How would Bowe do against the great HW?

[StarshipTrooper]

Ali - Ali by lopsided decision.

Louis - Louis by brutal mid-rounds KO.

Holmes - Holmes by solid decision.

Tyson - Tyson by decision after building up a big lead then gassing mid-rounds.

Lewis - Lewis by close decision.

Marciano & Frazier - Marciano & Frazier both by late stoppage after brutalizing Bowe's body for several rounds.

Dempsey - Dempsey by lopsided decision or mid-rounds stoppage.

Liston - Liston by brutal mid-rounds KO.

Foreman - Foreman by brutal early KO.

BTW, I have Bowe rank somewhere around 20 all-time at Heavyweight.

Poet

[boxingbuff]

So Bowe's prime was 1 fight? Lol

[fight_professor]

No. But that night stands as the most obvious example of him at his best.

[Sugarj]

No, between 91 and 95 Bowe was a superb heavyweight, arguably the best in this time. Evander Holyfield is beyond dispute an ATG (his peak was the early 90s) and Bowe holds a points decision, a brutal KO and a ridiculously close points loss to him.......excellent heavyweight credentials!

His peak was short no doubt, but wasn't Tyson's too? Tyson self destructed and Bowe over ate. He was too heavy and underprepared for the first match with Golota and too light and spindly for the return, he paid the price. But this doesn't mean that at his best he'd beat many on the list.

No one ever knocked him out, he only ever lost ONE close points decision and he rose to win after every knockdown he ever suffered (and there weren't many). He showed incredible bravery in the second Golota fight rising from one or two knockdowns and didn't milk the repeated low blows. He rightly deserved his wins by Disqualification, shot though he was.

Sorry but how anyone can think that a huge guy who has demonstrated one of the best chins of the 90s (and has never ever been KO'd or TKO'd as a pro) is going to get knocked out by guys so much smaller weighing between 180 and 204 Lbs like Louis, Marciano, Dempsey and Frazier is beyond me.

I love these guys and they are rightly better regarded legends of the sport than Bowe but hell, they're not knocking him out! Lewis, Foreman and Liston had better chances but predicting brutal, early KOs are not giving Bowe's proven chin, strength, heart and workrate due respect.

[fight_professor]

^

Fully agree.

Someone like Frazier (any of the smaller guys, maybe save Tyson) would just eat shots, and be a sucker for that uppercut. Bowe was a good inside guy.

[Sugarj]

Absolutely! I forgot to post an analysis of how a Tyson fight would go but would concur with Poet that Tyson would probably get a decision after building a good early points lead.

The second Tyson vs Ruddock fight is a good indicator of this for me. Tyson was a touch post prime and Ruddock was no Bowe (skills wise) but this analogy is as good as I can think of based on their comparable sizes and weight, great punch power and chins (Ruddock hauled himself off the canvas something like four times or so in two fights with Tyson).

Both Bowe and Tyson had great chins at their peaks, I think we'd be looking at a distance fight, Tyson's skills and elusiveness at his best take the victory for me. But its only an opinion.

[mickey malone]

The Bowe I see in tapes is a superb fighter. Esp the Holy 1 tape. That fluency on a big guy, great inside work, power and decent speed. A top jab.

Those tools break down most HW.

At his peak, I see very few people beating him.

Yes he was... And I do appreciate that, but not enough miles on the clock for me.. The fights against a much smaller Holyfield, seemed to diminish him, where as Evander's still fighting today! Even Golota still climbs in the ring occasionaly, but I feel the boxing fan got sold well short with Bowe...

[Miburo]

I don't see Bowe getting stopped by anyone except perhaps Foreman. His size and infighting ability would give anyone a serious test.

[Sugarj]

Hi Mickey, Bowe is still fighting too, he was on a recent Klitchko undercard and to be honest he didn't look any worse than he did against Golota, not that its saying much.

I agree that the Holyfield fights did diminish him somewhat and his speach was slurring after the second Golota fight but some fighters can be damaged by one fight when a man is taking repeated blows from another world class fighter to the head, he simply did not have Holyfield's longevity. At least not in world class.

It may have been head trauma as well as his overeating that caused his downfall. Us human beings are frail and the brain is a complex organ. Marciano 'apparently' retired with bad headaches, his peak wasn't any longer than Bowe's but no one feels short changed with him. Same with Joe Frazier, didn't have a long peak either. OR dare I say it Dempsey, he only had a seven year reign due to his ridiculous inactivity in the mid 20s (how long was it two and a half years or something between defenses!) and when he did defend against Tunney it was a whitewash.

Another thing that gets mentioned is about Holyfield being so much smaller than Bowe. Rid**** clearly was much bigger. However Holyfield was around 218Lbs and 6ft 3. Contrast this with the height and weight of the likes of Dempsey, Marciano, Louis and Frazier (non of which are taller than 6ft 1 and all weighing between 185 and 204 Lbs) and you get a picture of what it would be really like to watch these little guys actually face Bowe, no commision would surely allow it!!! And some folks are predicting brutal knockouts by them!

Holyfield's dimensions were much closer to Sonny Liston's, who was considered huge in the late 50s and early 60s. How times change.

[Benny Leonard]

Some people are underrating Bowe. Bowe defeated Holyfield at his best and it was a War so there is only so much you can question about his heart, will, chin, toughness, and skill.

Bowe's problem was he tended to be so-so with regards to how much he really wanted to be a boxer. When he got to the top it didn't seem to quite matter as much before and he loved to battle it out with the refrigerator which didn't help when he had to train back down in weight for a fight. Something with those Brownsville Boys and trying to get them motivated and stay away from the food. Seriously, Tyson, Briggs, Bowe...WTF?
But, when he was on top of his game, maybe even somewhat, he still did well, which included beating all Heart/Warrior Holyfield


The Holyfield fights as well as his battle with his weight/food and motivation, ended his prime. He also may have been "too nice" as they say. One reason I remember hearing Tyson didn't want to fight Bowe; he didn't feel like he could get himself to punch Bowe because he knew him and liked him very much.



I'll have to think about the results, but some are acting like Bowe was some Slow Plodding Big HW with no chin, no skill, and no heart.

Take him at his Best when doing Fantasy fights. Take him when he was trained by Eddie Futch and beat The Real Deal at his best.
By the way; How many people had knocked out Holyfield when Bowe did it? ZERO. Bowe knocked him out.