Bowe vs Tyson would have been an amazing fight because Bowe was unquestionably one of the best big men at inside fighting. Tyson would try to get close and pound him down but would quickly realize how dangerous Bowe was on the inside. I'm leaning towards Mike by late stoppage or close UD.
I think Tyson was willing to take 1-2 to give 1 back. That didnt work too well against Holyfield (If your on about the 96 Tyson). But even Holyfield ate monster punches in that fight, how would Bowe react in the same scenario? would his chin hold up?
While bigger, I don't know that Bowe is going to match Tyson for sheer strength on the inside - nor is he the type to really win a contest of wills with Mike. I actually think Riddick is the more mentally fragile of the two. Even a green Lewis had far too much class to get drawn into any of Bowe's traps.
Tyson (Ruddock I/II) vs. Bowe (Tillery II) in '91: Tyson close decision in a brutal war. Tyson* vs. Bowe (Holy I) in '92: Bowe close decision in a brutal war. Tyson (Mathis) vs. Bowe (Gonzalez) in '95: Bowe TKO9 a badly gassed Tyson. Tyson (Bruno II) vs. Shot Bowe (Golota I) in '96: Tyson TKO5, maybe earlier against the Bowe from Golota II, since he had ridiculously deteriorated punch resistance due to extreme dehydration. *Assuming this theorectical version is the same as '91 Tyson, & still trained by Giachetti.
A lot of people here say Bowe would have beaten Lewis had they fought in 1992-93. Rewind 4 years from there ... Where a highly moivated Lennox Lewis destroyed Bowe in the 1988 Olympic Final. Did Bowe really improve that much in the 1998 - 1992 period?
Destroyed Bowe?? THe first round was even or Bowe might of won it. The second was a bull**** stoppage off of two bull**** standing 8's. Hardly destruction not to mention Bowe was an amatuer and looked like a bean pole. He was a bit different after 4 years of tutelage under Eddie Futch.
Tyson beats Bowe in 1991-1992. Bowe was a fine fighter but Tyson during that time was still good enough for anybody on the planet despite not being at his best. TKO7 Tyson stops Bowe in 1996; Bowe was a punched ticket by then and would have provided a great name on a resume for an elite level fighter. KO4 Bowe beats Lewis in 1992-1993. UD12 He had the inside game that would trouble a young Lewis. Lewis was still too rough around the edges for the more polished Bowe in 92-93.
I really favor Bowe over Tyson from the 80s but i can not see him being Lewis, he was just too skillful
You certainly have a point there but he is talking about Bowe from the 80s vs Tyson from he 80s and Lewis from the 90s vs Bowe from the 90s not prime v prime
Bowe is spectacularly overrated. Who is his second best victim? Pierre Coetzer? Herbie Hide? Please. Both Tyson and Lewis stop him. Wait, Lewis already did do just that.
So we're talking 94 here right? Tyson is probably 4 years past his prime and 6 years past his peak. Lewis is about 3 years before his prime and 5 years before his peak. Bowe is as prime as he'll ever be. That's just me setting the scene in my head. Ok first tyson. Bowe had all the tools to be great, the intangibles weren't there however, he didn't have the discipline and focus to break the elite. He didn't treat his body like a temple and he had a tendency to fight inside. Tyson is arguably the greatest infighter in heavyweight history. Bowe cannot take tyson's power, period. However if tyson abandons his defence and is the brutal wrecking machine he became more known as, I don't see how he can take bowe's shots when he couldn't take douglas's nor holyfield's. Tyson with any head movement splatters any version of big daddy but i'm not sure post prison tyson would have succeeded. On one hand he only ever lost to great fighters after prison up until the lewis loss. The way I see it, tyson has a better beard than bowe, he hits harder and he is better on the inside. Bowe won't be too clever for mike but he has a shot of winning the war this fight would be. I pick mike to stop him in 8 rounds. Lewis was nowhere near the finished article by this point but he had the mental edge over a visibly scared bowe. Certainly bowe has the power to stop lewis and the loss to mccall demonstrates that. However I think that lewis would be super motivated and would bring it all together to school bowe in a one sided fight. I think bowe has stylistic weaknesses in these two matchups that both stem from his lack of discipline.