No, the reason being he was he was great on the inside and could do a heck of a lot of damage there. He was a better infighter than Tyson actually. Tyson's best range was just inside the extent of his opponent's reach, unless he had his opponent on the ropes where he could be ferocious at a closer distance.
Bowe at his best (versus Holyfield in '92) has the ability to beat a prime Tyson. He also had the ability to beat a prime Lennox Lewis though.............and we all know what happened there.
Honestly I think that would be a good fight but I would pick Lewis to win. He never fought Lennox Lewis though...... So that's a pointless argument because I'm saying if he DID fight a prime Mike Tyson.
MAN! this is a fight i'd sell my soul to see. as some have mentioned it would be a real barnburner, a sanctioned street fight to say the least. but i think a prime tysons power and speed would be too much for bowe to handle. bowe didnt exactly control distance that well, and thats not a favorable attribute against a fighter who's mastered the art of slipping through jabs and closing the distance.
I'd pick a prime Tyson to win. Bowe lacked defense, and was there to be hit. Tyson feeds off of that, and would find his mark. Bowe never faced a puncher like Tyson. Any other version of Mike, I'd favor Bowe.
Two of my favorites here. I really think that Bowe is serious trouble for small HW's, the fact that he was a giant but great on the inside really limits what most small HW's can do against him. However, Tyson and Louis are probably the only two "small" HW's that I'd pick over him with a lot of conviction. Bowe's defense wasn't great and while he made up for that with a solid chin and toughness, it's hard for me to imagine Tyson losing to someone who takes a lot of shots. Tyson has the edge here in power, speed, durability, and defense. Could be a good one though.
Bowe too chicken-**** to sign a contract. Throws his baubles in the trash can. Bowe never beat a better than decent fighter beyond Holyfield.
If Bowe had the right gameplan, he had the tools to beat Tyson. I think Futch could come up with the right plan, and it would be up to Bowe to execute it. Bowe could bully Tyson and frustrate him. He has to be careful not get to cleanly hit though.
Tyson KO3 Bowe. Seriously. As big as he was, Bowe was nowhere near as strong as Tucker or Smith who were able to stiffle Tyson's attacks. He get's chopped down, a la Holmes.
Bowe is just way too easy to hit. Tyson just eats up those easy to hit guys and has a tougher time breaking down a guy. That's not the case here & Bowe will be right in front of him. And does not have the footwork or mobility of a Tucker or Douglas to use angles. I think Tyson launches his quick 2 handed assault early like he always did and the Bowe defense is not good enough to survive it. And once hurt, what's Bowe going to do but try and slug his way out?
Again, try using Holyfield as a yardstick with which to measure their strength. Holyfield was VERY strong and couldn't manhandle Bowe. Tyson was out-strengthed by Holyfield. Anyway, it's to Bowe's credit that he wouldn't adopt the crappy stifling tactics of Boneclutcher and Tucker. He'll be throwing punches at Tyson and many will land.
This is a true Dream Fight for me.. Imagine we get in the time machine and Tyson is the 20 year old unbeaten challenger like he was going into the Berbick fight in 1986, but the year is early 1993 and a Riddick Bowe has just won the title over Holyfield and for his first defense he wants to fight fellow NY warrior "Iron" Mike Tyson!! Man this would be a good one, Bowe has tons of fighting guts a great jab and fights great on the inside as good as any man his size in history.. Tyson has speed, power and is just a fighting machine here.. Safe to say imo that this would be a good one.. Tyson lands early and often Bowe absorbs the shots and fires back, Bowe smashes Mike with the jab and lands uppercuts on the inside but he can't seem to dent Tyson.. Tyson is pounding Riddick to the body and head. After around 4 rounds Bowe looks gassed the body punches are hurting him. Bowe starts to stand and just trade with mike in the 5th, taking his stand, but Mike is still the faster and heavier puncher as well as the more illusive target, bell sounds with Bowe hurt.. Tyson hurts Bowe bad in the 6th round and finishes him!! Tyson KO6!!!