Is Prime Joe Louis good enough to beat Riddick Bowe?

Is this a joke? Louis destroys big lazy Bowe, no question.

 

Yes.

 

So Louis is stopping a guy who was never stopped even when shot beyond shot ?

This is the same guy who was wobbled and out boxed by a faking Middle ?

This is the same guy who was knocked down by a total bum in Galento ?

This is the same guy who was stopped by a washed up Cruiser who was paid to loose but did not follow the script ?

This is the same guy when shot was ko'ed by a 185 pound Midget ?

Bowe has ONE razor thin decision loss on his record when Holyfield needed the fan man and Bowe's wife collapsing Ringside to get a gift decision...............and was beaten like a rented Mule in his two other meetings with Bowe, something Tyson and Lewis could not do in FOUR fights.

Louis has never ever seen a skilled Superheavy like Bowe....................and while Herbie Hide was a inferior fighter to Louis overall I bet my bottom dollar he hit as hard as Louis and had similar speed and Bowe walked right thru him.

Bowe by flat out KO.

 

Riddick was big and talented. Eddie Futch polished a jewel of a heavyweight before he left us. Bowe listened to Mr. Futch on his way up. Unfortunately he couldn't maintain that discipline. You can't give a guy character.
Riddick Bowe's decline made Mike Tyson seem stable.

With that said on any given night Bowe could beat many good heavyweights and some great ones. He was a unique talent. 6-5 235lbs (cough) with quick hands, sweet jab, power in either hand, he put combinations together like a middleweight. Solid chin as well.

I admire Joe Louis greatly but I think Bowe's size and skill might be too much for him. Ofcourse I wouldn't count Joe out ever. He could really crack. Perhaps the Brown Bomber wins the series but I favor Bowe in the first fight.

After beating Louis Big Daddy would maybe get caught by his wife having an affair with a Cake or some donuts. Seriously he was a food addict.

 

I hear what your saying but according to your logic if Conn could do that Baer, Nova, Walcott etc would have dispatched him easily. They were all much larger and could punch.

 

Bowe

 

I rather suspect most would go with Bowe.

 

Yea i would feel more confident if it was the Bowe that was on his climb. I watched many of his fights and he was fantastic on the way up.

 

Good as Bowe was on his best night, he was relatively easy to tag and held his feet. They're gonna mix it which favours Louis' quicker, more precise punching.

 

Louis:
+Hand speed
+Technique
+Combinations
+Counter punching
+Could parry shots
+Vast experience
-Slow feet
-Shaky chin


Bowe:
+Reach
+Strength
+Chin (debatable)
+Powerful jab
-Very leaky defense
-No head movement
-Lacks experience (especially against punchers)


VERY dangerous fight for both guys. They both could get caught by something big, but it's possible Louis would be worse off in a trade since he's smaller. They both like to get close and have phone booth battles, but they could both also fight behind a jab at mid range. Louis has several distinct advantages in technique, hand speed, and experience. Bowe wasn't a mindless slugger, but did have a habit for brawling at the drop of a dime.

I think in this matchup we cannot simply overlook the fact Bowe went life and death with Holyfield and Hide (who are virtually identical to Louis in size), so to argue Louis is too small is idiotic. Handspeed is another issue: Bowe had trouble with an older Tubbs and of course Holyfield. Louis has blazing hands and dynamite in both fists. The next alarming thing to consider is Bowe is sloppy on defense with no head movement against a boxer puncher who has impeccable timing and accuracy. That sounds like a recipe for disaster. As for Louis' negatives, his lack of foot speed doesn't mean much when they're both going to immediately meet ring center for a war. When it comes to reach/height, Louis had no issue reaching the jaws of the much larger Baer, Carnera, Simon, etc. The only way reach and height would be an issue is if Bowe decided to use his heavy jab and push Louis away.


Conclusion: I think this would be a hell of a fight. Neither guy likes to back up, both have power, both are brave and let their hands go with powerful combinations. Unless Bowe can bully Louis keeping him at mid range jabbing, pushing, etc he's going to be in for a very rough night. If Louis starts connecting and landing consistently (which shouldn't be hard for him to do with Bowe's leaky defense), Bowe is going to be in a desperate situation where he'll need a KO to win. I suspect that if Bowe can't impose his size and doesn't KO Louis by the 9th, Louis beats the crap out of him. Louis may need to get off the floor once or twice, and may even get sparked out. So much could happen but Louis is bringing many intangibles that would give Bowe nightmares. I slightly favor Louis to win 6/10 by a close decision or late stoppage.

 

Louis will not be able to take many of those Riddick Bowe right hands with those lighter gloves. Put Bowe in that era of undersized heavies and you’d appreciate that fluidity and power so much more. Put Louis in with Holyfield and the chance of a man Louis’ size knocking out Holyfield are slim to none. Bowe will be able to take a few of Louis’ best when trading as well. And Bowe’s chin held up way better against the 205lb Holyfield than old Foreman’s did and only one gets raved about on here.

Louis had faster hands? Maybe slightly but nothing major. You’d be impressed with Holyfield’s handspeed if he got in with more of the no hopers Louis did. When Holyfield fought a club fighter like Maddalone at 44 the handspeed was impressive beyond impressive. But not so much against LL and Bowe. Would be the same for Louis. Totally different level of competition. Very hard letting your hands go against a big man who doesn’t back up. And footwork? What are we watching? Holyfield has awesome footwork. Always in such great positions to punch and counter using angles. Louis’ ‘footwork’ will cost him the fight because Bowe will never have to look for him. You’ve got to box Bowe you can’t stand in front of him no way. Too much power, too tough, too fluid at close mid range.

Ha! Because Bowe had a novice trainer in his corner!

 

Yes he is good enough. This has the making of a trilogy

 

The Bowe who liked to stay in the pocket and trade with little thought of defense?

Holy sht... Louis destroys that kind of fighter.

 

Glad to see that we agree Seamus. I always liked you

 

In all seriousness, I find Bowe to be generally underrated on Classic, but of course I think Louis is good enough. He's one of the least desirable human beings to have coming out of the other corner for anyone of any size. This guy is a walking death machine.