Was Riddick Bowe really that good?

Bowe was a victim to himself. Once he made millions he wasn't motivated any more. A waste of talent cause he got so lazy. Having Rock Newman as his manager/promoter didn't help either cause they burn every bridge they crossed and got boxed out of the big picture half way through his career

i think bowe was vastly over rated. he never fought any of the top fighters of his era (besides holy) like lewis, mercer, morrison, moorer, foreman, ruddock. instead he fought jorge gonzalez, herbie hide, larry donald. holyfield had him all but knocked out in the 3rd fight before he just about had a heart attack in the ring and couldnt do anything. he had awful defense, was questionable if he would come into a fight in shape and i dont think he took a good punch which why never fought any heavey hitters like moorer, mercer, morrison, lewis, ruddock.

When he was dedicated he was. He beat a prime Holyfield 2 of 3. The problem was after that, he ducked Lewis and didn't dedicate himself at all.

A dedicated, motivated Bowe was very good, yes. The problem was he was rarely motivated or dedicated and when he wasn't, he wasn't too impressive.

yes , he was very good , better than Holyfield for me he could beat post-prison tyson but he has no chance again (boxers) with the style of prime holmes or Ali

LOL...He fought Golata 8 months after he beat Holyfield...he was still in shape. Golata was much faster. I just watched that again last night...that fight was crazy...that was the one with the huge riot that lasted almost as long as the fight. Golata was actually pretty damm good that night...just terribly dumb. He said in an interview that he just couldn't control himself.eight months after the third fight, if i remember correctly. Bowe was already slowing down big time in the latter Holyfield fights. He was finished by the time he got to Golota in my opinion.

Bowe had poor defense and was about as hard to hit as the broad side of a barn. He could get away with that against most fighters, absorbing their shots and beating them on attrition but against monster punchers like, Lewis, Tyson and a prime Wlad he would have been knocked out before the fifth round. People remember the positives from his three Holyfield fights and extrapolate an all time great career without also thinking about the negatives: Bowe sustained an incredible amount of punishment every time he faced Holyfield, he displayed incredible offense on the inside but a fighter of that size had no reason to be fighting Holyfield at that distance, so either his outside fighting or his footwork were failing him. Bowe had flaws in his technique when fighting at a distance, his jab was good but his right hand was wide, this meant he could be beaten to the punch and couldn't do optimum damage without moving forward after the jab, exposing himself to counters. His footwork was also geared towards offense, good at cutting off the ring but poor at backpedaling, which meant he was poor at defusing pressure. He had a great chin in terms of taking sustained punishment but was susceptible to one punch power shots. Similarly his punch power was good but not of the one punch variety. With some fighters what they do will work, more or less, against everyone. Bowe wasn't one of these fighters. With Bowe, it came down to how well he matched up against his opponent. For anyone smaller than him, without great power, Bowe would be a nightmare, as even if they exposed his technical flaws they wouldn't be able to knock him out and would be drawn into a war where Bowe's greater size would probably be the difference maker. If a fighter was the same size or had one punch knockout power, Bowe was very beatable, it would take talent, either good outside fighting or the ability to slip inside but it was possible. If a fighter was of similar size and had one punch knockout power, Bowe was a sitting duck. He did not always throw his right hand wide...that is complete and utter BS. He had a good right hook, but he threw his right hand straight also, he could KO a horse with that punch, I saw him hurt/KO many fighters with the straight right. You criticise him for taking a hell of a lot of punishment against Holyfield? A prime Holyfield was one of the greatest heavyweights of all time, and Bowe beat him TWICE. I do not agree with your technical analysis at all. The one thing that TS has said which is actually accurate for once, is that Bowe was inconsistent, he had o discipline in his life, thus eventually that hurt his career. But in terms of sheer talent he was up there, I mean really up there. He was incredible. Lol at you saying he had no defense, he had good defense in the pocket, he could slip and slide and make fighters miss. Maybe not as effective as he could have been on the outside, but I think that was mainly because he liked getting in fights. In terms of his overall legacy he doesn't rank that high, his prime was too short lived, but in his prime when he was on it, he is one of the best there has been period.

yes, riddick bowe was an excellent boxer. he would give hell to anyone the reach, te jab, the power, the speed, the chin. the guy had it all even futch said he had potential to become the greatest heavyweight he ever had

i think if the bowe that had just come off the win v holy had fought lewis at that point in their careers instead of the blatent duck, bowe would have won. but that window didn't last long.

Bowe had poor defense and was about as hard to hit as the broad side of a barn. He could get away with that against most fighters, absorbing their shots and beating them on attrition but against monster punchers like, Lewis, Tyson and a prime Wlad he would have been knocked out before the fifth round. People remember the positives from his three Holyfield fights and extrapolate an all time great career without also thinking about the negatives: Bowe sustained an incredible amount of punishment every time he faced Holyfield, he displayed incredible offense on the inside but a fighter of that size had no reason to be fighting Holyfield at that distance, so either his outside fighting or his footwork were failing him. Bowe had flaws in his technique when fighting at a distance, his jab was good but his right hand was wide, this meant he could be beaten to the punch and couldn't do optimum damage without moving forward after the jab, exposing himself to counters. His footwork was also geared towards offense, good at cutting off the ring but poor at backpedaling, which meant he was poor at defusing pressure. He had a great chin in terms of taking sustained punishment but was susceptible to one punch power shots. Similarly his punch power was good but not of the one punch variety. With some fighters what they do will work, more or less, against everyone. Bowe wasn't one of these fighters. With Bowe, it came down to how well he matched up against his opponent. For anyone smaller than him, without great power, Bowe would be a nightmare, as even if they exposed his technical flaws they wouldn't be able to knock him out and would be drawn into a war where Bowe's greater size would probably be the difference maker. If a fighter was the same size or had one punch knockout power, Bowe was very beatable, it would take talent, either good outside fighting or the ability to slip inside but it was possible. If a fighter was of similar size and had one punch knockout power, Bowe was a sitting duck.

LOL...He fought Golata 8 months after he beat Holyfield...he was still in shape. Golata was much faster. I just watched that again last night...that fight was crazy...that was the one with the huge riot that lasted almost as long as the fight. Golata was actually pretty damm good that night...just terribly dumb. He said in an interview that he just couldn't control himself. He came in against Golota out of shape and over weight in the first fight. 12 pounds heavier than he was against his previous bout with Holyfield. He was so out of shape for that first fight, in the immediate rematch they worked him like a dog, over training him in the process. He was obviously weak. Matter of fact for the rematch he was 17 pounds lighter and looked dried out! But I doen't blame anyone but Bowe and his management for screwing up. Sometimes a simple mistake can ruin a whole career in boxing. That is just the way it is!

Golota was winning both fights. He was comfortably ahead when he started targeting Bowe's testicles. Golota was unfit to fight mentally IMO.

I always thought Bowe was torn between poor management and excellent training. In his prime he was very good. But career wise his prime was not really long.

By then Bowe was gone. He was grossly out of shape in their first fight, and while he looked much better coming into their second fight his reflexes vanished. Yeah Bowe was good. Bowe was amazing. Bowe vs Tyson would have been one for the ages. Lennox Lewis beat him in the Olympics and while he did blatantly duck Lennox, I think it would have been a competitive fight. He, Ike, and to a lesser degree Mike are the biggest wastes of heavyweight talent in the modern boxing era. LOL...He fought Golata 8 months after he beat Holyfield...he was still in shape. Golata was much faster. I just watched that again last night...that fight was crazy...that was the one with the huge riot that lasted almost as long as the fight. Golata was actually pretty damm good that night...just terribly dumb. He said in an interview that he just couldn't control himself.

I see he wins a lot of fantasy fights and he could sure box, he could fight great up close for such a big man but is he more hyped/favoured due to what he could of been do you think? Don't get me wrong, he sure was a talented giant but like, he only ever put in maybe 2-3 great performances did he not? (Holyfield bouts, Michael Dokes who was a good fighter but tended to fall that little bit short at world level R.I.P Champ) Kind of a coulda, shoulda, woulda... I struggle to really pick inconsistent guys who struggled, had demons and only put in a few great performances over elite level consistency that has/did stay(ed) on top for like a decade... Can you really pick Bowe over Vitali, Ali, Holmes, Lewis etc head-to-head? Lewis > Bowe.

Watched the 1st holyfield fight the other day, and i was very very impressed. He had it all. But it didnt last long. I favour him over Lewis and both Klits at their peaks.

did not have enough fights to compare to other great heavyweights. Lennox Lewis would be the favorite if they ever did it and would have won too.

He had his moments...but if he was then Golata must have been great because aside from the low blows he was all over Bowe...and although Golata in his prime also had his moments...he was not great. By then Bowe was gone. He was grossly out of shape in their first fight, and while he looked much better coming into their second fight his reflexes vanished. Yeah Bowe was good. Bowe was amazing. Bowe vs Tyson would have been one for the ages. Lennox Lewis beat him in the Olympics and while he did blatantly duck Lennox, I think it would have been a competitive fight. He, Ike, and to a lesser degree Mike are the biggest wastes of heavyweight talent in the modern boxing era.

He had his moments...but if he was then Golata must have been great because aside from the low blows he was all over Bowe...and although Golata in his prime also had his moments...he was not great.