Jimmy Young Defeated Lyle, Joe Bugner Nearly Defeated Lyle, The Bowe who beat Holyfield in their first encounter would have a good shot if he Boxed Ron and didnt seek to get too involved too Early, If he starts Slugging with Ron from the Get-Go he is asking for trouble,
Bowe had defensive issues, and Lyle was a dangerous counter puncher. Ordinarily this would be a bad matchup for a poor defensive fighter, but the key difference between Foreman and Bowe, is that Riddick at least stood back and used his reach at times, wheras Goerge walked right into Lyles counter punches showing little or no respect. I would pick Bowe to win by mid round TKO.
If Riddick used his advantages in height and reach and fought a smart fight by keeping his distance and pumping out that jab of his all night into Lyle`s face, I think he wins a decision. But if he gets lured into a shoot out which he well might, I think Lyle stands a good chance of knocking him out. Lyle had some serious power in both hands and for such a big, muscle bound guy he could box quite well when he set his mind to it. And if Riddick could get rocked and hurt by a smaller Evander and decent puncher in Golota, I see no reason why the harder hitting and more dangerous Lyle can`t flatten him for a ten count. Bowe has the necessary skillset and advantages in height and reach to beat Lyle, but he often neglected to use them to their full effect and also often came into his fights out of shape which would definately see him getting KOed agains Lyle. Tough call, but I will go with Bowe by decision, but only as long as he is in the best of shape he can get himself into for this fight, as Lyle is one very dangerous customer.
I really think that Bowe would be in trouble against Lyle. I believe that Bowe would be too open to Lyle's 1-2, and get his bell rung. Bowe, with the incredible heart he has shown, would try to get even. This would be his undoing, as he would ge ko'd trying to bring the fight to Lyle. I am not selling Bowe Short here. Some people give me a hard time for having him near a top 15 heavyweight ranking.