Bowe did say that the hardest he was ever hit was by Herbie Hide... Hide had speed, Joshua doesn't... Joshua would get bullied by Bowe... Holyfield would take Joshua deep with speed, he would have Joshua out of there between six and nine no doubt... Probably even now...
Joshua may hit harder than Hide but I remember an interview back in the day with Rocky Sekorski where he said Hide was the hardest hitter he ever faced. And if you remember George Foreman absolutely teed off on Rocky when they fought, so there is no guarantee AJ is the harder puncher. Hide could definitely crack he just couldn't catch well and had questionable stamaina and resolve.
Bowe would have a chance but I stand by if you swapped Hide for Joshua on that night you'd see Bowe knocked down and probably KO'd. The Hide display was a marker for Golota sending him to an early retirement.
Bowe has a truck load of guts. Golota damn near beat him to death and he kept coming, that 2nd fight was absolutely Brutal how Bowe continued to march forward is amazing! In regards to the Hide fight if you swap him for AJ anything is possible AJ looks the part, but if you give me the Bowe vs Holyfield in their first fight I'll take Riddick.
I'm gonna throw it out there that Holyfield was much smaller then Bowe and allowed the high action fight. Joshua is a size bigger and stronger than Bowe ever was and Bowe had mixed results against big guys. I sure as hell am not sold on Joshua's chin at this point though and Bowe might take him out with an overhand right.
I think the Bowe of either Golota fight would be KO'd. Maybe the younger version would weather the storm and take Joshua into deep waters although I don't think that Bowe has much more than veteran WK, maybe he would take the uppercut and not be stopped but would he have Joshua badly rocked and floored? Brit stoppage would come into play if Joshua had him in big trouble.
Totally agree, fighting and bullying smaller guys was what Bowe did best. He never had to go looking for Holyfield, who was always feinting and coming inside throwing hooks to the head and body, pushing his big head into him.
I respected Riddick Bowe's abilites as a boxer but I don't put any stock in what he says. This is a guy that threw his title away and split the championship. He was more or less a disgrace. A food addict. He needed Overeaters anonymous.