In 1993, was there a bigger fight than Lewis vs Bowe?

[JAB5239]

Carlos, I would like to hear why this is a fight "many didn't care for at the time", my friend.

[sonnyboyx2]

Lets end this nonsense once and for all. In 1992 Mike Tyson was in jail and Rid**** Bowe beat Evander Holyfield to become the undisputed heavyweight champion. A month later the two top heavyweights in the WBC squared off with Lennox Lewis stopping Donovan Razor Ruddock in 2.

Four years earlier Lewis and Bowe had faced off in the Olympic finals wit Lennox taking home the gold. Since that time and during both their rises to the top their future rematch had been talked about and anticipated in boxing circles and the press.

My question is....was there a bigger or better fight that COULD have happened in the heavyweight division in 1993? Unified champ vs number 1 contender. Rematch of Olympic finalists. The two universally recognized best of the big men.

So, in the opinion of the posters here, could a better heavyweight fight have been made in 1993?

JAB... What age was you in 1993 ?

Lewis was unheard of in the USA and after his terrible showing against Tony Tucker (shot) then his "Lucky-Punch" victory against Bruno after being schooled by Bruno for 6rds, it was thought Lewis never had a hope against Bowe... Bowe vs Holyfield (2) in 1993 was the eagerly awaited fight of the year that fight-fans wanted too see, after their titanic first fight.

[Holtol]

Thats the fight I wanted to see. I payed a lot of attention to Lewis early in his carreer. Im not sure how much most boxing fans cared about Lewis back then though.

[CarlosG815]

Carlos, I would like to hear why this is a fight "many didn't care for at the time", my friend.

Because I don't think Lennox Lewis was really anybody special. He was not on the level of Bowe/Holyfield. A fight with Lewis is as good as fighting Ruddock, Tucker, Bruno, Morrison, etc at the time.

People can blame Bowe if they want, but why in 1993-1995 did Lennox never fight Holyfield either?

[JAB5239]

JAB... What age was you in 1993 ?

Lewis was unheard of in the USA and after his terrible showing against Tony Tucker (shot) then his "Lucky-Punch" victory against Bruno after being schooled by Bruno for 6rds, it was thought Lewis never had a hope against Bowe... Bowe vs Holyfield (2) in 1993 was the eagerly awaited fight of the year that fight-fans wanted too see, after their titanic first fight.

I was 24 at the time. What would my age have to do with anything?

You're making claims of Lewis being unheard of in the US, but I actually live here and know different. After Lewis demolished Ruddock, a fight many expected to be a very difficult fight, Bowe-Ruddock was THE fight being written about. Bowe obviously didn't fancy an immediate rematch with Holyfield since he fought unheralded Dokes and Ferguson in his next two fights over the following year. Are you saying THOSE were bigger fights than Lewis?

[JAB5239]

Because I don't think Lennox Lewis was really anybody special. He was not on the level of Bowe/Holyfield. A fight with Lewis is as good as fighting Ruddock, Tucker, Bruno, Morrison, etc at the time.

Bowe never fought them either.

People can blame Bowe if they want, but why in 1993-1995 did Lennox never fight Holyfield either?

Lets stay on subject my man.

Lewis was the WBC mandatory and the Ring magazines number one contender. Were Dokes and Ferguson more worthy or bigger draws?

[CarlosG815]

Lets stay on subject my man.

Lewis was the WBC mandatory and the Ring magazines number one contender. Were Dokes and Ferguson more worthy or bigger draws?

I am making a point as to the trends that Lennox set throughout his entire career.

For Bowe to fight Lennox in the states, I do not believe that fight would make anymore money than a fight with Dokes. But who really knows? We'll never know. I don't see Lennox coming to the US in 1993 and breaking any kind of records.

The fact is that Bowe was just way too dangerous for Lennox Lewis' finely managed career. He had taken safe fights his entire career, and even in those safe fights, he was smashed in 2 rounds by Oliver McCall. I can not see how this is debatable. What is so hard to believe that Lennox' management wanted nothing to do with Bowe when we saw what Bowe did to people, and we saw that Lennox was a little sloppy and proved to have a weak chin by guys who were journeyman?

[sonnyboyx2]

Lets stay on subject my man.

Lewis was the WBC mandatory and the Ring magazines number one contender. Were Dokes and Ferguson more worthy or bigger draws?

Bowe fought and beat Dokes in Feb 93 at Madison Square Gardens, on the same bill was Mercer vs Ferguson with Mercer being the official No1 contender yet he lost to Ferguson after apparently trying to bribe Ferguson to take a dive mid-way threw the fight.. Rock Newman announced after the fight that Bowe would be fighting Holyfield in November in a rematch and that Bowe would first defend against Ferguson or No4 ranked Alex Garcia while Holyfield took a fight against No3 ranked Alex Stewart... Bowe vs Holyfield II was a huge fight and far bigger than Bowe vs Lewis who was unknown and was struggling to beat the likes of Tucker & Bruno

[sonnyboyx2]

Here it is.........

http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstra...AA0894DB494D81

[joseph5620]

JAB... What age was you in 1993 ?

Lewis was unheard of in the USA and after his terrible showing against Tony Tucker (shot) then his "Lucky-Punch" victory against Bruno after being schooled by Bruno for 6rds, it was thought Lewis never had a hope against Bowe... Bowe vs Holyfield (2) in 1993 was the eagerly awaited fight of the year that fight-fans wanted too see, after their titanic first fight.

Lewis is an olympic gold medalist and was fighting on HBO at the time. So he was "heard of." I live in the USA and I remember. Unless you lived here you shouldn't even make that claim.