There is no explanation for this statistic other than Bowe had a bad chin and Futch knew it

Mercer is generally considered to have one of the better chins EVER. Evander knocked him down. To argue that Evander didn’t have punching power and Bowe going down against him says Bowe has a suspect chin ... you have to say the same for Mercer. Heck, to even make Merciless Ray blink with a punch would be an accomplishment.

 

But it's context, Pat.

Mercer took a lot of shots up to the KD; Bowe had not taken too much by the time of the KD, he was winning the fight handily.

Evander was in good form vs Ray; against Bowe he looked awful to the point where, albeit hysterical, pundits were calling for the fight to be stopped.

And Ray took a knee, voluntarily, in total control of his senses. Riddick took two buttocks and, when he got up, he was gone in a way no other heavyweight whom Evander had ever hit, bar Rodrigues, was gone. It begs a question.

 

Name me a good timeline when bowe could have fought those guys?

Mercer- bowe signed to fight him. Purposefully tanked a fight so he wouldn’t have to fight bowe.

Ruddock - took a 3 year layoff

Tyson- took a 4 year layoff

Morrison- took a 3 year layoff

Foreman- refused to fight bowe

Moorer- refused to fight bowe

Lewis- bowe deserved the blame here

Smith- He was washed up by early 90s. Doesn’t even count. Bert Cooper was a much more dangerous puncher than a 40 year old Smith

 

I think Bowe's lack of ledger is much more likely down to him being inherently lazy; having a poor attitude towards the championship and ultimately stunting his career, than him and his team protecting a 'bad chin'.

Bowe was motivated enough, on his way to the title, but his '92 win over Holyfield would be the best we'd ever of see of him. He was pretty much on the decline, from then on, and it was fairly rapid.

He treated the championship like rubbish and, when he lost it a year later, it took time for him to rebuild himself as credible and worthy of another shot. 1995 pretty much saw him back in contention and this and the following year was the only period in which Bowe might have realistically faced any of the fighters you list. Lewis was on the cards but fell through because of what happened in '96.

Unfortunately, the Golota debacles saw the end of Bowe being taken seriously and, to all intents and purposes, his meaningful career was over. All this before he'd reached the age of 30 years old. Had he'd been more motivated and dedicated to the discipline, he might well have met at least a few of those fighters you mention.

 

Yes and no.

Yes, Bowe did not fight the above fighters. However he did face his share of punchers. Hide could hit. Cooper could hit. Holyfield had solid power, enough to floor say Ray Mercer with his left hook, and Gonzalez was very big and strong. Golota had solid power, maybe a bit better than Holyfield's.

Bowe was set to face Tommy Morrison after he defeated Foreman. His psycho manager ( Rock Newman ) pulled it from Bill Clayton as Newman wanted Bowe to stand for something like Ali did, and a loss to Morrison would destroy that image.

I don't think Bowe had a top chin, but it was better than say Lennox Lewis. Bowe actually had a lot of heart, and was stopped 0 times in 44 pro fights. He could be hurt and floored, thanks partly to a leaky defense, but taken out by one big shot, not likely.

 

Ruddock had a big deal on the table for Bowe before the Lewis fight. Newman didn’t want it.

 

Bowe's problem was his lack of head movement and willingness to trade where more of a problem than him having a less than stellar chin. How many clean shots did he eat from Golota in their two bouts? No way he would have 'won' them fights if he didn't have a sturdy pair of whiskers.

 

Wasn't it the idea for Ruddock to get past Lewis so you had the two best heavyweights in the world, or whom where perceived as the best two heavyweights fighting it out for the title, but Lewis threw a massive spanner in the works. Sadly I wasn't born yet so I'm not so clued up with how people felt at the time.

 

No. You can google it. Newman wouldn’t allow it.

 

What a fragile chicken legs. Bowe was not a specially strong guy for his size. Foreman,lewis were way more solid than him

 

Apologies, I was under the impression that the fight had been proposed under the circumstances that Ruddock got past Lewis, but I wasn't aware that Lewis vs Ruddock took place just before Holyfield vs Bowe. I just read your post wrong

 

I think he could have fought some of those guys but let's be straight .. Holyfield hit hard enough to stop Tyson and Moore, Herbie Hide was a big puncher, Cooper was a big puncher, Gonzales was a big puncher .. I personally think a prime Bowe beats Mercer, Morrison, Tua, Moorer .. what we don't know is how prime Bowe does against Lewis , a huge puncher and a great fighter .. and that is 100% on Bowe .. he did not duck any of the others but he did duck Lennox ..

Question: Has Holyfield ever said who he feels comes out on top between them ?

 

The thread seems a bit extreme and a tad silly. I think it's fairly obvious Bowe had a decent chin, so no on Futch being overly concerned about it. It could be overrated I guess, maybe...

 

LOL, never stopped in 44 fights.....even when shot to shid in the second Golata bout he could not be finished.......in Bowe's career he was hit at least twice with similar right hands that put lewis down and out except Bowe's "bad" chin saved him.

On a side note, since when is glass chinned Moorer a "Puncher ", at Heavy he did jack but he could crack at Light Heavy, nevertheless Moorer was a average puncher once he moved up to heavy.

 

What's pounds got to do with it? You are infatuated with weight.

What prime ATG's have the current crop beaten?