But, y'know, Lewis didn't. And that's what makes boxing interesting. It's also why I'm not a fan of fantasy fights. There's way too many intangibles in this glorious game.
I remember that day! My five-year-old niece wanted some Oreos, so we went to the store. The cookie aisle was totally wiped out. Not a cookie to be had. I asked the cashier, "Where did all the cookies go? What happened?" 'Cause I was thinking there was a recall or something. Maybe a cookie prohibition law was passed and I missed it on the news. But the cashier was like, "Bowe bought 'em."
He mostly lost it all at once. The beating in the first Golota fight took a lot out of him, then the rapid weight loss and horrible beating he suffered in the rematch left him completely shot. It reminds me of the Saad Muhammad situation. They both went from declining slightly to totally shot in just a few fights.
To be honest Riddick Bowe was an extremely poor heavyweight defensively, yes he looked brilliant in the first Holyfield fight but he never really utilized his tools, long arms and being a big man to his advantage. Having Emmanual Steward would have really helped him to fight big and would have helped him extend his career and not take as much unnecessary punishment. Yes he was a brilliant inside fighter but he got into unnecessary wars and so many swarmers were easily able to get inside of him.
Some Trainers are better suited to certain fighters with particular attributes. Emanual Steward was perfect for tall rangy and big boxers
Lewis' jab imo wasn't anything until after Steward. I personally thought Bowe's right uppercut was his money punch. But that's just me.
I agree. From round one & on against Golota it seemed easy to tell something was different about Bowe. Holy-Bowe I a fight that surpassed Ali-Frazier in punches landed, who knew the bigger guy took the brunt of punishment.
Obviously he still had a lot left to give, but this was definitely the start of his decline. By the time the Golota fights came about he was virtually done.
I agree. From the 1st round of the Andrew fight, one could see something was not right. All he had was will power in that fight. Timing off, countering was off. But the nut-shot-shooting Golota couldn't overcome a faded Bowe's will to survive and bowed out with a scrotum combination. Thrice.
Many of Bowe's past opponents threw a little hurrah as Golota rattled Bowe's nuts off the back of his throat. I know two wrongs don't make a right, but Bowe did a lot of dirty work of his own on other fighters in his career.
I remember reading that Bowe had a ball eating away after Bowe Holyfield 1 and came in extremely over weight for his next fight and his trainers had to literally teach him how to box again. People talk about the punishment he took in fights, apparently he got his ass kicked many times in sparring as well.
After the first Golata fight and HOF trainer Eddie Futch resigned . As he was tired of Bowe's antic's . Lack of discipline, unruly entourage and willingness to stay in shape.