I'm still amazed when I get reminded that Bowe, with a 43-1 record, is one of only a handful of heavyweight champs with one or less losses during their careers. A clear case that sometimes stats and numbers doesn't necessarily tell the whole story.
Bowe just about had it all, one of the great talents. A great jab, a full array of punches, he could fight great on the inside for a big man, a good chin. His prime was short but there was also a vulnerability about him. I think around '93/'94 although I would make him a slight favourite to beat Lewis,overall I think Lewis despite his 2 KO losses just had a bit more substance about him, and would have stopped Bowe.
A guy that needed to pound Pierre Coetzer's balls to fine grounded meal in order to win is not an ATG in my humble opinion.
I agree. Coetzer was doing pretty well against Bowe all things considered, but it seemed that Bowe was headed towards a points win, judging by the flow of the fight. But Bowe couldn't stand it that some guy was standing up to him and firing back, so he had to resort to the dirty stuff to get him out of there early. Very sad.
Bowe would have defeated most 205/210 pounders ,not sure how much credit you can give him being the first true SHW he ran into with skill was Golota( fights he got beat up and /or would have lost if not for Fouling) ! His first 2 defenses included Dokes i think? Really not much to see beyond 2 wins over Holyfield who he severly outsized and because so,was able to get wins off him. Against real Hw punchers hes untested and therefor what can you gage him on? Golota was a big puncher and rocked him all over the ring.
Bowe's domination over prime unbeaten Vander is miles better than Moorer's close points win. He got beaten by Holy badly in the rematch , Bowe beat Holy twice in the same manner. Looking back , Bowe actually holds the best win at HW to date. How about tha? A guy who has to run , cower and hold for dear life against every top opponent he ever faced is no ATG period!
he was more complete but he didn't have the belief lennox had if the two fought. Bowe was my favourite but Lewis spooked him big time
Bowe-Holy 1 and Moorer-Holy 1 were 15 months apart. How is there this huge difference? Furthermore, the Holyfield that Bowe faced in the first fight had recently came within a c*nt hair of losing his crown to a crack-smoking cruiserweight with serious commitment issues to the sport. So tenuous was his grasp on the title, he had to face a positively geriatric ex-champ next. I'm sure that sounds great to the delusional mind but it isn't anywhere near the truth. One could start with names like Corbett, Willard, Tunney, Marciano, Clay, Frazier, Spinks... Bowe arguably had control over the division for a lunch time. Wlad controlled it for a decade. That's the story right there.
Probably the most overrated fighter of that era. Was steered clear of tough opposition for almost his entire career, would have lost 2 of 3 to Holyfield had he not been ill in the 3rd fight. Lost the title after only a year and two pathetic defenses. Also can't forget one of the most disgraceful duck jobs in boxing history when he put his title in the trash can to avoid Lewis.
Well the eyes can see that Holy was nowhere near the fighting machine he was leading into the first Bowe match. And the result was close , Moorer didn't beat him any more convincingly than Holy beat Bowe in the rematch. Bowe was hampered by fan-man . Whats moorers excuse. And Holy never pasted Bowe in 3 fights like he pasted Moorer in the rematch. What i meant to say is there hasn't been a better win since. Can you name one? I saw more greatness in Bowe's short time at the top than i did in Wlads hold fests over bums. Quality over quantity as they say.
Sanders over Wlad. Lewis over Vitali Douglas over Tyson etc ... Dino saw more of the bottom of the bottle during that time than at any other time
with the first Bowe Holyfield fight it is pretty stunning to watch how Bowe never for a second seemed to doubt he would win that fight. we are talking about Evander Holyfield here, not some decent fighter, a great one with incredible will to win. Holyfled showed that will in their fight and Bowe matched it then proceded to beat the Real Deal up, this cant really be discounted. I give him a lot of points for that over him and not having a great resume. To beat a prime Holy like that, puts him up there head to head wise. Basically we know Bowe can beat a prime Holyfield, out will and out fight him, something that has always been a big question with Tyson, and even Lewis. The skills he showed show you he would have posed a big problem for those guys. I think Bowe would have beat up a pre Steward Lewis, just out boxed and beat him up. Its possible Lewis could hurt him at some point and get the KO but I still sway towards Bowe more refined skills at that time. The fact that fight didn't happen is ridiculous, definitely a black mark for Bowe, there is no doubt Lewis wanted that fight badly.
You have to take into consideration the calibre of the opposition & although Bowe looked good no question, Ferguson wasn't up to much & the IBF refused to sanction the fight, as was seen a formality & Steward obviously hatched a successful gameplan as Holyfield beat Bowe in their rematch. Bowe's undoing was his leaky defence & the reason behind his relatively brief prime, he got hit with far too many punches, watch his fights with Biggs, Tubbs, Coetzer & Golota, to name but a few, he was always there to be hit. Lewis & Klitschko would have knocked him out in my opinion.