How good was Riddick bowe really?

He looped his right hand too, never did throw a straight one.

Then again Sanchez threw his like a pitcher throwing a fastball, so whatever.

 

Like I said, he had weight issues due to his lack of focus but that guy came out of the mid 80's New York boxing scene which was stacked as hell. I know that scene well and know how athletic he was especially for his size. I saw him fight live as a in a national amauter tournament and he was incredible.

All this said, I do not have him anyway near the top of my all time greatest heavyweights. He had the talent and heart to be one of them but not the focus or dedication. The guy's first instinct was to brawl instead of using his physical gifts and talent and it cost him dearly. He clearly has CTE from years of fighting and should have retired after his 3rd fight with Holyfield. He was a shell in the two Golata fights.

 

They were all punchers :
Yes?
No?

 

His fundamentals were very good for a man his size and he didn't have particularly fast hands. He wasn't "extremely easy" to hit either, even though he wasn't a Whitaker. He rolled with many punches, which made it seem he took more punishment than he actually did.

Don't agree with much in your post. His resume isn't on par with how highly some rate him, though.

 

He was better than every single fighter he ever faced as a professional.

 

At his best, Bowe is top 5 all time as a HW.

 

If there was one great fighter who could make others look great (who weren’t), it was Holyfield.

 

There just isn't any way to rationalize that argument.

 

What don't you get ?!
H2H, he's in my top 5 HWs. Apart from a handful of HWs that he might get beat by (or he might beat), he beats all the rest.

 

They were all limited sluggers who stopped nobody in world class. So, it all depends on your defintion of "puncher". They relied on punching power, but weren't that good with that style.

 

So you said. Just not seeing that.

 

I thought Bowe was much better up to the second Holyfield fight. After that, he scored some impressive victories including a Holyfield KO as well as wins over Jorge Gonzalez and Herbie Hide. But he seemed to be powering his way through those fights, not showing enough of the skill and promise he showed earlier.

 

Then yes, Bowe beat weak level punchers. Good for him!