Bowe Vs Tyson/Lewis

Discussion in 'Classic Boxing Forum' started by Azzer85, Jun 29, 2011.


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  1. ATP

    ATP Fringe Contender Full Member

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    Brilliant :good
     
    ATP, Jul 1, 2011
    ATP, Jul 1, 2011
    #31
  2. lufcrazy

    lufcrazy requiescat in pace

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    Thanks :)
     
    lufcrazy, Jul 2, 2011
    lufcrazy, Jul 2, 2011
    #32
  3. Tim_Burr

    Tim_Burr ∆ Full Member

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    May 21, 2011
    ^^ good stuff.

    It's a loss to boxing that Bowe had psyched himself out of ever fighting Lewis again.
     
    Tim_Burr, Jul 2, 2011
    Tim_Burr, Jul 2, 2011
    #33
  4. lufcrazy

    lufcrazy requiescat in pace

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    It really is this man had everything needed apart from the discipline. He was big, powerful, exciting, would take a shot.. Not just that he was right in the middle of an era littered with names from the top 15 of boxing's history and he only managed to fight one of them :-(
     
    lufcrazy, Jul 2, 2011
    lufcrazy, Jul 2, 2011
    #34
  5. Azzer85

    Azzer85 Obsessed with Boxing Full Member

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    Bowes career is probably just as frustrating as Tysons.

    Neither lived upto their potential.
    Bowe was beter than Holyfield and Tyson better than Lewis. Yet its Lewis and Holyfield who will ranked higher due to resume/accomplishments
     
    Azzer85, Jul 2, 2011
    Azzer85, Jul 2, 2011
    #35
  6. lufcrazy

    lufcrazy requiescat in pace

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    Guys like mike, ali, dempsey, louis, vitali they all had stretches of inactivity that hurt them. Bowe was active throughout the 90's and was involved in some **** poor match making.
     
    lufcrazy, Jul 3, 2011
    lufcrazy, Jul 3, 2011
    #36
  7. Azzer85

    Azzer85 Obsessed with Boxing Full Member

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    Inactivity is never good, especially in a sport like boxing. However Ali/Vitali werent locked up in a cage, Tyson was (for a crime he says he didnt commit).

    ALSO, Ali was exiled in his prime, Vitali also left boxing on his own terms, still pretty much prime. Tyson was on the downward slide before he was put in prison, prison just accelerated that. Unfortunately 3-4 years out of the spotlight made people forget this. SO when he returned poeple thought "hes back" and people started having flashbacks of 87-88, however he was just as finished as Holyfield and Bowe by 96

    Bowes resume is god awful, in an era of Tyson, Lewis, Holyfield, Moorer, Foreman, Mcall, Tua, Bruno, Ruddock, DOuglas, Morrison etc

    He only fought Holyfield....

    Also Tyson beat all Bowes mutual opponents in much better fashion, asides from Holyfield. Tyson beat Biggs, Ferguson and Tubbs much better than Bowe.
     
    Azzer85, Jul 3, 2011
    Azzer85, Jul 3, 2011
    #37
  8. lufcrazy

    lufcrazy requiescat in pace

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    Stylistically he was on the slide but physically he still was capable of reproducing his best form. Maybe a change of trainer and who knows?

    Circumstances are circumstance those guys for different reasons left the sport when they were in a position to dominate.

    Yeah I don't know why bowe allowed the big fights to escape him, it's really shocking and it's not like we were robbed of his best years like the other guys he just stopped fighting named opponents.
     
    lufcrazy, Jul 3, 2011
    lufcrazy, Jul 3, 2011
    #38
  9. Azzer85

    Azzer85 Obsessed with Boxing Full Member

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    He was still young and physically fine, but do you think he could keep up with the energy he did during his peak years? from what i can see the peak aboo style requires lots of energy with the head and lateral movement,i dont think he would have been able to keep that up for long. Tyson didnt NEED a change of trainer (Rooney was fine) but seeing as he decided to get rid of him, i think Giachetti did well with Tyson (He was shouting at him in the Ruddock fight to wake up) i would loved to have seen Futch and Tyson work together.

    Exactly they were still at the top of their game, you could say Tyson had seen his best days, especially a guy with his stature and fighting style, on top of that better fighters were emerging, Tyson was declining and then prison...

    I wouldnt say Bowe was scared, his management just messed up. Just like Tyson when he joined Shelly Finkel.
     
    Azzer85, Jul 3, 2011
    Azzer85, Jul 3, 2011
    #39
  10. lufcrazy

    lufcrazy requiescat in pace

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    Well that's the thing, we'll never know for sure if he'd have got back to that level.

    I've seriously reevaluated tyson lately and whilst I believe that perhaps he could have been prime upon entering prison, he most certainly was not upon his release. I think a measure of his greatness can be made from release till lewis. The guy was quite clearly past his best and yet he did something noone else in heavyweight history has done: he completely usurped the claim of the lineal champion. A guy who, 5 years from his incarceration, beat two of the best heavyweights in the world so bad that noone cared about big george being the true champion. His second wind saw him lose only to great fighters and that was using the wrecking ball style with next to no defence. That's the stuff of legend. I'd have loved him to rematch douglas after his release but I think what he achieved was enough to put him in a top ten of retired heavyweights. He'll drop when holyfield calls it a day and by the look of things, when wlad hangs them up.
     
    lufcrazy, Jul 3, 2011
    lufcrazy, Jul 3, 2011
    #40
  11. Azzer85

    Azzer85 Obsessed with Boxing Full Member

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    He was at the end of his prime by the ruddock fights. However his most important fights (Career enhancing/legacy fights) would have come in 92-95. If he hadnt gone to prison he could have stayed active and did enough to cement his postion. Then by 96 either way,i think Tyson would have been spent anyway and his career would have resumed the way it did, but by then it wouldnt have mattered, because he would have done everything by then.

    The fact that he competed like he did against Holyfield (After 3 years in prison) shows me he is a genuine bonafide ATG.

    Some people on here think Lewis would somehow tame a younger Tyson, when he just about took 8 rounds to tame an old, drugged up, fifteen years past his best Tyson. Lewis is great, dont get me wrong, but Tyson is levels above
     
    Azzer85, Jul 3, 2011
    Azzer85, Jul 3, 2011
    #41
  12. lufcrazy

    lufcrazy requiescat in pace

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    Maybe but it's something noone will ever be certain of. He was still young and i'm sure with focus he'd have recaptured his style from 86.

    Again having a prime lewis against a prime mike is something we'll never know. I think it's beyond question that lewis had a greater career. whether or not he had the skillset to defeat iron mike can never be answered. Both lost to fringe contenders in the middle of their prime so I think valid arguments can be made either way.
     
    lufcrazy, Jul 3, 2011
    lufcrazy, Jul 3, 2011
    #42
  13. Azzer85

    Azzer85 Obsessed with Boxing Full Member

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    Lennox had a brilliant career. Tyson messed his up in more ways than can count.

    Tyson COULD have captured his old form after prison, for that, he needed
    a) Kevin Rooney to train him
    b) Bill Cayton to manage his career properly and match make him slowly but correctly (not rush him into a title shot and Holyfield)
    c) Get rid of Don King and his hangers on
    d) keep his d*ck in his pants
     
    Azzer85, Jul 3, 2011
    Azzer85, Jul 3, 2011
    #43
  14. lufcrazy

    lufcrazy requiescat in pace

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    Yeah had he faced moorer and foreman he might have been better prepared for a holyfield fight.

    Still being considered the premiere heavyweight in 96, 10 years after winning his first title is impressive. I agree tho there'll always be a "what if" with iron.
     
    lufcrazy, Jul 3, 2011
    lufcrazy, Jul 3, 2011
    #44
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