield something Lewis wouldnt be able to do.

 

They're not really "top ten nobodies", though. Tua, Klitschko, Ruddock, etc all are very dangerous opponents. Plus, Lewis beat Holyfield as well, without losing. It's true that Holyfield had gone back, but he surely was in better condition than in his 3rd bout with Bowe.

 

I agree,

Just for the record PP, you quoted the wrong man..

 

So here's some more word on the street statements for you Magoo on Lewis Golota. Taken from a published article.


We never got to see the real Andrew Golota. He was ambushed by his mental weaknesses. Golota, for all his bad boy image, is actually a sensitive and shy individual. He does a lot of unpublicized charity work. He visits schools and hospitals. And he cracks under pressure. Golota simply can't handle the stress. Here are some unconfirmed (as yet) rumors that surfaced both before, during and after the fight:
1. Golota had disappeared 4 hours prior to the fight.
2. An hysterical Lou Duva had his brother Dino and the Atlantic City police out looking for his wayward heavyweight.
3. The 20 minute delay prior to the fight resulted from Golota's refusal to leave the dressing room.
4. The slap across the face delivered by Lou Duva wasn't the first that Golota received that night! 5. Golota suffered a post-fight seizure, during which he reportedly swallowed his tongue (literally impossible) and stopped breathing. Golota's medical problems have been "downgraded" to an anxiety attack - which makes much more sense.

 

1. Dokes was 34 years of age when he fought Bowe, Ruddock was 28 against Lewis.

2. Ruddock had suffered two losses to Tyson, one of which was a higly controversial stoppage in which he was furious that he was not permitted to continue, and the other was a competitive match that went the distance. Dokes was knocked UNCONCIOUS in his fights with both Ruddock and Holyfield, and the Holyfield match was considered as one of the most grueling heavyweight battles of the 1980's.

I am not making double standards at all. You're simply comparing apples to oranges.

And who knows how he felt in the Bowe fight, but it doesn't change the fact that Bowe got his ass kicked, while Lewis easily destroyed Golata. Why do you keep dancing around this issue?

No they aren't. There are some significant variances in the quality and ability among many of those names that you listed. I will also ad that the better names among that bunch such as Tua, Golata, Botha, Briggs, Rahman, and Grant were men that Lewis beat. Whereas, the lesser names like Hide, Mathis, Donald and Gonzalez were men that Bowe fought. The comparison is not the same.. Lewis beat the better lot of fighters, with the one exception of a younger ( but not necessarily even prime ) Holyfield.

Let's take another look at the list you just provided, and see how many common opponents the two of them shared. Remember, this was YOUR list.

Okay, I counted one common opponent who faced both Riddick Bowe and Lennox Lewis, and I think we can both agree that the result was hardly comparable. The rest either fought one or the other, and there were even a few of them such as Izon and Savarese who fought neither.

But, we'll never know because Bowe NEVER EVEN FOUGHT most of the same guys Lewis faced, and in fact was avoiding some of the better fighters of the division, so I don't even see how comparing performances or talking about things like conditioning is even a relevent point.

These were bad losses, yes but one of them came when he was past prime, while the other occurred before he had polished up his skills, and in either case, he avenged BOTH of his losses. Bowe may have been awarded victories in both of his fights with Golata, but the fact is he got his ass kicked TWICE, and never genuinely avenged those beatings. Lewis also fought the very best men available for most of his career, with the exception of Byrd and Ruiz, which came later towards the end. Bowe ducked a solid mandatory in his very first defense ever!!!!!!

Neither man was in ideal shape for that match. Both showed up above their usual fight weights, but Bowe at least had the advantage of having fought twice over the previous year as opposed to only once, and still had a 5 year youth advantage. Of course, taking a balanced approach to an issue and giving both sides of the equation the same amount of consideration is somethig that YOU don't give much merit to.

 

Depicting Golata as shy and timid is fine. The only point that matters here, is that Lewis defeated him in a single round... Bowe got desecrated by him....... What more is there?

 

ESB playing up, I was thinking of arguing on here earlier but saw you doing a great job Magoo.

Bowe gave us great wars with Holyfield but his legacy is very weak that aside. Whats his second best win? OLD Dokes? Chinless Hide?

Bowe supporters point to him beating 'Prime' Holyfield, well ok Lewis didn't get a shot there though and that Holyfield was much weaker/smaller, wasn't a big puncher and fought the wrong fight, winning the rematch. Did Holyfield have hepatitis in the Rubber Match?

He also does very little better than Lewis in terms of ability and looks tailor made for Lennox because he is easy hit, slower, potentially suceptible to a big hitter and relatively easy to control with a jab.