Should a world Champion make a defence against.....

It makes you wonder, Roc Newman made more money for Bowe with those 2 fights than most of us will make in a lifetime. I did like how he trashed the w.b.c. belt but he should've put the other 2 in there also, actually they all should, thiyre all corrupt. But if you dont watch the Holyfield-Bowe trilogy, then Bowe
didnt impress me.

 

What's the point of this thread?

 

He didn't impress you against Cooper? When Bert had just given an unbeaten Mercer hell, and a few years later would come painfully close to stopping Holyfield?

As far as ability goes, Bowe was pretty good at most things. I think when he did come up against the likes of Cooper, Dokes, Ferguson, and Seldon, he blew them all away in double quick time. So yeah, he did fight a lot of average fighters, but most of them were dealt with accordingly. When it came to fighting the best Heavyweight in the world, he beat him decisively. Bowe had a short career, but at one time he was very very good, and I'll never forget the heart he showed in Golota II. ...That alone has my respect.

 

As I recall Ferguson just beat Mercer who was slated to face Bowe.
Rock Newmen was a terible manager. Bowe should have fought Lewis right away. Prime Lewis > Prime Bowe. However 92-95 Bowe >92-95 Lewis.

 

You're right! The announcers brought that up in the RJJ/Hopkins fight:good

 

That was a shameful play on Bowe's part, but it has often been the way to do things in boxing sadly. That's why Pac is such a breath of fresh air.

It's funny how different MMA is. Guys like Shamrock, Penn, Couture, Silva etc not only accepts the challenges offered, but actually often goes out looking for them. Penn could milk the LW title for years, but instead he's itching for another shot at a guy who almost ruined him the last time.

More like that in boxing, please.

 

I miss Newman sometimes: "Jesse Ferguson the real Rocky story".

 

I can't believe Newman still defends his actions.

He had a potential $15m payday against Lewis there for the taking, plus after that a Lewis rematch or Holyfield rematch, then Bruno, Ruddock.... looking longer term Tyson, Morrison etc.

All that BS about the sanctioning fees being too much, well, OK they are excessive, but barely a rounding error compared to the difference between a purse for Lewis and one for Ferguson/Dokes.

 

Again Newman did that because HBO offered him a six fight deal which included Lewis. So how dumb was he? Fight Lewis in a one shot deal or guarantee Bowe six incentive based paydays (meaning he had to keep winning), including another huge payday for the rematch with Holyfield, with a Lewis fight down the road? Sure he could have faced Lewis right after Holyfield, but with six fights guaranteed the fight wasnt going anywhere and it was Newman just milking that HBO deal as much as he could.
Circumstances on both fighters part ultimately derailed the fight, but realistically had both fighters kept winning the fight would have only gotten bigger and richer and after Holyfield 2 I think the fight would have been made. Too bad it didnt happen.

 

Hmmmm.....

I'm surprised HBO accepted a clubfighter and a faded guy for his 1st two fights, though.

Had Bowe lost to Lewis, I wouldn't think they'd ditch him - it might make thre $$$ bigger, I guess every manager does what they think best.

 

The talk leading up to the Holyfield v Bowe rematch was a mega million dollar fight with George Foreman, possibly in China if Bowe were to beat Holy .... Bowe was the victim of his own ill-discipline, he turned up for that rematch with Holy out of shape and unprepared for a war .. It was still very close and Bowe showed undoubted ability during his career at the top but he destroyed himself through over eating and not training properly. Eddie Futch thought he was a huge talent but ultimately a waste ..

Lennox Lewis didnt help himself, his loss to McCall came at an absolutely critical time, if he'd have won that then roads would have opened up for him sooner, having lost that belt to Don King, Lewis ineffect shut the doors on his chances for the forseeable future .. Lennox Lewis is always lauded as on the top tier of all time great heavyweights, i understand why but no other top Heavy gets stopped by a guy like McCall and Ko'd by a guy like Rahman .. These 2 losses lie heavy on the Lewis legacy considering certain fans rank him top 5 of all time .. I'd say that the ever cautious Lewis was very lucky he didnt have to face the Holyfield that Bowe fought, he had enough trouble facing a faded Holyfield years later and he still bottled that second fight ....

Theres a moment in Holyfield v Lewis 2, i forget which round, possibly 8 or 9, Lewis hurts Holy, Holy backs off to the ropes, winded and obviously in trouble, Lewis paws out his jab, once, twice, three times, four times .... Never going in for the kill, never risking anything because of his total fear of what Holyfield 'might' throw back .. This moment encapsulated Lennox Lewis more than any other, i greatly skilled fighter who lacked the heart of a great champion .. Eminent boxing writers Budd Sculberg and Hugh McCilvanney hit the nail on the head when they described Lewis as 'A Reluctant Dragon', great at using his size advantage, great skills but in the end, a guy that never wanted to get into a 'pure fight', a guy that would never risk anything and a guy that didnt truly cement his claim to be up there with the true heavyweight greats ....

 

Yet you have Jack Johnson no.3 in your Heavyweight H2H.

Also, so what if Lennox was cautious. He was effective, and not as china chinned as people think IMO.

If he was scared of getting hit you think he wouldn't have faced as many punchers?

 

No they wouldnt ditch him but like I said it could have reduced his future pay not to mention the Lewis fight had a potential of getting even bigger. Ferguson beat Mercer to take his #1 ranking. I dont think I would classify Ferguson and Dokes as clubfighters.

 

Dokes wasn't a club fighter, but his best days were behind him.

Ferguson was on a losing run, with a record of 19-9 at the time - quite how he got the Mercer fight as an eliminator is beyond me, but anyways, guess that's the way it was.... and his form after that (though not relevant to this thread) hardly marks him out as a good fighter - he went 1-6 in his next 7 fights, with stoppage losses to Bruno (no shame) and Jeremy Williams.

I see your point re the Lewis fight getting potentially bigger, though - but if I was put in the same position as his manager, I'd have made the fight there and then.

:good