Lewis-Bowe, who wins?

Basically the shots that hurt him, like most boxers, are the one's he didn't see.

 

True,

Here is the knockout from the first McCall fight.

See 4:46. It almost looks like he blindly walked strait into that right.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hz_ZIP_DVDw

 

he's also been flattened twice and that's enough for me. Bowe wins in a brutal streetfight

 

Lewis by KO, early. Lennox was just too skilled a giant for someone like Bowe - Riddick would go just like Golota and Grant did.

 

I agree. Bowe would have turned it into a street fight. Unlike Golota and Grant who some so comically compare the fight to, Bowe had the ability to fight, and would be the one dishing it out, not freezing in headlights. Bowe would have put Lewis in a situation like the Mcall fight, the Mercer fight, the Briggs, fight, and the Klitschko fight, where he looked very vulnerable, only Bowe would be bringing the heat correctly, with a good inside game. Mercer fought a great fight against Lewis, but he really did nothing like Bowe could do on the inside. Lewis would have had a tough time with the professional version of Bowe, and were not talking about the shot version that fought Golota.

 

What you are saying, has far too much conviction, given that you are favoring a man who:

A. Lost to the other fighter in question handely in the Olympics

B. Was thrashed pillar to post by a fighter who the other man beat easily

C. Threw a title in the trash rather than face that other man...

Now, I am not claiming that had these two met at a very small window of time during their career, that Bowe wouldn't have taken it. But, the primary difference between you and some others, is that you have given Bowe the nod as though it were a forgone conclusion, and it simply wasn't... Bowe lost to Lewis in the amateurs. Bowe's people refused to place him in the same ring as Lewis despite the fact that they had signed a contract to fight him upon winning the title. Bowe fought lesser opposition than Lewis over the following years, and even got thrashed by an opponent who Lewis decimated in the very next fight.

Your argument does not bolster a strong claim for favoring Bowe over Lewis, and certainly not with the type of conviction that you've placed upon it....

 

He also smashed a fighter who Bowe was getting anialated by just months earlier...

 

and extended by another man who Bowe knocked out in mere seconds once the street fight resumed in round 8 of their third ft. who cares if Lewis won an amateur fight that was stopped prematurely? The pros are an entirely different story

you said Lewis won handily in the olympics. That's YOUR story. I ordered the fight years ago to see it for myself and it looked very much as tho politics was involved.

we all know how politics and corruption stunk out the 88 olympics.

as for the pros, Bowe showed he had the resiliency to take punishment and come back to win while Lewis was less than convincing with two ko losses.

Lennox would never be able to keep up with RD. RD had nearly inexhaustible stamina, especially for a man his size. He outlasted Holyfield and coupled with his size, he would simply make mince meat of Lennox on the inside.

Just look at Ray Mercer. It's not hard to imagine Bowe having at least the same success

To anyone that points to his skill and jab, did his SKILL prevent him from getting flattened?

 

like I said, no chin. He'd never last 12 with Bowe :nono

 

Using your logic, Bowe should have also been knocked out by Jorge Luis Gonzalez in the pros and Mike Tyson should have been beaten by Henry Tillman. Gonzalez had a better win over Bowe than Lewis did, as did Tillman over Tyson, twice in the olympics. Go watch the fight, and you tell me if it was a one sided fight in the olympics. Its on Youtube. Again you have trouble determining when a fighter is in his prime or when he's shot. Theres a reason Bowe retired after the Golota fights, because he was done.. He should have retired after the third Holyfield fight in my opinion, and I followed his career closely. Do you really think the Bowe that fought Golota was the same Bowe that fought Holyfield in the frist fight???? Either way, Golota lost the fights. He may have been winning, but Bowe was fighting back on pure guts, his skills were gone, but he was fighting back, and caused Golota to do what he always did when he faced resistance, and that was to get out of the fight.
The fact of the matter is that Bowe was properly trained by a world class trainer, who called Bowe his most physically talented pupil, (strong words from Eddie Futch), and was brought to the undisputed title when Don King and Main Events controlled most of the heavyweight picture. He won the title beating the best Evander Holyfield, and three fight with Evander proved Bowe wasnt a flash in the pan.
Lewis on the other hand, had an overhyped win over a guy who had just been brutalized in two consecutive fights by Mike Tyson, won his title over a shot Tony Tucker, and was shortly knocked out after winning the title by another ancient fighter who was strategically placed in the rankings by Don King.
Afer that, Lewis was taken on by Emanuel Steward, who basically started him over giving him three fights with the last one being a sink or swim fight against Ray Mercer. Mercer was an Oliver Mcall type fighter with a little more overall skills, a guy Steward knew would test Lewis' heart. If you watch the fight and listen to the commentary in Lewis corner, it was quite amazing to see how much of a premadonna and non fighter Lewis was at the time. He kept instructing Steward to complain to the ref about Mercer and how he was elbowing and headbutting etc. Steward basically told him this is gut check time, go out there and fight it out. It was at this time that Lewis became the great fighter he became, because he was adapting to the pro game at that time, and Bowe, Holyfield and Tyson were already seasoned, because of their experiences with their trainers, who prepared them properly. Lennox Lewis will even admit it himself, Ive heard him many times say that the fight with Ray Mercer was the biggest turning point in his career. By the time Lewis evolved into his best, Bowe's skills had deteriorated and his career was over.
Thats not to say Bowe would have won the fight hands down, Lewis certainly would have been a big threat, not more than a prime Evander Holyfield in my opinion, but a big threat, and to just brush Bowe off based on an amatuer fight or fights when his career was basically over, is the most ridiculous arguement.

 

Whenever you put two super heavyweight with skills in the ring together, and with neither having the best chin in the world, ANYTHING can happen.

I do think Lewis has the edge on smarts, technique, and power.

We can't entirely dismiss the the fact that Lewis destroyed Bowe in the Olympic Super Heavyweight Gold metal match. Bowe was really not much on defense as an amateur or professional. Bowe could not take Lewis' right hand in that match. Do chins get much better after the amateurs? Not really.

I think Lewis would have won if they fought as professionals.

 

Destroyed him??:huh Have you seen the fight, its on youtube. Bowe wasnt knocked down. When was his chin bad besides at the end of his career?

 

I would pick the '92 version of Riddick Bowe against any Lewis H2H.
That said, I'd take Bowe to K.O. Lewis in 5 rds.

 

Even though I personally favour Lewis in a h2h match up, Lewis hardly destroyed Bowe in their olympic fight, but neither was the stoppage political as one poster suggested. The fact is they simply have different criteria of when to stop a fight in the olympics verses the pro's. Makes sense considering the fighters in the olympics are basically kids. (ie 17-18)

Bowe may never have been knocked out but his comp, with the exception of a few fighters was far inferior to Lewis and his defense as many have pointed out wasn't great by elite heavyweight standards.

 

This fight has nothing to do with either fighter not being able to take punches. Look at the ridiculous punishment Bowe took against Golota, and all of the flush combinations he absorbed in his trilogy with Holyfield. The man could take a shot, but most importantly, he always displayed the heart and courage to get up when he was hurt.

Lewis is the same thing. Yes, he was knocked out twice in his very long career that spanned two decades, but he also displayed a great chin on more occasions than it failed him. Mercer, big right hand, did nothing to Lewis when those two fought. Tua landed his fair share of left hooks, and Lewis beat him decisively. Bruno, not a great fighter but a murderous puncher, and he passed that test with flying colours. The shots he took against Vitali, even at the end of his career, he still battled through.

This fight is determined by each fighters weaknesses and that isn't the chin for either fighter in my opinion. I think Lewis is more polished, he can straighten up his right hand more consistantly. He also knows how to avoid punches better than Bowe, and that is why I think he wins the fight. Lewis doesn't get tagged half as much as Riddick does in this fight, and no Heavyweight in history can take to many flush right hands from a big man like Lewis.