Bowe or Toney? who had the more wasted potential

Just watching clips of Toney and Razor damn near brought me to the brink of depression smh

 

Freddie Roach said Toney was the most talented fighter in the world and simultaneously the laziest. I take his words pretty seriously. Toney could do basically anything and was an old school fighter in the modern day. A true master of the sweet science able to box, counter, slug, swarm, move, etc. despite winning multiple titles in multiple divisions, Toney still didn't achieve his full potential. That's how talented he was. Toney could have been the #1 fighter of all time if he stayed in shape and played his cards right.

I can't say the same for Bowe. Yes he was talented and a natural big guy with strength and skill, but I do not think he had the same ceiling as other "missed potential" guys like Tyson, Crawford, etc. I don't think Bowe ever would've been higher than #4-5 all time. He got hit a lot due to his leaky defense even when he was at his best with Futch and in shape. He struggled with an old Tubbs and Golota. His best wins were against the much smaller Holyfield who lacked power and willingly slugged it out with Bowe. Bowe didn't use his jab as much as he should have and hadn't mastered the long range. I don't think he would've beaten Lewis. Tyson would've stopped him in a very brutal war. If Ike didn't go to prison, that would be an incredibly dangerous fight for Bowe win/lose/ or draw (he'd suffer major brain damage trading with him). Chris Byrd would make him look stupid and might have won. Bruno would be a big problem with his heavy jab and upright, cautious style. Even old Foreman might've been able to beat Bowe (although I'd favor him over the old man). I can't envision a universe where Bowe retires undefeated after clearing out the 90's HW scene.

 

Wasted potential?
Riddick Bowe was WBA/WBC/IBF heavyweight champion and defended twice. He was later the WBO heavyweight champion and was 2-1, with the only KO in the series against the only man to defeat him. What else was he expected to do?
James Toney was world champion at 160, 168, cruiser and defeated a heavyweight champion. What else was he supposed to do? What else could he have done? It is common to say that he was "fat and lazy" yet he won world titles across a span of at least 40 pounds. If he had stayed at 160 the complaint would be that he never challenged himself by moving up. He said in the early 90s that his goal was to become a heavyweight and win that title.

 

Wasted potential sounds to me like a novice Sugar Ray Robinson going to veterinarian school at 12-0. Here it’s more “Who could’ve done more in a perfect world” which I guess would mean Bowe but how much more could he have achieved ? I think nearly everyone who would’ve brought his status up was just too smart for Riddick.

 

Bowe could have been one of the next great heavyweights, the heavyweight of the 90s, but blew it. Lack of dedication hurt his career as did not fighting Lewis.

Toney could be hot and cold and could have achieved more also had he been more disciplined, but he still accomplished more and lasted longer.

 

Another vote for Bowe.

Toney might have fallen short on his potential, but he defeated Michael Nunn in 1991, and arguably should have stopped Hassim Rahman in 2008.

That is a hell of a long time to be relevant in boxing.

 

Very good arguments for taking Bowe , however I'm going to say Toney and here's why. Had he trained as say, Marvin Hagler he'd have been one of the top middleweights of all time. Then as he moved to 168 he'd be much better positioned to beat Roy Jones at that weight. But even if he didn't I believe he could have beaten Roy later as Jones faded. Probably ends his career in the cruiserweight division if he's entering the ring in good physical condition.

 

not much in it and i don 't like to be negative about either man. imo the answer is bowe.

 

Toney had such a great career, so it's hard to say he wasted much of anything. Sure he had some lost years, but came back with some of his greatest performances.

Bowe, on the other hand, really did nothing after beating Holy. You could be easily forgiven for thinking he'd dominate the rest of the decade, but instead he ducked the **** out of Lewis and dived into a fridge while fighting C level opposition and then getting beaten into retirement by Golota.

Maybe he was protected for a reason and Holy just was a very good fit for him. Not impossible. But I think he got very comfortable very fast and pissed away what could have been a great career, with good help from Newman.