Lennox lewis vs Riddick Bowe

Lennox would have been the favorite in my eyes but Rock Newman was never going to let Bowe take that dangerous of a fight.......If Bowe came in shape and motivated he always would have had a chance(Rahman,McCall).... and i think he was better than the 2 of them....

 

Bowe in his prime would have taken Lewis.

 

I don’t think Lewis would have KO’d him, Bowe was a beast.

Lennox UD 12

 

Is that just nationalistic bias talking there? Lewis would have destroyed him.....especially the Lewis who fought Ruddock.

 

Very good post.

BTW I would also like to add that a fighter named Mohamed Abdulev beat Miguel Cotto in the amatuers as well. And he got DESTROYED by him in the pros. You cant take what happened years before either fighter even approached his prime, as to what would actually happen if they fought IN said prime.

As for people saying Bowe was overrated??? They obviously are mistaking a prime Bowe for the Bowe in the Golota fight or afterwards. That is problem with Riddick...his prime was so shorlived because of his poor conditioning and mental state. But in that prime, he was one of the most (arguably the most) talented and toughest HWs from a h2h standpoint in the history of the sport...and because of this, he is also the biggest waste of talent the division has ever seen.

Sad but true.

 

Sweet Pea, I will take this one, as we have had this convo in the past and I know we see eye to eye on Bowe and Lewis.

Its simple RP...Bowe was unmotivated, undertrained and underwhelming in his fights with Golota. As I mentioned Bowe's prime is so shortlived, its therefore underrated and overlooked severely. Both Golota fights are NOT prime versions of Bowe.

 

This is no slam-dunk for Lewis... Bowe( in first Holyfield fight shape) I think beats Lewis. Why? First, he had the incomparable Eddie Futch in his corner. Who would have devised a great fight plan for Bowe. Bowe had tremendous fighting heart, a strong chin and fluid combinations and pretty fast hands.Here`s how he would win, he would work his way in behind his jab. And take the fight inside to Lewis. It is my opinion that Bowe was THE best inside fighting tall heavyweight ever. No suprise there, all of Futch`s fighters were great infighters. Bowe tore up Holy on the inside,back when was Holy was still Holy. Lewis did NOT have a granite chin, McCall and Rahman showed that. Bowe was not overrated, he was mismanaged my Rock Newman, and he lost his discipline after he won the title. After he won the title, Newman took him on a world wide tour. Bowe balooned in weight. In fact, Futch said he lost muscle tone, and sharpness that he felt he never recovered. Lewis and Bowe, in their primes, I like Bowe by decision. With Bowe`s over all better skills, and busier hands getting it done...

 

Explaining the better skills part. Lewis had a great jab and awesome right hand. Bowe, was better at parrying, and effective and consistent body puncher, was pretty good at slipping punches too. Bowe could beat you inside or outside, and he had that nice sneaky uppercut as well.

 

Bowe could have ten Futches in his corner, he NEVER could beat Lewis, NEVER. His heart and skills and confidence shriveled when Lewis was in front of him. Kind of like what happens to mayweather when he's confronted by Margarito or even asked about Margarito. Bowe could not deal with Lewis in the ring or out. Lewis always one upped him, from day one in Seoul, to this current day. Lewis was his superior, Bowe knew it, Lennox knew it, Newman knew it, everyone involved knew it. It's why the fight never happened. Lewis beats Bowe 10 times out of ten.

In Ken Gorman's book "Lennox" there is an interesting story where Newman bluffed to Maloney that Team Bowe was interested in a winner take all fight. Maloney said he'd confer with Lewis, when Lewis heard of this offer he accepted immediately. The next day Maloney send a fax to Newman saying they had a deal. But Maloney never heard another word from Newman again. His bluff had been called.

 

How do you know this? Was there any indication of Bowe's decline right before the Golota fights? If say, Bowe had faught Jameel McCline instead of Golota, would he look just as bad? Remember, he Tko'd Holy in their last encounter and looked good. This line, that Golota deserves no credit for that win and that he basically beat a punching bag is just a rationaliztion, in light of Golota's dissappointing carreer, overall. In truth, people don't realize that Golota's prime was just as impressive and just as short or even shorter than Bowe's. The reality is that Golota, at that point in his career, had Bowe's number ,just like Lewis would have had Bowe's. It's Golota who's mostly responsible for Bowe's decline, not Holyfield.

 

Bowe's weight in the fight with Evander before Golota = 213

Bowe's weight in the fight with Golota = 243

Do I need to add any more evidence?

 

It still pisses me off the way he ducked Lewis throwing the belt in the bin he couldn't even come up with a decent excuse.

 

Bowe looked skinny to an extent in the 2nd Golota fight though, looked kinda lanky there.

 

We all knew the reason why Chicken Bowe avoided Lewis.

 

The interesting part of all this, is that Lennox` chin was questionable. He was stopped twice, by McCall and Rahman. Two guys who would not be found on any top ten great KO punchers,anywhere. Bowe could punch, him hurting Lewis is not a stetch. That being said, Lewis was a solid champion, ducked no one, and was a class act as champion...