A prime Bruno v Riddick Bowe

I remember plenty of people testing Frank's chin and it usually ended with the ref calling it off. Considering Bowe's attacking arsenal and offensive style, for Frank has no chance. Holyfield is no gauge in this argument, Holyfield was a truly brilliant offensive fighter who would have also destroyed Frank Bruno in probably 5 rounds .....
Bruno looked ok against cautious fighters like Lewis, Witherspoon, Crusher, McCall .. Against an attacking fighter like Tyson he was way out of his depth and against Bowe and Holyfield it would be the same story .. Frank Bruno would never be able to handle attacking, offensive, skilled Heavyweights, he's a guy that needs a slow pace to establish his own rhythm .... No chance against Bowe or Holyfield ..

 

I saw almost all of Bowe's fights. My memory of him is different. Herbie was a very raw, chinny young fighter with a serious size disadvantage, yet he twatted Bowe with every shot in the book until he himself got tagged. I agree Bowe had skills but putting him on a pedestal like this is folly. Gifted yes, but he was a bully and way too easy to hit and often way too lazy to deserve these accolades. And I bet my last dollar he'd have ducked Klitschko just like he ducked Lewis. :bbb

 

That is a very modern day attitude of Bowe, whether he knew it or not he took on a very good Holyfield 3 times .. The first 2 times at least, he was in wars, he came through in the first and he got edged in the second. But in these 2 fights he proved to have more of a fighters heart than Lewis or either Klitschko .. I agree he was a bully, and he never liked the idea of Lewis but i disagree when you say he wouldnt of fancied the Klits .. I think Bowe would have seen these 2 for what they are, 2 stiff 'center ring' specialists who have no idea how to fight if the fight 'goes tough' and into the trenches ....
Im not that big a fan of Bowe, but to compare him with Bruno is quite ridiculous, Bowe was a brilliant fighter, anybody who beats Holyfield back then needs to be respected. Alot of people on here like to denigrate Holyfield as if he was a second rate fighter, these people are obviously teenagers, as anybody with any kind of knowledge knows that Lewis simply couldnt have survived with an early 90's Holyfield, regardless of weight, Holyfield's talent, speed, forward rhythm would have been way too much for Lewis but i agree that Lennox would have taken Bowe .. Style's make fights, but Bruno v Bowe, PUHHLEEASE !! That is an insane argument ..

You are the first person in history to make the argument that Hide got anywere against Bowe, the way i remember it, Bowe toyed with Hide knocking him down 6 times and then the crowd started throwing bottles into the ring, it was such an obvious mis-match ..atsch

 

If you knew your stuff you would know that at the time when Bowe 'supposedly' ducked Lennox Lewis. He was due for the biggest payday in boxing history, to fight George Foreman in China. Why would he choose to fight Lennox Lewis when Lewis at that time was an absolute nobody in America, Lewis Drew zero money .. The Foreman fight didnt materialize because Holyfield beat him in the re-match, casting Bowe into the wilderness as he wasnt with Don King ..

The only reason why fights dont come off is that there isnt enough cash involved, Boxers dont consider being scared, if Bowe was offered serious cash for a Lewis fight in the early 90's he would have taken it, i dont think he fancied it but he would have taken it. Another aspect that people must take into account is Tyson. At that point, everybody was jockeying for position to face Tyson when he was released from prison, knowing that thats were the real money was. Bowe's attitude destroyed him but lets not look back on history and consider Frank Bruno to be his equal, next you'll be telling me that Henry Cooper was a good heavyweight !!

 

Bruno is definately not Bowe's equal but all that stuff about Bowe not facing Lewis to fight Foreman smells like bull**** to me. That might be his excuse, to fight a man two decades past his prime for a big payday but if he had any dignity at all he would have fought his most serious rival at the time, Lewis and avenged his amateur loss. If Lewis was an unknown why did he offer Lewis out on national television then all the theatrics with throwing the belt in a bin, I thought Lewis was well known in the US at the time commentating and whatnot. Bowe let himself down there.

 

It may smell like bull**** in 2009 but back in the early 90's Lewis was a nobody and Foreman was the 'legend from Zaire, a legend from the glory days, trying to regain the title', in America that played like a dream .. Lewis was always in the picture at that point but he was only on the fringes .. Bowe v Foreman in China would have happened if Bowe would have beaten Holyfield in the re-match, but Bowe turned up 25 lbs over-weight and Holyfield was Holyfield, a teak tough warrior who was ready to go to war ..
Dont under-estimate the Tyson factor, in this time period (early 90s), every fighter was looking for his release date and wanting to be the guy with the belt that faced him, because that was the most serious money in heavyweight history ..... It didnt make sense that Bowe would take on the dangerous Lewis at that point, considering Tyson was in his sights and Lewis was a nobody that guaranteed no money at that point. Remember it was only in the late 90s that Lewis commanded respect in the States ..

Looking back 15 years is sometimes easy, but as ever in boxing and as Bunce always says, its all about 'cash common sense', and Lewis wasnt in the mix at that point for the big names, and then when he picked up that WBC title he got wiped out by McCall, setting him back even further .. In some ways Lewis had himself to blame ..

 

****ing out of order here,cooper was a good heavyweight,what just becouse a boxer don't win a world title,or beat the best there not good,insulting mate,very ****ing insulting.atsch
bruno would of put up a good fight,he always did,wasent he ahead against witherspoon,a bloody good heavyweight at the time,until he ran outa steam,same with lewis fight.
bruno was a good fighter,a bit robotic,but very powerfull,most heavyweights struggled with him,but his chin and stamina always let him down,it would of been the same with big bully bowe:bbb

 

Shame about Bowes life style he was great but could of been one off the greatest heavies