Prime Tyson VS Riddick Bowe

[Sugarj]

Nobody's prime only lasts for three years. Bowe was in his prime from 90/91 until his retirement.

Bowe was still fighting very sporadically up to a few years ago. I presume you don't mean he was still prime in the late 2000s. I'm guessing you mean after the Golota fights in 1996 (his first retirement)?

But I must disagree with your comment in bold in the strongest terms. In a sport like boxing where athletes are absorbing world class punches for several years a prime can come to a very abrupt end after one wrong punch; not to mention a decorated amateur career, several wars as a professional, as well as the abuse from becoming overweight between fights. A boxer's prime form can vary greatly between individuals.

But the brain is a complex organ; and it's ability to keep an athlete in prime form is highly dependant on how much punishment it is subjected to.

Bowe boxed pretty well from the outset of his professional career. He was still performing pretty well in 1995 (albeit, not as well as a couple of years previous), but the Golota fights the following year left him with slurred speech.....the man was clearly post prime at the end.

[SBleeder]

Bowe was still fighting very sporadically up to a few years ago. I presume you don't mean he was still prime in the late 2000s. I'm guessing you mean after the Golota fights in 1996 (his first retirement)?

But I must disagree with your comment in bold in the strongest terms. In a sport like boxing where athletes are absorbing world class punches for several years a prime can come to a very abrupt end after one wrong punch; not to mention a decorated amateur career, several wars as a professional, as well as the abuse from becoming overweight between fights. A boxer's prime form can vary greatly between individuals.

But the brain is a complex organ; and it's ability to keep an athlete in prime form is highly dependant on how much punishment it is subjected to.

Bowe boxed pretty well from the outset of his professional career. He was still performing pretty well in 1995 (albeit, not as well as a couple of years previous), but the Golota fights the following year left him with slurred speech.....the man was clearly post prime at the end.

I was referring to his first retirement. I didn't see any signs of slower reflexes against Golota. He was fatter, but that's not the same as being past it.

I suppose my statement was too definitive. I just define "prime" more broadly than some.

[Sugarj]

I was referring to his first retirement. I didn't see any signs of slower reflexes against Golota. He was fatter, but that's not the same as being past it.

I suppose my statement was too definitive. I just define "prime" more broadly than some.

I did watch the second Golota fight in the last couple of weeks and did find myself wincing at Bowe's jerky balance, his once accurate right hand was all over the place. His jab looked slow and ineffective and his punch resistance had markedly deteriorated. He didn't slip many punches either, his reactions were awful.

Funnily enough, he'd actually lost a lot of weight for that fight and came in as light as he had for a long time (possibly in the same ballpark as the first Holyfield fight). His stamina was pretty passable and his fighting heart never better.....but it was a very sad sight to watch.

But yea, we all define "prime" in our own way. Some would say Ali's prime was 1964-1967. Others would say 1964-1978 for example. Floyd Mayweather has shown consistently excellent form for the best part of 16 years.....it would be very hard to pin down a 3-5 year spell of his absolute peak, so I certainly wouldn't dream of bothering there.

[MRBOOMER]

I did watch the second Golota fight in the last couple of weeks and did find myself wincing at Bowe's jerky balance, his once accurate right hand was all over the place. His jab looked slow and ineffective and his punch resistance had markedly deteriorated. He didn't slip many punches either, his reactions were awful.

Funnily enough, he'd actually lost a lot of weight for that fight and came in as light as he had for a long time (possibly in the same ballpark as the first Holyfield fight). His stamina was pretty passable and his fighting heart never better.....but it was a very sad sight to watch.

But yea, we all define "prime" in our own way. Some would say Ali's prime was 1964-1967. Others would say 1964-1978 for example. Floyd Mayweather has shown consistently excellent form for the best part of 16 years.....it would be very hard to pin down a 3-5 year spell of his absolute peak, so I certainly wouldn't dream of bothering there.

I'd say Floyd's prime started from the second castilo fight till the Marquez fight

[Sugarj]

I'd say Floyd's prime started from the second castilo fight till the Marquez fight

And yet he looked incredible against Genaro Hernandez, Angel Manfredy and Diego Corrales.....all before Castillo 2.