Im not convinced at all that Bowe could take Lewis power

Yeah, he's a very polarizing figure. Perhaps the most polarizing on this forum right now, since the most rabid Leonard haters seem to have left. Either he folded as soon someone stood up to him or the only think that could defeat him was himself. Both views are well represented here, unfortunately.

 

Not wrong there, that's for sure.

 

Tyson is one of the shortest heavyweights ever with a short height, short reach. If he didn't come in good condition, he was toast especially against bigger taller men with big reaches aka Douglas.

 

An oversimplification with some truth to it, but it still doesn't mean that Tyson was the only one who wasn't 100% for every fight. It clearly marks you out as fan boy when you claim it's only excuses to say so about anyone else, but never about Tyson.

It's also clearly marks you out as a fan boy to say that the loss to Douglas was only about Tyson's supposed poor preparations, not about what Douglas did. For my money, that Douglas probably beats the Tyson that struggled with Thomas and Tucker for periods.

 

Its not about Fanboy, it is me telling the truth. Why was George Foreman able to box and carry on fighting upto his 40's whereas Mike Tyson struggled in his mid to late 30's. Styles, Foreman was bigger and had a bigger reach which allowed him to get in range whereas Tyson's limited dimensions i.e. short reach, short height, lost legs meant he could no longer compete in boxing beyond a certain age.

Wasn't it seen as a miracle in the boxing worlds as to how was such a short small fighter with smaller hands able to scare the crap out of much bigger guys with bigger reaches back then?

 

You're trying to change the subject.

The discussion was never about if Tyson's short stature and swarming style required him to be well prepared more so than bigger fighters.

The discussion was whether Tyson was the only one who was below par in some fights. He clearly wasn't and you were wrong in claiming that. End of.

 

Been a while since i saw the fight, but didnt holyfild drop ray mercer? No one questions mercers chin. Foreman also praised holyfields hook and said his power was comparable to Alis (who stopped foreman), so hes obviously not "featherfisted" like some people claim. Above average at worst.

 

Obviously Bowe wasn't convinced he could take Lewis`s power either that`s why he threw the belt away and ran like a girl. That was one of the worst things in modern boxing history. Not only did Bowe rob us of a great heavyweight fight but he split the title.

 

Bowe doesn't have that mark on his career, but he had a lot less fights against elite opposition.

I think that Bowe did have the better chin, and possibly by a bit, but I won't call the fight on that.

Max Baer had a much better chin than Joe Louis, and probably punched harder for example.

It comes down to styles at the end of the day, and I just see Lewis countering Bowe here.

 

I think style match up favors Bowe... when you see how Lewis fought his tall opponents- being agressive and walking them down, I don't think it would work against Bowe in his favor

 

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Just watch from 40:45 onwards, 6th rounds, just watch how astonished the British commentary team is that Holyfield inspite of a heart condition, being so deflated was able to floor Bowe with a mild left hook and how badly stunned and dazed Bowe is. I am just not sold on Bowe having a good chin at all, there is a reason why his career ended as quickly as it did including indisciplined training, eating habits, life style, sloppy defence and taking too many punches on a weak chin.

People say Bowe will school Tyson. I am not so sure, sure Bowe might trouble Tyson with his size, jab and inside arsenal but he will trade with him and once he feels Tyson's power, it can be game over very certainly. Tommy Morrison has dropped Riddick Bowe in sparring as well.

 

Bowe took Holyfield's best in the first two fights.

Based on the fact Bowe looked shot in the Golota fights, it could be that his punch resistance started failing him in the third Holyfield fight, which occurred shortly before the first Golota fight.

I don't see the third Holyfield fight as an indication of whether Bowe could take Lewis's power when they should have fought in the 1992-1994 time frame.

At the same time, Lewis showed poor punch resistance in the first McCall fight in '94, when Lewis wasn't past peak at all and hadn't engaged in many, if any real wars up to that point.