Riddick Bowe or Vitali Klitschko. Who ranks higher?

[SalimShady1212]

Dunno man, Riddick Bowe was a hell of a fighter but Vitali was an iron chinned, hard hitting G.

[Burt Saxby]

We can discuss resumes, but Vitali is clearly a better fighter, more heart too.

Who did he prove it against?

Vitali wasn't as well rounded and skilful as Golota , never mind Bowe.

These guys had legends - Futch and Duva in their corners . Fritz Sudnek does not stack up along side great trainers.

Vitali may have had a better chin than Golota but he had none of the defensive ability Golota had nor the inside game. Vitali was a stiff open target , who always kept his hands down way too low. He had none of the weaving , rolling , slipping and counter punching ability Golota had that gave Bowe hell. He would have been chopped up by Bowe like he was against a past prime , sloppy Lewis.

Vitali's resume was as shallow as a puddle. He lost to the two best guys he faced. (Two guys who would have been easily beaten by a prime early 90's Bowe.) And hasn't another elite level opponent to his name.

I don't know what planet Vitali is better than Bowe and ranks higher than him , but it ain't Earth.

[Joeyzagz]

But he does have Holyfield , so why are you saying 'outside of Holyfield' ??

So what you believe is that Vitali would only rank higher if Bowe didn't have the Holyfield wins?

Unfortunately for your argument , he does have those wins.

Because we are not discussing best win, we are looking at the entire resume top to bottom.

[Weltschmerz]

Who did he prove it against?

Vitali wasn't as well rounded and skilful as Golota , never mind Bowe.

These guys had legends - Futch and Duva in their corners . Fritz Sudnek does not stack up along side great trainers.

Vitali may have had a better chin than Golota but he had none of the defensive ability Golota had nor the inside game. Vitali was a stiff open target , who always kept his hands down way too low. He had none of the weaving , rolling , slipping and counter punching ability Golota had that gave Bowe hell. He would have been chopped up by Bowe like he was against a past prime , sloppy Lewis.

Vitali's resume was as shallow as a puddle. He lost to the two best guys he faced. (Two guys who would have been easily beaten by a prime early 90's Bowe.) And hasn't another elite level opponent to his name.

I don't know what planet Vitali is better than Bowe and ranks higher than him , but it ain't Earth.

Just go back to ESB with your trolling, JAB.

[Burt Saxby]

Because we are not discussing best win, we are looking at the entire resume top to bottom.

Vitali focused on 10% of the division while ignoring the rest. His record is poor.

Coetzer
Fergusson
Hide
Donald
Luis González - an undefeated feared KO artist at the time
Golota

Those were all high ranked contenders.

[BrometheusBob.]

I don't know about that bet? How do you bet on here? i'll put the house on Wlad for sure...

Glad you asked!

http://www.boxingscene.com/forums/sh...d.php?t=687318

[Joeyzagz]

Vitali focused on 10% of the division while ignoring the rest. His record is poor.

Coetzer
Fergusson
Hide
Donald
Luis González - an undefeated feared KO artist at the time
Golota

Those were all high ranked contenders.

Those guys were barely top 20 in the 1990s. Bowe was deliberately fighting scrubs.

Vitali fought the best of a weak era, Bowe fought the weakest of a good era thats why the votes are 50/50 and close.

[Weltschmerz]

Had Vitali been prime in the 90s, he would have gone down as one of the greatest.

And he still is.

[billeau2]

yeah, a H2H match up is a dream fight. One of the main things seperating them would be work ethic, professionalism and discipline, obviously Bowe had a lot of talent. But look how he squandered his life in fact, and look what Vitali did, and don't forget his 4 yr layoff during what would have been his definite prime as a fighter. His dominant comeback weighs heavy.

Thats true... Interesting aside Bowe has opened a restaurant in the hood and they did an expose on him, I think it was the New York Times
and the author was somewhat shocked at how many people were trying to hit him up...One incident in particular: a lady comes up to him saying she was his baby sitter and asking him for cash. She then curses him out when he refuses. Apparently when succesful particularly, Bowe had the weight of the world upon him. He was constantly handing out payola and it was never enough.

I think this influenced him considerably....this was not a guy who could leave the world behind and concentrate on business. I am a New yorker and know that Bowe's area of Brooklyn was a really impoverished area (right near Tyson's area actually) and one can only imagine what Big Daddy Bowe had to deal with.

[Derranged]

I'd have to say Vitali based on longevity. Bowe was the better fighter but he burned out too quickly. A real waste of talent.