Lennox Lewis vs Riddick Bowe, What If?

[The_budweiser]

This fight should have happened. At one point they were the two best heavyweights in the world. The public salivated for the prospect of these two meeting to settle who was # 1. Lennox Lewis wanted it. Riddick Bowe did not,thus this "Super Bout" never materialized.

 

What if Bowe and Lewis did meet ? This would have taken place after Riddick beat Evander Holyfield and Lewis had destroyed Razor Ruddock.It may go something like this. The battle begins with the two giants trading jabs. Bowe's is quicker but the Lewis jab carries more power. When they do mix on the inside Bowe seems to have an early advantage. By the third round Bowe's trainer Eddie Futch instructs Riddick to pick up the pace. He obliged by landing some flashy combinations to the head of Lewis. Bowe has also landed some nice uppercuts and appears to be getting off faster then Lennox.

 

Read More: http://ringnews24.com/index.php/boxing-news/boxing-history/65673-lennox-lewis-vs-riddick-bowe-what-if.html#ixzz26YovHlCm

[WelshDevilRob]

Jim Amato knows the score.

[edsel77x]

Lennox was good. Showed heart at times was susceptible to the punch (but who isnt at heavy)

Left too early and felt he duckt the 2nd Vitali fight.

Retired too early for my liking.

[Yiddle]

lennox would of beaten

[smokin]

personally i cant see bowe beating lewis either

[Apollo Dionysus]

Lewis is over-rated, which isn't to say he wasn't great, but he would have had his hands full with a prime Bowe even at his best. If we're proposing this for 1993, that's quite easily a Bowe KO. Lewis was a solid four years of learning short of his peak at that time.

[LondonRingRules]

Lewis is over-rated' date=' which isn't to say he wasn't great, but he would have had his hands full with a prime Bowe even at his best. If we're proposing this for 1993, that's quite easily a Bowe KO. Lewis was a solid four years of learning short of his peak at that time.[/quote']

 

----- FACT: Lewis beats Bowe at any moment of their co-developing careers.

 

Bowe was lucky little Herbie Hide had a shaky chin and little stamina, otherwise he was on his way to becoming another Hide KO victim. Bowe was just another American with a dirty enough promoter who protected him until they could get a dwindling Mr. Field who had been struggling against Foreman, Holmes and Cooper at the right time. Bowe did help make the career of Field though, two high level club fighters ala Gatti/Ward going at it to great acclaim, so he had some use in an otherwise wasted career.

[C.J.Rock]

Lennox was good. Showed heart at times was susceptible to the punch (but who isnt at heavy)

Left too early and felt he duckt the 2nd Vitali fight.

Retired too early for my liking.

 

Lennox TKO 6 over Vitali when he was barely 80% He'd beaten him what was the point in a rematch ? Lennox retired at the right time he had nothing more to prove. Lennox had Bowes# & best of all Bowe knew it n& wanted no part of him

[Meathead]

Bowe never wanted anything to do with Lewis, and for good reason.

 

Lewis was better than Bowe in just about every dept.

 

It should never be forgotten than Bowe actively gave up a world title so he didnt have to face Lewis. The guy was terrified of him.

[Skav]

I'd take Lewis to beat Bowe. He had better technique although there would be some rocky moments.

[davemurphy]

Bowe never wanted anything to do with Lewis, and for good reason.

 

Lewis was better than Bowe in just about every dept.

 

It should never be forgotten than Bowe actively gave up a world title so he didnt have to face Lewis. The guy was terrified of him.

 

Meat-

Even though I know that Rock Newman was never going to let Bowe into the Ring with Lewis EVER, I do recall the Holyfield rematch was much more lucrative at the time and made more business sense. Lennox wasn't the box office attraction (at least not in the States) in 1993 like he became later on. Rather than wait to get stripped by the WBC, they chucked the belt in the trash and that gave them an excuse to stay on a different path from LL for the immediate future even after Holy 2 (had he have won, which he didn't).

[davemurphy]

I'd take Lewis to beat Bowe. He had better technique although there would be some rocky moments.

 

Bowe's only decent quality as a fighter was that he had size and could bully guys, most of whom were considerably smaller. Lewis was a nightmare for him because he had better skills AND size. Bowe would've gotten frustrated by the middle of the fight and more than likely doing his best just to survive.

[WelshDevilRob]

When assessing Lennox Lewis from that period, people seem to focus on the loss to Oliver McCall. Before that loss he destroyed the man seen as the most dangerous in the World: Razor Ruddock.

 

Ruddock, was meant to fight Holyfield but stepped aside or was paid to step aside, so that Bowe could get in first. Ruddocks own confidence and foolish management then get him to go through an eliminator, away from home, against the undefeated Lewis. We all know what happened - Lewis career goes into orbit, while Ruddock is left in the rubble.

 

Lewis followed that up with a very good, if unconvincing win over Tony Tucker. Dropped Tucker twice on way to a UD. Also, Lewis performance against heavy undergog, Phil Jackson was one of the best of his career interms of the way he controlled the fight.

 

What did go wrong was the realisation that Lewis was getting by on talent alone. Trainer Pepe Correa, was nothing more than a cheerleader coach who was bringing nothing technical to the party.

 

The Lewis of the Ruddock fight would have destroyed Bowe in pretty much the same manner. Bowe, had size and a decent jab but he was lethargic, lazy, easy to hit and without the best chin. He also, wasn't quick.

[davemurphy]

When assessing Lennox Lewis from that period, people seem to focus on the loss to Oliver McCall. Before that loss he destroyed the man seen as the most dangerous in the World: Razor Ruddock.

 

Ruddock, was meant to fight Holyfield but stepped aside or was paid to step aside, so that Bowe could get in first. Ruddocks own confidence and foolish management then get him to go through an eliminator, away from home, against the undefeated Lewis. We all know what happened - Lewis career goes into orbit, while Ruddock is left in the rubble.

 

Lewis followed that up with a very good, if unconvincing win over Tony Tucker. Dropped Tucker twice on way to a UD. Also, Lewis performance against heavy undergog, Phil Jackson was one of the best of his career interms of the way he controlled the fight.

 

What did go wrong was the realisation that Lewis was getting by on talent alone. Trainer Pepe Correa, was nothing more than a cheerleader coach who was bringing nothing technical to the party.

 

The Lewis of the Ruddock fight would have destroyed Bowe in pretty much the same manner. Bowe, had size and a decent jab but he was lethargic, lazy, easy to hit and without the best chin. He also, wasn't quick.

 

Rob-

Great point with regard to Pepe Correa, who made a name for himself by being Sugar Ray Leonard's Trainer after Angelo Dundee had guided SRL his entire career and was just capitalizing on someone else's work. He did NOTHING for Lennox, just like he did nothing for Leonard, and just as he did nothing for any other fighter he ever handled. Once Manny Steward came in, we saw Lennox's career really take off. That's an important thing to keep in mind when discussing a Lewis-Bowe fight as it would have transpired had they met in 1993. Riddick Bowe was under the guidance of Eddie Futch, who was trying (with some success obviously) to make Bowe his last great contribution to the sport, while LL was stuck with Pepe's clueless cheerleading routine.

[WelshDevilRob]

Dave, With regards to Eddie Futch - he is a huge plus compared to most let alone Pepe Correa. The one thing that he didn't seem to have much control over was Bowe's fitness/shape/weight. Bowe was 235lbs for the 1st Holyfield fight and almost 10lbs heavier 3 months later for his 1st defence. There were plenty of rumours and stories about Bowe's laziness doing the rounds in the likes of KO magazine at the time.

 

It's right that Lewis was steadily digressing under Pepe Correa but I think his general fitness levels were high, as his conditioning trainers remained the same throughout his career (Courtney Shand) but it was Manny who corrected technical errors.

 

I do think Lewis would have been mentally up for a Bowe fight and similar to the Ruddock fight. He didn't really need Correa, as with Ruddock before he knew his opponent from the amateur circuit. There was alot of bad blood between Bowe and Lewis and it still seems to be there.

[Apollo Dionysus]

----- FACT: Lewis beats Bowe at any moment of their co-developing careers.

 

Bowe was lucky little Herbie Hide had a shaky chin and little stamina, otherwise he was on his way to becoming another Hide KO victim. Bowe was just another American with a dirty enough promoter who protected him until they could get a dwindling Mr. Field who had been struggling against Foreman, Holmes and Cooper at the right time. Bowe did help make the career of Field though, two high level club fighters ala Gatti/Ward going at it to great acclaim, so he had some use in an otherwise wasted career.

 

Fact? LOL. I've got a fact for you, there isn't a single factual statement in your post, most of it is your opinion & most of it is wrong.

[Skav]

Fact? LOL. I've got a fact for you' date=' there isn't a single factual statement in your post, most of it is your opinion & most of it is wrong.[/quote']

 

Regarding the Bowe v Hide fight though, there was a moment when Hide caught Bowe with a shot and put him down but the ref ruled it a slip, I recall. Apart from that, it was pretty much one way traffic.

[gavpowell]

most of it is your opinion & most of it is wrong.

 

 

I think you've run into something of a logical fallacy there...

[LondonRingRules]

Fact? LOL. I've got a fact for you' date=' there isn't a single factual statement in your post, most of it is your opinion & most of it is wrong.[/quote']

 

---- Fact, Lewis is 1-0, 1 KO over Bowe.

 

Fact, Bowe tossed his WBC belt into the garbage in a big public display to avoid facing Lewis in the rematch. Excuses don't matter after such a thuggish display which Bowe and his under the slimy Rock Newman were. Lewis can't improve his record because Big Dummy don't want the fight, never did----FACT!

 

Fact, Bowe already got beat by Ellijah Tillery who didn't get the DQ victory he deserved after Newman garroted him from behind and yanked him out of the ring after a melee started with Bowe's late punch after 1 rd was completed. Disgrace and thuggery rewarded in Washington DC to protect the Olympian money fighter from be set back from his thuggish destiny.

 

Fact: Tyrell Biggs was KOed in 8 rds by Bowe, and in all the rest of his 7 KO losses, every fighter beat Bowe, including Mike Tyson, Gary Mason, Lewis, Diamiani, Ray Anis, and Larry Donald.

 

Fact: Golota owned Bowe, two man vs boy performances, yet Golota never made it out of the first round against Lewis.

 

Fact: Bowe got beat by Mr. Field, not Lewis.

 

Fact: Lewis faced more Ring ranked contenders than Bowe, it ain't even close.

 

Fact: Bowe inherited the unified heavy belt thanks to Tyson's consolidation of the 4 titles that Field inherited, but Bowe was stripped of every title he owned. He defended the WBA twice and the IBF/WBO once each, 3 total title defenses to his career.....Whooppee

 

Opinion: Leon Neon Spinks would be 3-0, 3 KO against Big Dummy. That opinion is as worthy absent any facts you've provided that shows Bowe could ever beat Lewis in a legit fight, and not one of those thug fiascos where he knocks out Lewis with a baseball bat and gets the win like some of his wins.

[davemurphy]

I think a lot of people that supported Bowe in the argument are too quick to dismiss the Olympic event as "meaningless". But I've always felt that lacking a meeting as Pros, that's pretty much all we have to go on and in my mind is Exhibit #1 when making a case for Lewis beating Bowe. Rock Newman and all the other Riddick supporters can say what they want about where Bowe's head was that day, but I've never bought that you go into the biggest fight of your life and the penultimate goal of your amateur career and let your sisters problems dominate your thoughts so much that you can't give your best effort...........and if that IS TRUE, then how do you combat the argument that if Bowe's mind/resolve was that weak, then how does Lennox's stronger will not prevail in the Pros?

[LondonRingRules]

Re: Lennox Lewis vs Riddick Bowe, What If?

 

Fact? LOL. I've got a fact for you' date=' there isn't a single factual statement in your post, most of it is your opinion & most of it is wrong.[/quote']

 

--- I was a little rough on you by way of being unrepentantly tough on Bowe for good reason, but as I mentioned, they did meet once and such was the undisputed result, Lewis W by knockout. Bowe dumped his WBC belt instead of fighting the rematch, and the rest is undisputed history, but relax. Bowe probably makes the IBHOF so you can return to tell us you told us so!

 

http://img.fannation.com/upload/truth_rumor/photo_upload/199/430/full/lewis-bowe.jpg

[BoztheMadman]

Re: Lennox Lewis vs Riddick Bowe, What If?

 

--- I was a little rough on you by way of being unrepentantly tough on Bowe for good reason, but as I mentioned, they did meet once and such was the undisputed result, Lewis W by knockout. Bowe dumped his WBC belt instead of fighting the rematch, and the rest is undisputed history, but relax. Bowe probably makes the IBHOF so you can return to tell us you told us so!

 

http://img.fannation.com/upload/truth_rumor/photo_upload/199/430/full/lewis-bowe.jpg

Lmao at Bowe's hair there. :laugh: