If both retired today who is ranked higher Riddick Bowe or Vitali K?

Vitali is a "pure boxer"?

 

Correct. Well, apart from the bit about Bruno at the bottom, although Bruno WAS better than Rahman.

 

Yes, I would call Vitali a pure boxer in this instance, his stance is unorthodox and he arm punches with his left these days; but he is a safety first fighter who operates at a controlled distance off his back foot behind a busy jab, avoiding exchanges, utilizing head movement and side to side foot work, looking to counter, and very rarely pushing the attack. He can be creative but he's ultimately limited when he himself is forced to engage or took out of his comfort zone. If you disagree with my choice in words that is fine. Lewis was outclassed and had to spoil his boxing to get past him, I don't think Bowe had that craftiness and extra dimension to his game.

 

Boxer puncher really, even though its safety first.

 

You don't think that Bowe could do what Lewis did against Vitali?

 

I'd call him a brawler. A tall, rangy brawler who knows how to use his height, but still a brawler.

 

Nah. He boxes at range behind basically a one two or a one two three now and again, and then backs off again, back to the jab. Hardly a brawler. Arreola was more of a brawler

 

How would you justify that? In his bouts with Sanders and Arreola, he was on the back foot 80% of the time or more.

 

No, Bowe wasn't as adaptable and smart as Lewis nor was his right lead as sharp and accurate. He also didn't strategically clinch and use the grapple to his advantage like Lennox did to overcome Grant and Vitali. If Bowe beats Vitali it wouldn't be with crafty spoiling, he would have to make it into a close quarter brawl which I'm not confident he can impose on the Ukranian.

 

Hence knowing how to use his height. I don't think a brawler is necessarily someone who goes forward or a boxer is necessarily someone who goes backwards.

 

Would you say that Bowe was a better infighter than Lewis?

 

Lewis wasn't an infighter in the truest since, he just knew how to take advantage of a clinch better than any heavyweight I can think of in the modern era with the exception of maybe Ruiz, either it be protecting himself, breaking up his attacker's rhthym, or trapping his opponent in a headlock and dishing out as much punishment as the ref would allow. Its was a pretty big key to his success that like the refs in most instances, people tend to turn a blind eye to. Bowe probably had more infighting skills but he couldn't impose his offense the same way Lewis could when he was with somebody that could tie him up.

 

I dont know how you can come to these conclusions based off of a fighter that lost one close decision in his career and went out when he was basically shot.
He definitely strategically clinched and grappled, and used it as a way to setup his uppercut and short hooks inside. Lewis could never fight like Bowe could inside and Bowe could shut an opponent down just as well as Lewis.
Bowe was just more of an overall offensive fighter willing to put himself more in harms way. He didnt lay back, he moved forward and setup his big righthand behind his jab (better at certain points of his career), and didnt look to hold as much on the inside as Lewis did.

 

Because they were terrible fighters.

Ricky Hatton outboxed Ben Tackie.

Is he a boxer? He was moving around a lot after all...

 

-Bowe has a fantastic win-loss record. Not sure what that has to do with the topic hand.
-Don't think I've ever seen a Bowe clinch. I'm sure it happened sometimes..., just not how he fought. He liked to throw combos in the phone booth and avoid grapples, not grab headlocks and grind people's kindneys and faces.
-Correct.