Debate: Is it possible that R. Bowe of Nov. 1992 was the best ever for one night?

No, you raise a VERY legitimate point. Riddick Bowe, at his best, was the most naturally talented HW since Ali - he had ALL the tools. The problem with Bowe is that he didn't work to maintain and augment those natural talents, and in fact did quite the opposite. Which is exactly why he wasn't able to sustain greatness beyond a few fights at best.

 

Damn you make it seem as though a 92 Bowe was GOD:-( The Lewis of 97 that ko'd Goalota in 1 puny round, was better, the 88 TYSON that blasted Spinks was better, the 75 Ali that beat Frazier was better, after Bowe beat Holy in 92 he shot his load Holy beat his ass a year later, and Bowe was beat all to hell in 96, by the head case...
Bowe of 92 just had a damn good night, and the fight with Holy was damn close...:deal

 

Lewis was waaaaaaaaaaaaaayyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy better than Bowe:deal better power, more longevity, beat better fighters, and Bowe even was scared of Lewis, every time Lewis was around Bowe, he ran like a coward and threw the belt in the trash can..

 

92 Bose is hard to beat. Infact you probably have to grab a couple ATG's off the rack to have a decent debate. Because of his size and his infighting skills that jab and his pop he's a a tough match up. A peak Larry holmes would have faired well because bow wouldn't have been able to beat him with the jab and would have forced to get around it some how. Of course Ali. Too much speed and power and chin and hart and stamina. But I think bowe would have faired better against alot of the smaller power punchers Ali had troubles with. Joe Louis I think would have taken bowe out. And 88 Tyson would have raped bowe. Tyson could get around a good jab and bowes preference to fight in close in the later rounds would be his undoing. All in all bowe is in my opinion the most dissapointing figures in modern heavyweight fighting because he squandered all his natural ability for some chocolate cake.

 

You can say thesame of Golota. He was spectacular for two nights.

 

I agree that version of Bowe ranks among the Top 10 heavyweights of all time. With a stronger mentality, Bowe could have been number 1.

But he showed his mental weakness by ducking Lewis and falling out of shape.

Bowe should have invested in mental training (hypnosis, therapy etc) to overcome the fear of Lewis and his life might have turned out differently.

 

Interesting thread and a damn good one. You know your ****.
What do you think about Hopkins sept. 2001 vs trinidad ? Picked him apart, broke him down and then KO'ed and retired tito. That was a special performance. Hopkins looked unbeatable. Unbreakable.

 

How do we think '92 Bowe does against '90 Douglas in Tokyo?

 

Or Lewis from the Rahman rematch? That was a beast...