Would Bowe vs Lewis end up in a KO or go to the distance?

Bowe had the most porous defense of any elite guy I've seen with his height and reach. Early Lewis was a gunslinger and a much more efficient, and harder, puncher. Bowe would be stopped. Again.

 

Best for best Lewis would knock him out.

 

At their very best they were both just incredible, and a huge handful for any heavyweight in history. It's difficult to pick a winner, so I'll go with a draw lol.

The Holyfield that fought Bowe in their first fight, however, is a different matter entirely and KO's Lewis late

 

I’m a big Bowe fan but he couldn’t stop a right cross or a left hook to save his life. An aggressive Lewis stops him, I think.

Some will bring up the McCall fight but might forget that Emanuel Steward was in his camp for that one fight. They worked on catching an off balance Lewis with a counter right hand. I really don’t think Bowe would’ve been going for that kind of shot. Also Lewis would’ve taken Bowe more seriously than McCall.

Having said that, I still thinks it could go either way but I’d have to bet on Lewis. Maybe Bowe looks good for a few rounds, then Lewis turns it on for a finish. Maybe similar to Lewis - Bruno.

 

Lewis has to win this by KO. Bowe is not going to accept anything less than an action fight and I think Lewis would oblige but where everyone seems to overlook things is the short punches on the inside. Lewis is really outclassed there. He has to resort to spoiling/holding to get past Tua and Holyfield (and round 1 Tyson). He's able to keep those fights at range but as soon as they get in close quarters he's either throwing his uppercut counter and holding or just plain holding. He's never having inside fights against them. Spoiling against Bowe won't be possible due to Bowes size and it will just gas Lewis out harder. I don't think Lewis would survive this down the stretch if it got that far because that would mean Bowe has stayed in it and he simply would be making Lewis work too hard for Lewis not to get gassed. The question of whether Bowe can last is a good one, considering Lewis did stop him in the Olympics. Bowe was winning that fight bigtime though, especially on the inside. I think Lewis would have to have a shootout here to win and I think he's running out of time the longer this goes on. Bowe has exceptional resilience and heart and will need to be nailed to the canvas. I'm not saying Lewis can't KO him but I have to give Bowe the edge.

I think it would look something like their amateur fight with the dynamic being that Bowe is looking to come forward and get inside to throw his fast inside combos and Lewis is looking to keep it at range and land his right hand or left hook. I see it going these ways.

1. A heavyweight Hagler Hearns
2. Lewis vs Razor Ruddock
3. Either guy could possibly catch the other guy early and run through him.

I think all three are possible.

 

If it was before 1995, Bowe would knock Lewis out, if it was around the same time as the Golota fight it would look like the Briggs fight but longer, competitive for a couple rounds before Lewis presses the action and deconstructs Bowe.