Why did Riddick Bowe vs. Lennox Lewis never happen?

[Anthony342]

Was Bowe ducking Lewis because he got beat by him in the Olympics or did Lewis price himself out of this fight? Why did this fight never happen?

[Sugarj]

Was Bowe ducking Lewis because he got beat by him in the Olympics or did Lewis price himself out of this fight? Why did this fight never happen?

Theres alot of old threads on this one. Some very informative.

Lennox's take is that Bowe ran scared because of what happened in the Olympics.

Bowe's take is that he felt as champion that he should have received the bigger purse split, I gather that Lewis wanted a 50/50 split. Bowe argued that as challenger, he took the smaller split against Holyfield and that Lewis as challenger should do so also. It seems that the WBC were more sympathetic to Lewis's argument, because Bowe binned the belt.....literally.

The strange thing is.........at that point Bowe's form was probably better than Lewis's and he would have been favoured to win the fight.

[Barn]

Theres alot of old threads on this one. Some very informative.

Lennox's take is that Bowe ran scared because of what happened in the Olympics.

Bowe's take is that he felt as champion that he should have received the bigger purse split, I gather that Lewis wanted a 50/50 split. Bowe argued that as challenger, he took the smaller split against Holyfield and that Lewis as challenger should do so also. It seems that the WBC were more sympathetic to Lewis's argument, because Bowe binned the belt.....literally.

The strange thing is.........at that point Bowe's form was probably better than Lewis's and he would have been favoured to win the fight.

If I recall correctly Bowe offered Lewis 90/10.

[Sugarj]

If I recall correctly Bowe offered Lewis 90/10.

If thats correct, its a bit of a joke!

[T.Horton]

If thats correct, its a bit of a joke!

it is correct. at the time Lewis being the challenger should have been guaranteed 30%.

[Sugarj]

it is correct. at the time Lewis being the challenger should have been guaranteed 30%.

Yes, Lewis should have received 30% minimum. That would have been fair.

Bowe must have kicked himself when he saw McCall dump Lewis on his behind. Bowe missed out on a good payday and lost the WBC belt too......

[P4P_No1]

It's because Riddick Bowe caught a case of *****-a$$-ness

[T.Horton]

Yes, Lewis should have received 30% minimum. That would have been fair.

Bowe must have kicked himself when he saw McCall dump Lewis on his behind. Bowe missed out on a good payday and lost the WBC belt too......

yeah, considering he ended up fighting a used up Michael Dokes and Jesse Ferguson for a fraction of what he would have made against Lewis.