Bowe. Vitali deserves better than a "prime for prime" match up though. He's a consumate proffessional whose prime is extended over a more protracted period and whose dedication to the cause has kept him in the top two HW's in the world past that prime. Bowe's prime was really short, how long was it? Not long. A focused Vitali could beat Bowe more often than not if they met 4 times during their career arc but on their "best nights" Bowe just brings that little bit more to the table.
I dont know that Vitali could ever win a fight like he was in against Lewis, regardless of how it started. He just simply cant fight like that, and I dont think he has the power to take out Bowe as Vitali landed his best shots on Lewis and didnt budge him. I think if Vitali fought Lewis and Bowe ten times he would lose 10 times. Bowe fought all his fights like Lewis approached the Vitali fight, only Bowe was a far better infighter.
I did not like the way that Bowe measured up vs a talented big man in Golota, I think Vitali was better than Andrew, who always found a way to lose. Vitali would land and dominate Bowe (who got hit too much) Vitali stops Bowe by the 8-9th rd
Dont you think that Bowe made him foul out? Its not like Bowe was just a stationary punching bag. He was taking a lot of shots, but he was giving some good ones in return. He made Golota duck out of those fights. A prime Bowe was a lot better than the Bowe that showed up to face Golota.
For me Bowe got hit too much, he had solid hands but not the snap of Lewis and he got hit way too much. Vitali is underrated as far as he has never been behind in a fight. There are always intangibles but I think Vitali is too accurate from the outside to let Bowe get inside without paying. I would bet heavy on Vitali
I don´t think this will be a brawl, Vitali is good at keeping a fight at range and fighting tall. I think they would brawl at times but most of the time it will be a boxing match and I don´t think Bowe would win that one.
I think it really depends on how each man handles the type of adversity that the other brings to the table. On one hand, Klitschko never showed that he could beat a man on Bowe's level.. The closest he ever came to fighting anyone of that calibur, was a 38 year old Lennox Lewis who was off for a year, showed up at a career high weight, and in his last fight. Though he boxed galantly, he still managed to find a way to lose. On the otherhand, Bowe for all his qualities, had some weaknesses that were never mended. His chin was better than average, but took too much punishment as a result of a faulty defense.. He also rarely faced anyone who could match his physical strength and size.. Jorge Luis Gonzalez doesn't quite cut it for me personally. I do not like to use the Andrew Golata fight as a gauge, because I really do feel that Riddick had gone down hill by this point, no longer having Eddie Futch in his corner, slacking off in training, and having taken a lot of punishment which was probably starting to effect him... Stylisitically, I'm not sure that I like Bowe that much in this fight.. For a man who had such a sizeable wingspan, he did not utilize it to the best of his ability, and preferred to employ an inside fighting approach in an effort to over power his opponents.. I can't see this tactic being very effective against Vitali Klitschko who I think may have been a physically bigger and stronger foe, who used his jab and reach to keep men at bay. We can critique Klit's comp all we want, but the fact is, he's never been down and never truly outboxed or behind on the cards.. Bowe's open defense, would make a somewhat easy target for Vitali's strait jab and right cross.. He'd also be taking some pretty hard shots, and frankly I don't know how many times that we really saw Bowe take shots from big punchers.. I say this with no real conviction, but Vitali Klitschko might be a guy that I'd ad to the " avoid list " if I were Rock Newman..
Futch was in the corner of the first fight, but Bowe was in poor physical shape. Futch said he was done after the Golota fight. I actually think Golota could fight better in close than Vitali can. I also think Golota believed in himself a little more against Bowe than he did later on, and would have given a good amount of fighters a rough time that night. Golota had good overall skills.
Tough one to call. We didn't get to see Bowe vs a great tall fighter. If it goes the distance I would think Bowe's activity would win him a decision.