How good was Riddick bowe really?

I disagree. He was a world class amateur fighter that had a definite buzz about him when he went pro. He was athletic as hell for a big man but also had a rep for being lazy. Eddie Futch was very high on him and called him one of the most complete heavyweights he had ever seen. Aside from being well skilled, Big and athletic he was an incredible inside fighter.

All that said, I still think Lewis was better than him but Bowe certainly could hang with any of the guys from his era and at his best would be a handful for any heavyweight ever. He simply didn't have a long prime likely due to his dedication and weight issues. Not to mention he probably was having CTE issues before his fights with Golata. His speech is clearly affected today.

 

Of course he was good, but I agree that he's overrated. Very weak defense and lack of punchers on his resume hurts.

 

Yeah totally how I see it as well.

 

Good but overrated. Coasted on his natural talent. Holyfield provided an entertaining stylistic foil as both liked to brawl. Golota exposed him for his truth abilities.

And will people stop talking about what a good inside fighter he was. Yes, he got nice angles on offense but he also got consistently tagged at that range... all the while being 6-5 with an 81" reach. Use your wheels!

 

Overrated? Yes. He gets far too much mileage out of the Holyfield wins. He had a short prime and a fairly thin resume. Some of it was his managers fault, some of it was other fighters unable to follow through for one reason or a other, some of it was his own fault. Not the best resume but far from the worst. I rate his career a 6/10. H2h he had many glaring flaws but at his best he gives everyone a challenge.

"Not good at all" is really pushing it. His name is often brought up in the "best I've faced" interviews. I have him top 10 for jabs, top 5 for inside fighting, top 15 for chins. Not many people are anywhere near the top for all 3 of those categories.

 

I thought he was a very talented fighter. Good inside fighting game, stamina to go the distance, solid chin, good punch, good physical tools. As mentioned by others his defense was weak and he sometimes lacked discipline for training. If he had managed to shore up his defense just a tad and been a little bit more comitted in the gym, he could have easily gone from being a “ very good “ fighter to a “ great” one

 

Anyone who thinks Bowe “wasn’t very good at all” shouldn’t be allowed to post here

 

The key word is PROTECTED.

We don't know how good he was, because the only decent punchers--not great, but decent--they put him in with were Holyfield, Golata, and Hyde, and look how mixed those results were. A loss to Holy in three life-and-deaths, and three more life-and-deaths against the other two.

I honestly think Lewis would have permanently damaged him. Looking at throwing the belt in the trash, the avoidance of any kind of a real puncher, the **** defenses, and the way Nueman panicked whey Tillery was kicking at him, coupled with the way he slurs now, and I honestly feel he probably had some brain damage in the amateurs. No proof, but that is my theory.

Add to that the fact that he should have two disqualification losses, and possibly a loss to Tubbs, and you are looking at a well-marketed fighters who was good, but hardly great.

By the way, please don't come on and tell me that he beat Tubbs. After awhile, official narratives develop that everyone adopts. At the time, a lot of people were screaming robbery, and that is what it is.

 

I disagree. Were you watching Bowe pre Holyfield or after? Bowe had all the tools a heavyweight champ could want, and had the makings of a bonified ATG. Could he fight behind a jab? Check a wide variety of punches with the ability to at the least, hurt his opponents. Bowe had a wider variety of punches than at the least 5 fighters most would agree are ATG. That's Ali, Frazier, Holmes Marciano, and Lewis, doesn't mean he beats any of them.
Bowe for a hugh man was very light on his feet, ane was fast for a man his size, ( as big as most heavys today, but much better skilled)
Bowe had the total ruthlessness of a great heavy champ, and a great chin. He had the ability to fight a very fast paced 12rd fight.
Bowe had the desire to fight through the tough times in a fight, and displayed the heart and will of a great champ.
Bowe's biggest issues were his desire to be the best at the most important times for a fighter. That's in the gym. Lackadaisical training habits was his biggest failure, and should tell any future boxer that no matter how talented you are , you still got to put in the work in the gym, and Bowe should be used as a cautionary tell for them.
"Bowe had the talent to be the best heavyweight I've trained". A quote from the legendary Eddie Futch. Mr. Futch trained J Frazier, L.Holmes , and was the architect of K Nortons win over Ali.

Sooooo Maybe,possibly, could be, your missing something?

 

He should have been an ATG but he was lazy also his management tended to look for the easiest fights possible.

 

Bowe is the perfect example of the need for both physical ability AND the right mindset in order to be great. The ability was certainly there, but he and his idiot manager showed how out of their depth they were when it came time to graduate to the next level and do things like solidify their championship claim and be good stewards of the title that I think on some level they both intended to be. Neither Bowe nor Newman was remotely equipped to handle higher level ideas like that.

The rest is history.

 

He definitely had a lot of holes in his game. Compared to Primo Carnera, anyway.

 

Wasted talent, a could have been instead of a has been.

 

Bowe athletic?. He was a flabby fat ass