Razor Ruddock V Riddick Bowe

Apart from Bowe's claim that Hide hit him hard and had him out on his feet, what evidence is there that Hide deserves in a puncher's category above other Bowe opponents ?

I'm not saying Hide didn't punch hard, but what makes him the only "legit big puncher" ?

Hide seems to get a lot of praise on this board, and as with the Tony Tucker worship, I find it quite baffling.

Evander Holyfield knocked out a lot of legit contenders, scored one punch knockdowns of Buster Douglas, Adilson Rodrigues, knocked Bowe down, sent Mercer to his knees, had Foreman reeling at one point, stopped Mike Tyson, and shook up a lot of guys who you really wouldn't want to match Hide with (for his own sake).
I'm not saying Holyfield was any extraordinarily massive puncher, but where's the evidence that Hide was ?

All I can remember about Hide is he had fast hands, no chin and lots of wins against mostly tomato cans.

Sure, he could punch, and someone told me he KO'd an unstoppable journeyman in the 1st round (the name of whom I cant recall) but I think the evidence for him having division-leading power is weak.

 

This is true to an extent.

Hide has an impressive win/KO ratio but I don't think his power was ever really tested against a truly savy and durable contender, like say Ray Mercer or Oliver McCall. Personally, I think those guys might have beaten him in the late rounds of a match. Hide had the makings of a good fighter, but his weak chin and poor defense prevented him from getting there.

 

What I was trying to say is that Herbie Hide was barely a contender at all, and fought very few contenders. It's not as if he was knocking contenders out, the only one he beat was Michael Bent, a flash-in-the-pan contender himself.

I'm not saying Hide didn't hit hard - he did - but he never had a big reputation for a world-class killer punch. I cant remember him be taken so seriously back in the 90s.

His WBO title was a joke, most rated contenders saw that belt as a handicap or a stepping-stone at best.

Considering Hide's status as a fringe contender or a brief contender with no really impressive results against solid live contenders, it's odd that he's got a reputation among some as a leading top-flight hitter, a reputation I cant remember him having at the time.

Lewis, Ruddock, Foreman, and Bowe and Morrison and Bruno to some extent, were known as the BIG GUNS. Hide wasn't.
Guys like Bert Cooper, Alex Stewart and Oliver McCall probably had greater reputations as power punchers, perhaps justly.
Hide would have been listed behind Moorer and Mercer too, though it's arguable that he hit as hard.
Like I said, Holyfield - a guy without any special for power - was more proven as a puncher.

 

Hide was not the first person to stop Tucker, Seldon was and in either case, it was irrelovant. Tucker was 39 years old against Hide, and was coming off a losing streak.

I will say that Hide has had a very impressive year in 2007 at crusierweight. He won 5 straight fights by knockout, and scored a big win a week ago against 19-0 Mikhail Nasyrov for the WBC intercontinental cruiser title. I think Hide is around 36 now, so I don't know what his prospects are for becoming a serious force at this point. I will say however, that he tends to look very impressive and powerful against fighters in the 195-205 pound range. For this reason, we shouldn't disguard his chances when being matched up against heavyweights of past eras who fell into similar weight perameters.

 

Hide was a third tier fighter of the era.

Bowe only fought 1 first tier HW in Holy and one second tier HW in Golota.

 

Bowe loses the Holyfield trilogy and we probably would not be talking about him today.

 

No it isn't weak. It's very strong given that I had no idea what we were talking about and you clearly said " Hide was the first person to STOP Tucker"

Let's just say the guy wasn't having a great run. Losing 3 out of your last 5, and picking up two wins against a couple of cans, doesn't make for a very strong winning streak, if even a streak at all.

There are far more factors to consider when an aging fighter gets TKO'd than just his chin. Things like timing, speed, and yes the abilty to absorb punishment all deteriorate with age. With your chin statement, are you suggesting that Hide stopped the very same version of Tucker whom Tyson decisioned 10 years earlier???

The wording of this sentence is a bit confusing, but anyway I have no agenda. Frankly, I can care less if it was Hide, Seldon or even Mother ****ing Theresa to stop Tucker first. Your wording was off, and if I have an agenda going here, then I'd really like to know what it is.

Not really, Lewis fought Tucker 4 years earlier and floored him twice enroute to a decision. If being the first fighter to beat Tucker by "knocking him down" is Hides only claim, then technically its incorrect.

 

Of course, if you want to take away Hide from the top level of punchers then it means Bowe faced ZERO punchers of note then.

So the confidence in those picking him to beat Ruddock seems misplaced.
We all know Bowe's defensive problems, partly due to his aggression and partly due to technique, and sooner or later Ruddock will be able to get through with some of his big shots.

And how will Bowe stand up to that? Because he simply has never been in that position.

So while it seems Bowe should be too classy to win, that's a pretty big grey area in my book and makes Ruddock a very live underdog with a puncher's chance.

 

bowe was ruddocks sparring partner when ruddock fought bonecrusher in 89