Prime Riddick Bowe vs Vitali Klitchko?

Hmmmmm....

The same could be said about Klitschko the Older.

What highly skilled, very effective, elite superheavy did the Klit ever beat?

 

Bowe was 28 when he faced Golotha. Anyone arguing that Bowe "was fading" after the Holyfield fights is simply delusional. The general assumption here on the forum is that Holyfield is this big glowing HW Top 5 ATG HW legend that Bowe battled. The truth is: Holyfield was exposed against a tall HW who fought tall (like Lewis), instead of crouching his back down, giving up his entire physical advantage and going into a toe-to-toe dogfight with Holyfield (like Bowe did). Fact is: Holyfield always looked good against shorter guys fighting toe-to-toe and Holyfield looked horrific against tall boxers boxing tall. Very simple once you understand the concept.

Now that we remove Holyfield from analyzing Bowe's past, what's left? Nothing. Bowe is the prototype of a fantastic amateur who didn't have the mental capacity to grow into a real HW champion.

1. He ran from Lewis.
2. He tossed his belt in one of the most disrespectful acts in HW history.
3. He quit boxing to become a marine. The he quit the Marines after exactly 11 days into training because he couldn't take it.
4. He kidnapped his wife & family, was sentenced to 30 days in prison http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1355/is_15_97/ai_61487245/
5. He's still boxing at age 42, not for legacy but for financial reasons.

So this nutcase would blow away Vitali, a guy with one of the strongest willpower, discipline and self-esteem in the last 20 years of HW boxing?

Truth is Bowe would probably run away after the intial staredown and then claim how Vitali is unworthy of boxing him.

 

Prime Riddick Bowe bashes Klitscko into quitting, cause when Bowe was at his best he was damn near unstoppable

 

And when was that? After he knocked out Holyfield in their 3rd fight... 8 months before being publicly humiliated by Golotha)

Bowe's prime was in the amateurs. He never had a prime after he went pro. He was a nutcase, just like McCall.

 

Prime Bowe would get beaten up, he didnt have as much reach as Lewis let alone Vitali, only chance would be inside fighting which he was quite good at but Vitali was probably stronger in the clinches and that stuff and that might not work too well down the stretch for Bowe either. Vitali would probably be smart enough to get out and continue peppering him from range until he fell over.
It could be a pretty close fight though, Bowe was better than Arreola, and would do ok when he got inside

 

I'll have to check the Holyfield-Lewis fights again.
Some people feel that Holyfield acquitted himself well in the second fight.

Anyway,we're talking about prime Bowe versus prime Klitschko-not who is the better 'success' at life.

Besides I don't understand the criticism for Bowe in the first Holyfield fight
What's wrong with trying to go all out for the knock out-with a non-stop toe-to toe attack?
I'm not too sure that boxing at a distance would necessarily have meant that everything would have gone Bowe's way against Holyfield.
In the second fight Holyfield successfully boxed out of condition Bowe from a distance.

Is Lennox's super-cautious style,against Holyfield,with him terrified of getting knocked out really that much more praiseworthy?

 

Let's just put it this way: If Bowe was fading that quick after the Holyfield trilogy, how's he going to handle going to war with Vitali? Especially if it's a multi-fight series. I'm going with Vitali here.

I tell you what though, it'd have been a damn good fight- a real treat for the fans.

 

Some fighters have short primes...It happens all the time in boxing, its happens all the time at heavyweight aswell.

Riddick helped shorten his with unhealthy habits outside the ring...That wasnt prime Bowe against Golota and it really wasnt hard to see.

As for beating Vitali? I think he could but its mostly speculation.

Vitali acquitted himself very well against a big, fluid and relatively skilled heavyweight in Lennox. But hasnt really fought anyone else that you compare to Bowe.
On the other hand, aint no one on Riddick's resume that is like Vitali, possibly in the ams but not in the pros..the best guys he fought where the complete opposite in style and physicality.

You watch Vitali and you see things that a guy like Bowe could exploit...but its easy to say that. Its becoming one of those things that are easier said then done. For all his ungainliness and awkward moves, Vitali gets the job done and there is no doubting his effectiveness or his athleticism and dedication.

I think Vitali's consistency and chin gives him a better argument here.

 

Your arguments are totally irrelevnant because we are talking about one specific fight:

- Prime Bowe vs Prime Vitali.Prime Bowe is the Bowe of the first Holy fight. To beat Prime Holy like this , you have to be a great fighter and if some here claim otherwise , they are just ignorant.

-We are NOT talking about the Bowe of the Golota or Holy III. That Bowe was fat, unfocused and out of prime. Some of you don't understand this because tehy do not know Bowe well enugh. Of course Vitali is the favorite against that Bowe.

-Prime Bowe was a terrific, skilled and complete fighter with very decent defense and power. He is also 6 foot 5.If someone denies that, he is just ignorant. Vitali has never been in the ring with somebody like that.Of course if you fight the Arreolas of the world you look like Ali. Out of Prime Lewis busted Vitali up with his pull back defense.


The fight would be a war. I see Bowe by late round stoppage based on skills and heart.

 

You are right. Holyfield gave Lewis all he could handle in the second fight. The fight was actually so close, it could have gone Holy's. Lewis looked very lethargic at times.Holyfield is a great fighter.

Again, Vitali's level of competition is awful. If you talk about a Vitali-Bowe showdown, the fighter that most cmpared to Bowe in terms of overall skills and size is Bowe. And again, Lewis was heavy and past prime when he fought Vitali.

Of course, if you fight the Arreolas of the world,. Vitali looks like Ali, why it is so hard for some folks here to get that. Prime Bowe and Arreola or danny Williams is like day and night.

 

enough with the vs. vitali threads.
vitali wins , okay ?
maybe against someone of bowe size it will be on points , but still , vitali wins. maybe if bowe tries to infight it can get different than what we know of vitali , but then again , if it's possible , why other fighters couldn't infight vitali ? and they even had less choice than bowe.
so , vitali on points in a distance fight. if bowe tries to close the distance he'll get hit , if he still succeeds , then maybe he'll succeed to sneak some uppercut per 2-3 rounds , gets clinched , and make no big difference to the outcome.

 

A 38 year old Vitaly is better than any version of Bowe.

A prime Vitaly is so good that Bowe would never even enter the ring for any money in the world.

 

If the past prime Lennox Lewis can get to Vitali, then definiteley Prime Bowe can also. Bowe has decent jab and good defense.

 

Vitali looks good because his opponents are not. Lewis was not entirely different story.