was Riddick Bowe the best ever

[billeau2]

What about Ossie Ocasio and Levi Billups taking Lewis the full distance?... or Derek Chisora and Kevin Johnson taking Vitali the distance?

Tony Tubbs was a very good fighter and former champion

Tony Tubbs was indeed very good but Jug has a point. One can look at Bowe in much the same way one looks at other guys who had immeasurable potential but for whatever reason...and there are infinite reasons...did not make it work.

I think if you try to argue that in some way Bowe indeed showed how good he was you are doomed to failure. As another poster pointed out, he took insane amounts of punishment versus Holy...so even his ring intelligence has to be questioned.

However as far as potential Bowe had the skills to fight in all areas, which are lacking today.

[sonnyboyx2]

Holyfield said, "Bowe was the skillfullest Big man he ever fought"...

[juggernaut666]

Holyfield said, "Bowe was the skillfullest Big man he ever fought"...

He also said he couldn't get around Lewis's jab the second time they fought.In the end lewis beat golota like no one else ever did,thats a measuring stick since both fighters fought Golota..add in all the combined big men lewis defeated,from grant to Vitali,its no contest which one is ranked higher.A prepared Lewis is a dangerous lewis,bowe was good but beating a smaller Holyfield doesn't really show anything with other skilled big men.Im inclined to think the version ,the bigger version of holyfield would have overpowered Bowe .How good was Bowe after Holyfield?I don't know ,he may have slipped or simply was exposed with a tall jabber like Golota,i do remember reading somewhere that he did have difficulty with lengthy jabbers.Both had struggles here and there with opposition they should have defeated easy but my moneys on the more dedicated,better trained and smarter Lewis.The link below is a recap of the lewis /holyfield fight from another perspective and reminder how good Lewis was up until retiring...one can make the claim what was Holyfields real prime,i think the bigger stronger Holyfield after the Bowe fights was but that's debatable.

http://coxscorner.tripod.com/trajedy1.html

[mlac]

tragic we never got to see lewis v bowe.

crazy how golata didnt follow up when he had bowe badly hurt in the 4th (first fight) bowe was ready to go.
then ruined all his good work with that low blow.

[sonnyboyx2]

He also said he couldn't get around Lewis's jab the second time they fought.In the end lewis beat golota like no one else ever did,thats a measuring stick since both fighters fought Golota..add in all the combined big men lewis defeated,from grant to Vitali,its no contest which one is ranked higher.A prepared Lewis is a dangerous lewis,bowe was good but beating a smaller Holyfield doesn't really show anything with other skilled big men.Im inclined to think the version ,the bigger version of holyfield would have overpowered Bowe .How good was Bowe after Holyfield?I don't know ,he may have slipped or simply was exposed with a tall jabber like Golota,i do remember reading somewhere that he did have difficulty with lengthy jabbers.Both had struggles here and there with opposition they should have defeated easy but my moneys on the more dedicated,better trained and smarter Lewis.The link below is a recap of the lewis /holyfield fight from another perspective and reminder how good Lewis was up until retiring...one can make the claim what was Holyfields real prime,i think the bigger stronger Holyfield after the Bowe fights was but that's debatable.

http://coxscorner.tripod.com/trajedy1.html

Lamon Brewster vs Golota

[mlac]

holy cow i just watched bowe v golota 2

bowe was absolutely BATTERED, i have never seen a heavyweight take that much punishment as riddick took in that fight.

golota landed nearly 500 PUNCHES

twice as many as bowe.

[Zaroku]

Was Riddick Bowe the best skilled Big Man ever?...Bowe was 6'5'' & 235lbs with incredible boxing abilities. Powerful fast-jab, great in-fighter, tremendous body puncher, two-fisted fighter with excellent agility of foot..

No..........

[soul_survivor]

Bowe had the shortest time at the top of nay fighter I have seen who is so talented. Drugs, laziness, alcohol, family issues, whatever it was derailed him but let's not get nostalgic. Even on his journey to the first Holyfield fight, he had moments of struggle, not just with his weight and dedication but with his in ring abilities. For a big guy, he fought small and that's why he could get caught and is probably a factor in his short time at the short.

You just can't deny the achievements of other big men in boxing, Lewis and Wlad instantly spring to mind.

[Sugar Adam Ali]

Riddick Bowe possessed all the skills to be great. Jab, inside, size, power, chin, stamina

Except he didn't have
1 defense- though not a huge knock on one's greatness, guys like foreman, louis, marciano were all great but didn't have stellar defense..

2 ring IQ/generalship- this was the most crucial aspect that bowe lacked.. While he was a very talented fighter, he wasn't a smart one.. Gave up his height too often, and got dragged into wars, and with his porous defense, bowe took a lot of brutal shots. Reminds me of what happened to jermain taylor, when nearly every fight has you eating punches, eventually it cracks your chin and worse.. Both Bowes and Taylor's weird behavior outside of the ring later in their careers can most likely be attributed to the brain damage suffered from taking all those head shots

3 professionalism- bowe was not professional outside the ring, and didn't have the work ethic to stay in shape.. Had he had the work ethic of hopkins or klitchko, bowe would have not had so many problems with weight