What Could Riddick Bowe Have Accomplished If He Wasn't Lazy?

There's a reason Bowe binned his belt rather than fight Lewis. He knew Lennox would have the beating of him. He could of perhaps achieved more, but he was still hittable and still had flaws as a fighter.

 

If he wasnt lazy he would have made even more visits to the fridge.


But really the question is redundant, he was what he was - he may have burnt out before the Holyfield fight if he trained to much - but he was what he was - If all the money grabbing leeches couldnt get him to perform at a top level then it couldnt have happened - May as well ask how he would have done with 3 arms.

 

Not necessarily true. Bowe is a case of wasted talent not lack of skills, coming into his prime right at the turn of a division where he would have stood out as one of two fighters equipped to challenge Lennox Lewis on a skill level. This could have argueably turned the era into something more spectacular had Bowe maintained himself and Evander and Lennox all been in the mix together by 95-96 which probably would have been the case if he did.
The fighters of the mid 90's that challenged Lennox Lewis were for the most part not really equipped to compete with him, but possibly things could have been different if Bowe had stayed focused through the second Holyfield fight and Lennox Lewis wouldnt have had a little more motivation to get past Mcall.

 

A local-award winning lawn.

 

Maybe that too. Holyfield certainly has one, thats why hes still fighting.

 

Bowe had good skills, size and all that but he also had flaws. There haven´t been many fighters around good enough to expose these flaws. But Lennox was one. I would always pick Lewis above Bowe h2h out of two things:
1. he just was the better fighter.
2. They fought in the amateurs. Bowe lost. That may not matter much in the pros but it was clearly visible that this loss stuck in Bowe´s head. Bowe doubted he could beat Lewis. The biggest enemy of a fighter is not his opponent but his own doubts. If you doubt you could beat the man on the opposite of the ring you can go home.

 

:good

 

Sorry mate, but I disagree with you on a couple of points:

Imo Riddick Bowe is not one of the biggest "What ifs" in boxing. He had every opportunity and decided, by his own actions not to achieve greater status.

Imo I honestly do not believe that he would have beaten Lennox Lewis at the period of time you mentioned. Riddick was the one opponent where the "Best" of Lewis was guaranteed to show up for. As I am sure you are aware, the two men fought in the '88 olympics, with Lennox stopping Riddick in the 2nd. Now I appreciate that the pro game is much different, but it would have still been those two men in the ring. Besides, the fight never came off because as soon as Lewis became Bowe's #1 contender, Riddick "Binned" his hard-earned title!! Now people can argue whatever they like about that abject gesture, but for me, when a guy gives up his world title rather than fight a guy who stopped him a few years ago, he does not fancy the job!!

His (and every other boxers) "Ceiling" in terms of ATG status is what he achieved during his career, nothing more.

I can appreciate the frustration of every Bowe fan. I enjoyed watching him fight and he undoubtedly had the potential to achieve far more, but he didn't.

He had the opportunity to write his own page in boxing history, instead he allowed himself to be reduced to a paragraph.

 

Even if Bowe had the dedication to stay in shape his career would have been shorter than most. He was just too hittable even in the first Holyfield fight when he was lighter and more mobile he got hit a hell of a lot. Imagine Tyson landing that many shots on Bowe or Lewis.


He would have probably beaten Holyfield a second time and if his management let him in with Lewis would have probably lost that fight. But his career would have been more memorable than it was and he would have been around long enough to build a better resume.

 

He definately would've put together a more significant title reign, & I believe he would've beaten Lewis.

 

The only thing Bowe beats Lewis in is a footrace to the fridge.

 

All fighters have flaws, and Lewis certainly had more of them at the time their fight was proposed. What people conceive as Bowe's biggest flaw which I tend to disagree with, is that he got hit too much, but he wasnt knocked out when he was hit, and Lewis could be knocked out when he was.
Yeah maybe Bowe never faced a puncher like Lewis up until that point, but Lewis never faced a fighter with Bowes skill set either, and Lewis was showing some vulnerabilities in his defense and ability to deal with a big man with a good jab, and I believe Bowe had a real good jab around this time.
Bowe went to war with Holyfield because he could easily beat him that way, and it was proven in three fights that Bowe always got the better of the fighting inside.
Bowe wouldnt have fought Lewis the same way because Lewis would never have engaged him like Holyfield was willing to. The fight would be more calculated on both fighters part, with Bowe probably pushing more from the outside to get close, and thats where the questions about Lewis experience as a pro would have come into play, because as Mercer showed later on, Lewis was still green to a rough inside encounter. It would have also answered questions about Bowe's heavyweight chin, which also seems to be a knock on Bowe?
The olympic fight proved little really. No other fighter has been under more scrutiny because of an olympic match than Riddick Bowe. If you watch the fight it was fairly close and was definitely stopped prematurely. Not only that, Bowe was fighting in his first olympics, and Lewis was fighting in his second olympics, four years later after losing to Tyrell Biggs in the 84 olympics. Did people know that??
Bowe then turned pro under argueably the best trainer in the world, who transformed his style into more of a complete skillset adding a fierce inside game. To not acknowledge this as a big factor after what Lewis went through in the early part of his professional career is nuts. Personally, I dont think Lewis became as well rounded as Bowe was at his best, until 96, a lot of that having to do with his long amatuer career, as well as not upgrading his trainer until 95.
Who knows who would have won had they fought, certainly it would have been a great fight, but to say Lewis automatically beats him because of an olympic fight drives me nuts, and Bowe certainly proved to be the better prepared fighter knocking off the then king of the hill Evander Holyfield who presented more of a diverse challenge than anything Lewis had faced at that point, not to mention Lewis went on to have some struggles against lessor opposition as, and after being champion, before finally hitting his dominant stride.

 

I never said that. Read again what I wrote.

I agree with everything you wrote btw.