Lewis vs Bowe: Who would have won in the pros?

Yes just like I've seen pennyless Bowe on all those top 10 ATG listed posted on numerous thread. NOT.

Fact is Lewis is and always will be ranked higher than pennyless Bowe and he made millions upon millions more money.

As for memorable fights, I think the Ruddock fight, the Grant fight, the Tyson fight, the Rahman rematch, the Mercer fight and the Vitali fight are all memorable.

And if Holyfield, Tua, Golota, Morrison were better fighters, they may have been memorable fights too.

 

Correct. My feelings exactly. Was very typical for a champion to win the title and milk it with a couple easy paydays. We just saw it this past weekend with Wilder fighting in his hometown. Evander Holyfield did it against Cooper in Atlanta. Lewis went and faced Bruno.

People tend to look at the names and not put them in proper context. Lets not forget Ray Mercer had a guaranteed shot against Bowe yet he showed up out of shape against Ferguson and lost the fight. Ferguson got the title shot but Bowe was chastized for it after the fact.

 

Lewis in my mind will be ranked higher than Bowe as it should be. Bowe became a better fighter than Lewis as a pro but he didnt have the discipline that Lewis had and thats just part of the game. Bowe simply didnt fufill is full potential, just as Tyson did not either. Lewis did, Hoylfield did. Lewis was a great fighter, he proved his mettle after defeating Mercer, but he adapted a boring safety first holding style that stunk up the arena. He was more exciting throwing caution to the wind and being reckless, but he would have never had a long reign as champion.
His fight against Mike Grant was hardly memorable. What I remember is Lewis fouling like hell and holding with one hand hitting with the other just as he did against Frank Bruno. Thats the kind of stuff that is really not necessary by a greatly "skilled" fighter.

 

Well I do agree that Lewis was better to watch when he was fighting more reckless.

 

Lewis is a solid top 5 ATG. Bowe won't break the top 10.....ever.

 

I can't wait for you to claim the following to be fabrication.



Before Bowe even won the titles from Holyfield on November 13, 1992 (Lewis had KO’ed Ruddock two weeks earlier on October 31), Bowe’s manager Rock Newman dropped clear hints their first title defense might not involve Lewis, but a date with George Foreman in China.

Bowe infamously tossed the WBC belt (a replica belt recently bought from Holyfield) into a trash bin at a press event in London in December before the WBC could strip him for refusing to box Lewis. (Team Bowe actually retreived that toy belt out of the bin and saved it after the cameras were turned off.)

Bowe wound up making his first defense in February against the badly faded Michael Dokes and then his second in May against another set up – Jesse Ferguson.

HBO wanted to make Bowe vs. Lewis and reportedly offered $32 million to the two sides. Newman initially offered Lewis’s manager $3 million of the total, which equated to an absurd 90-10% split. The next suggestion from the Bowe camp was $2 million to Lewis to fight on the undercard of Bowe’s first WBA/IBF defense (with promise to Lewis to be Bowe’s second defense.) Maloney did not accept, citing distrust that Bowe’s camp had already broken their word once after the Ruddock fight.

Another plan was both Lewis and Bowe would get $5 million each, with the winner to get an additional fortune from the $32 million pot – and the loser gets training expenses.

Eventually, Newman evolved the plan to winner take all of the $32 million purse. Maloney told Newman he would first have to discuss this risky option with Lennox. Lennox eagerly agreed, according to Maloney. The next day Maloney faxed an acceptance of the winner take all option back to Newman. “I never had a word back from him,” Maloney stated in the book “Lennox Lewis Champion” by Ken Gorman.

 

http://articles.baltimoresun.com/1992-12-27/sports/1992362153_1_rid****-bowe-hbo-family-man

 

In Britain they also have a newspaper called the Sun. It was created for the benefit of idiots who lacked more than basic reading skills. I hear the latest plan is to perforate it every 6 inches, to make it easier for people to use to wipe their asses with.

The baltimore sun should consider following suit.

As for you, perhaps you should work harder on your nom de plume's. It was indeed the Hairy Apeist who labelled himself the " baddest man on the planet " I believe you will find Lewis referred to himself as the " pugilist specialist "

By the way didn't the so called " big daddy " get knocked out by his own sister in one of his moronic family altercations?

 

The Baltimore Sun is not a tabloid. From the article, it is apparent the HBO contract would be voided if Bowe lost. That's a good reason not to risk a fight with Lewis in the first fight of a six fight contract. Still, I wish Newman/Bowe had risked it. It would have been a great fight.

You ridicule Salty for a post that had a link to a story from a legitimate publication explaining Bowe's HBO contract. Your version of what transpired included no source whatsoever. You've got a lot of hubris, I'll give you that.

 

The timing for a fight with Lewis didnt make sense once Bowe won the title. I think he had his couple BS fights and by that time Lewis would be more of a name in the states where the championship presided until Bowe trashed the belt. Lewis didnt hold up to his end either getting knocked out by Oliver Mcall making a defense against a fighter who really at that time was a perennial loser against the better competition. Mcall really didnt have anyone of merit in his win column until he starched Lewis. He was kind of a gatekeeper type guy that you knew you were going the distance with. Lewis like an idiot tried to knock him out because his moronic trainer was telling him get this sucka outta here. Everyone knew Mcall was Tysons choice to pound on getting ready for his fights and the reason is he could last the course during a camp.
Lewis simply wasnt ready at this time. His technique and whole team was all wrong for Bowe who was hitting on all cylinders with the great Eddie Futch as his jockey.

 

For the record Best against Best of each other I still pick Bowe. Lewis adapted a holding style, whcih worked well against the ****py fighters that he was facing who had no clue how to fight inside, but it wouldnt have worked against Bowe who was a big man himself and he would have made Lewis fight instead of hold and Bowe would beat him up on the inside.

 

Two points. If Lewis wasn't ready at the time, then that would have been the perfect opportunity for Bowe to fight Lewis, not duck him. This seems to refute your very story that Bowe was offered a 6 fight deal as long as he didn't loose, if Lewis was such an easy mark then why didn't he fight him.

And if it didn't make sense to fight Lewis after he beat Holyfield then Bowe shouldn't have signed the contract stating that he would.

 

Bowe's avoid punchers like the plague and has a very average defense. Even the Lewis who beat Ruddock would have smoked Bowe, never mind the improved version. The FACT, Bowe avoided Lewis speaks for itself.

 

The Lewis who beat Ruddock would've gotten smoked by Bowe

 

I don't see Bowe beating prime Lewis. I just see Lewis working from distance with his jab and then coming over with his right. All night until the ref calls a halt.