Prime for Prime.....as professionals.........Lennox Lewis V Riddick Bowe

[quote="TKO";3187861]In a roundabout way, I think it does. The fact that Bowe was plainly intimidated by Lewis is likely to mean the fight would have panned out differently to if how it would have done under normal circumstances.

I agree, Bowe at his peak (Holy 1) was a very skilled boxer with a good punch, but he was kept away from big punchers for most of his career. His peak was also very, very short - I can't honestly believe some in America talk about him being a "great" heavy with a straight face as his resume is absolutely **** poor by those standards! I think Lewis would have stopped him but we'll never know...[/quote]

But this thread isn't about if a fight happened between these two at the time of Bowe binning the belt, it's a hypothetical about the two at their respective primes. IMO, Bowe's prime was in the early 90s and Lewis's peak was the year 2000, thus Bowe's misgivings at the time don't impact upon my hypothetical prediction of how a fight between those two fighters would go, I am thinking purely on ability. Lewis UD.

I agree with you about Bowe being spoken of as a "great" hw though - utterly ludicrous!

 

There are a couple of different ways to look at this... In actuality, Lennox Lewis had a huge mental edge over Bowe. Bowe feared Lennox.

However, I think prime for prime that Bowe could've taken Lennox. Bowe's ability to take a punch was certainly better, his stamina was there, and his power/speed combination for a big man was tremendous.

If not for the fear that Bowe had for Lewis in the early 90's, I really think he had a good shot.

By no means is this a walk in the park for either man though...obviously...

 

I agree that Lewis was the greater fighter, both at the time Bowe binned the belts and at their respective peaks (imo Bowe in the early 90s and Lewis in the year 2000).

However, I would be wary of basing that decision on Lewis having a "mental edge" over Bowe, I don't really believe in that. A cornered, frightened animal is the most vicious, etc.

Example: Jorge Luis Gonzalez beat Bowe in the amateurs, and at the time Gonzalez was on the way up it was widely thought that Bowe was scared of him, and Gonzalez was very vocal about the fact that he intimidated Bowe and that he was coming for Bowe's title etc.

Did you see that fight? Bowe was initially cautious, but soon realized Gonzalez couldn't back up his talk, warmed to the task, and brutally KO'd him in the end.

I think Lewis would beat Bowe, but that's because of his boxing attributes. I don't place much stock in the mental side of things, it's not a persuasive argument to me at all, it proves nothing. Mentalities can change in a split-second in this game. One wobble, one flinch, and the complexity of a fight changes entirely. JMO

 

Throwing a glass at your opponent in the pre-fight press conference may help to change that though :twisted:

 

lewis got to him mentally, and if they met, i don't see him outboxing lennox, so he'd probably go for broke. anything bowe did, lennox did better.

 

Nope - infighting.

 

Not even close Lewis stops Bowe in mid Rounds

 

Bowe didn't want any part of Lewis whatsoever, and as the fighters themselves probably know better than any of us;on that basis I voted Lewis

 

What's your own opinion based on watching them both fight at their peak??

 

Prime for Prime = Lewis
When they should have fought = Bowe. Bowe was at his peak and Lewis was still devloping.

 

Lewis would win this one all day long, thats why Bowe ducked him.

 

Prime Bowe would be the best Lewis would have ever fought. He was a great fighter for a few years.

Still pick Lewis, but its a tossup.

 

i'm a big lewis fan but in 1992 i would have backed bowe to beat him. bowe imo was exceptional at this point in time whilst lewis was still ironing the flaws in his game. i'd take bowe to win a great fight by decision.

throwing the belt in the bin was the biggest mistake of bowes life imo. handing the 1st defeats of holyfields career and lewis' career would have cemented his legacy as an all time great.

of course lewis went on to get better and better and peak later on, whilst bowe faded and can go down as the most underachieving heavyweight of all time imo.

 

Im a big fan of Lennox Lewis but Riddick Bowe was more talented and better fighter. Bowe was broken in the fight with Golota and he does the good think. He retired like one of the best fighter ever. Lewis dominante in the heavyweight scene when Tyson was broken, Holyfield gets old and Bowe retired, respect for Lewis but he dident face notbody of champions in his prime.

 

It was obvious when he threw that belt in the trash that he was truly afraid of Lennox ... what a damn shame ... you always think that fighters in the prize fighting game aren't affraid of anyone, but in this one particular case, I honestly think that Riddick Bowe was scared.