Here's a chance to "raise the temperature" Both boxers turned professional in 1989 (after the Olympics). We all regret not watching their fight. But what would happen if Riddick Bowe replaced Lennox Lewis, and entered the ring instead of Lennox every time? Would Riddick end his career with only 2 losses (like Lennox)? Please discuss.
LL had great longevity that only a select few can match. I don’t think his competition was as strong as some do, but from 92-03 he beat world class heavyweights. Bowe only had 5 years at the top. LL doubled that. If I could take a 91-95 Bowe in all these matchups he probably does no worse than LL but that’s now what we’re saying I don’t believe. A 2000s Bowe might lose to hapless fighters like Mavrovic Botha and Akinwande!
Bowe wasn't a dedicated professional and didn't have longevity so he would probably pick up more losses than Lewis did. I know for sure Bowe in his late 30s isn't beating Vitali, but then again Bowe wouldn't get one shotted by Rahman or McCall either.
I don’t think he beats vitaly Klitschko unless Klit sustains some sort of fluke injury. As for the rest I think he’d beat a lot of them on his BEST night but wouldn’t have the longevity needed to go through that whole
Say what you want about Lennox, but he was dedicated professional, who never balooned badly between the fights and didn't came 100% only in 2 fights of his career - against Rahman (first fight) and Vitali. And even then he wasn't fat or unprepared, just not the best version of himself. Riddick was never anything like that, but assuming he had Lewis' dedication, I think he beat everyone in Lewis' resume except of probably Vitali. He certainly would beat McCall and Rahman without too much troubles, and I'm pretty sure he wouldn't struggle against Mercer as much as Lennox did
I guess the reverse could also be said. How Bowe fought in both fights with Golota (although he won both fights), and how Lewis.
Up until 1995 I think Bowe wins the lot. From 96 onwards, I’d be surprised if that winning run continued. RB appeared to have lost his mojo/ form/prime …call it what you want…around the mid 90s. With this being the case I could see Mercer, McCall, Golota (obviously), Tua and even the faded Tyson asking the past it Bowe some very serious questions. And Vitali definitely defeating him.
Bowe doesn’t last as long at the top level. He had notoriously bad discipline when it came to the kitchen, and would get overweight. He was not good defensively (particularly from the outside) and would take a lot of shots. The punishment and poor training/eating habits took its toll. The one official loss that Bowe had was a very close decision against Holyfield, so he could fare well for a while. Maybe he has a real nice run as WBC titlist. He should win a lot of these matchups on paper. Who knows. He appeared to have a good chin but didn’t face many punches. Either way, eventually things would catch up to him, so he won’t have a great run like Lennox from 97-00.
Bowe was very lucky to beat Golota and he was still in his 20s, there is zero chance he is an effective fighter in his mid to late 30s. LL also fought some monstrous punchers (Bowe never did) so we dont know if Bowe and his poor defense could withstand that. However, if you are only talking about the absolute best version of Bowe, then he might be the favorite over all of them.
Bowe didn't have the discipline to go on the type of run that Lewis did, I'm pretty sure his team wouldn't have been confident to put Bowe on that run that Lennox did too.
Also worth noting that Bowe didn't fight many punchers and there will be plenty of them in the Lewis resume. I'm pretty sure you have noted how few punchers he took on and the likes of Ruddock, Tua, Morrison, Vitali, Bruno, Briggs and even an ancient Tyson can whack a little. He'd have to face Golota again too
Even as an amateur Bowe was being criticized for being lazy (he got it together for ol' Holyfield though). Really caught up to him.
