Mike Tyson vs. Riddick Bowe Discussed as Tyson's first fight after release.

Its funny how mythically beats Lewis but in reality he blatantly ducked him

 

If fancy Bowe .Tyson never recaptured his timing after being inside .

 

Tyson would never beat Bowe, except in 89 and 90. Bowe stops Mike in wild slugfest

 

You make a decent case overall man-though it is an overstatement to call Bowe a Goliath, he was big-but you may betray some bias when you say Bowe had more raw power than Tyson.
I have never heard a claim like this.
And a poster on another boxing website who sparred with many SHWs said Bowe's power was not memorable.

Tyson did not hit as hard in single shots as some, but he hit very hard.
Why do you think Bowe hit even as hard as Mike?

 

If Bowe wasn't slacking off why do you think Eddie Futch walked away from him?

 

Even a faded Bowe had more than Bruno. Better skillset, durability coordination, he was more fluid, threw snappy combinations for a heavyweight that big.
It would be a rough nite for Tyson.

 

From watching his fights and seeing evidence of it.

 

He fought several of the same opponents and also got stoppages (Biggs, Thomas, Seldon). He looked much better against a prime Holyfield knocking him down and stopping him in their 3rd fight (the effects of his punches looked worse on Holyfield).

I think Tyson hit harder with combinations or counters, but he weighed between 215-220 and Bowe was between 235-250 so obviously if we're talking about single shots, Bowe can get more weight in his shots. Thus he hit harder.

6'5 with long 81' reach arms and stocky with a solid chin and good power is definitely a "goliath". I don't feel like that's a misplaced metaphor. He's taller and more massive than like 99% of the population.

In terms of his diet and his training habits he slacked off, yet in terms of challenging himself he was quite bold in taking on 4 undefeated opponents+Evander Holyfield in the span of about a year. Show me another boxer whose done something that daring within that time frame.

 

Not denying that Bowe doesn't have the fire power to trouble Tyson. I just think Tyson with the better chin as he showed against Ruddock can weather the storm and get his work off himself in the process. Bowe unfortunately fought fire with fire and liked to get into unnecessary scraps when he should have been the one fighting like a bigger man, he was also defensively extremely poor and he avoided a lot of power punchers. The fact Holyfield wobbled him, dropped him does not fill me with much confidence, i don't think he will be able to take Tyson's power that well and that will be the difference in the fight in the end.

 

GCC who you stop & when is not very well correlated with one punch power.
That is a single important factor-but how effective & accurate your punches & combinations are, your endurance + chin to get there, heart & other factors play part.
Tyson was constantly tied up by Holyfield, Bowe fought more rounds & fights & landed much more as Holyfield was much less defensively oriented (often to his detriment). If Tyson landed so much he likely would have KOed Holyfield both times. But he was clinched (too often) & counterpunched very effectively.

I strongly object to the idea that merely who is heavier determines who hits harder!
Those who are heavier tend on average to hit harder, all other things being equal.
But for many natural, anatomical, technical & other reasons that is so often not the case.
And the difference is less, diminishing returns at least, when you talk about HWs.

Besides some guys are just fatter & you can be heavier just because you are taller...
You must know tons of boxers that had good-freakish punching power, more or way more than most their weight, or a significant % heavier.
This is also measured in PSI on some devices.
Julian Jackson is one of numerous examples.
Shavers *may* not hit quite as hard as a few SHWs. But if so, at ~ 210 he still hit harder & much harder than all but a few men.

About whether Bowe is a Goliath-this I feel less strongly about.
Compared to the average man you can make a case. Although the term & original legend means someone much bigger than Bowe & a much larger gap between him & the avergae man, you can have a lower standard.
Compared to other HWs, he was big for his time, but lo Goliath.