Mike Tyson v Riddick Bowe

[IRLangmaid25]

Quite simple Tyson v Bowe? probably one of the biggest fights of all time that never happened, who would have won and why?

[dempseyfire]

Prime for prime Tyson by KO. If it's the 1991 Tyson vs Bowe, about a 50/50 fight. Bowe's tool-chest would give Mike tons of problems but Bowe's defense was simply too wide open . .I can see Tyson stopping Bowe around the late-middle rounds while down on the scorecards.

[fightscorecollector]

Prime for prime Tyson by brutal ko.

[Vladimir5555]

Bowe TKO 11

[BoxBuzz]

The opposite of Dempseyfire on this one.

Bowe at his best, is too much for Tyson. But once again...like I always say about Bowe.....you gotta catch him in that very short prime that he had. So the clock favors Tyson for the most part.

[BRITIANO187]

IT MATTERS WHICH BOWE THAT WOULD SHOW UP AND IN SHAPE FOR THE FIGHT. AND IF TYSON WOULD BE IN SHAPE AND FOCUSED. BUT IF THEY BOTH WHERE FOUGHT IN THOSE CONDITIONS IT COULD EITHER GO WITH BOWE BY DECISION OR TYSON WITH A LATE OR MID ROUNDS KNOCKOUT. BUT I WOULD HAVE RATHER SEEN THAT FIGHT MORE THAN ANY HEAVYWEIGHT FIGHT THAT DIDNT HAPPEN IN THE 90S. CUZ MIKE TYSON IN HIS PRIME WAS SO FUROCIOUS AND QUICK AND BOWE WITH THAT LONG JAB AND HEART OF A LION BRAWLING STYLE (WELL WHEN HE WAS IN SHAPE)

[SaadOffTheDeck]

Prime for Prime, Bowe by brutal KO. He has the jab to keep Mike at bay from a distance, the heart to survive inevitable trouble and he was a much better in-fighter.

[gilgamesh]

I'd take Bowe by KO around the 8th or 9th round.

[Controversial]

Bowe was a good fighter but I can't see him beating a prime Tyson. Tyson was mid fight stoppage.

[dempseyfire]

Whenever Bowe fought someone with a punch he found himself in trouble (Hide, Golota) . . .even Evander who was a fair but not knockout puncher hurt him numerous times and would've stopped him in their rubber match if his gas tank wasn't emptied by Hepatitis.

[Bobbyptsd]

In their respective primes, Bowe with a clear win, if not a late stoppage.

But as Buzz alluded to, it was a short prime. If They are out of their primes, I might actually lean more towards Tyson, feeling like he showed more heart later on, or something like that if I'm making any sense.

[SaadOffTheDeck]

Whenever Bowe fought someone with a punch he found himself in trouble (Hide, Golota) . . .even Evander who was a fair but not knockout puncher hurt him numerous times and would've stopped him in their rubber match if his gas tank wasn't emptied by Hepatitis.

[Duch]

Bowe, no doubt

Whenever Bowe fought someone with a punch he found himself in trouble (Hide, Golota) . . .even Evander who was a fair but not knockout puncher hurt him numerous times and would've stopped him in their rubber match if his gas tank wasn't emptied by Hepatitis.

They didn't knock him out. He could take all of punches from Golota or Evander and still fight back even though he was much worse in the 2nd and 3rd fight with Holyfield and definitely out of his prime during fights with Golota. On the other hand Holyfield won with Tyson by TKO in the 11th round. Moreover, Tyson lost his title with Douglas because of KO in the 10th round.

If you say that Tyson was out his prime then, then you must also look the same at Bowe's fights with Holyfield and for sure with Golota. And even though he was out of his prime he could take all these punches. He was tough.

[Flump]

Whenever Bowe fought someone with a punch he found himself in trouble (Hide, Golota) . . .even Evander who was a fair but not knockout puncher hurt him numerous times and would've stopped him in their rubber match if his gas tank wasn't emptied by Hepatitis.

What's this revisionist stuff about Hide against Bowe I've been seeing on here lately? Hide landed a couple of shots that got Bowe's attention, that's it. As soon as Bowe got near him Hide was flopping around like a sheet in the wind, it was embarrasing to watch.

As for Bowe v Tyson, prime for prime I fancy Tyson to take him out mid rounds, but I definitely wouldn't rule Bowe out.

[SaadOffTheDeck]

Whenever Bowe fought someone with a punch he found himself in trouble (Hide, Golota) . . .even Evander who was a fair but not knockout puncher hurt him numerous times and would've stopped him in their rubber match if his gas tank wasn't emptied by Hepatitis.

What's this revisionist stuff about Hide against Bowe I've been seeing on here lately? Hide landed a couple of shots that got Bowe's attention, that's it. As soon as Bowe got near him Hide was flopping around like a sheet in the wind, it was embarrasing to watch.

Almost as outlandish as Holyfield not being a knockout puncher.

[The Great John L]

How anyone could see Bowe winning this is beyond me. I think it's just a gut reaction due to the media hype that Bowe got throughout his career. Exactly who did Bowe ever fight that was a big puncher? He ran away from the hard punching Lewis who rang his bell in the Olympics because he and his handlers knew he didn't need to take the risk because the US fans and media annointed him despite the thin resume.

Bowe had a horrible defense which is why he was matched so carefully. And blocking punches with your face is suicide against a prime Tyson. This one doesn't go past 3.

[SaadOffTheDeck]

And who did Tyson ever beat in Bowe's class? Oh yeah, nobody.

[The Great John L]

And who did Tyson ever beat in Bowe's class? Oh yeah, nobody.

And what do you mean by class? That’s a very subjective term. I've got Bowe in my top 20 based on his size and apparent skills, but his ring accomplishments certainly aren't comparable to most other ATG HWs, and his carefully managed career should raise questions about his obvious shortcomings.

I'm talking about the match in regards to styles. Bowe was an excellent offensive fighter but not a big puncher. His greatest failing was his defense which was pedestrian at best, and at times appeared porous. Tyson fought quite a few tall and skilled boxers and beat most of them quite easily. Yes he lost to Douglas which certainly could be considered in this matchup, but Buster was a very good defensive fighter. His biggest failing was his lack of desire and conditioning, which wasn’t a weakness for Bowe.

When you’ve got two top HWs styles play a major part, and Bowes obvious defensive shortcomings would have been nearly impossible for him to overcome. And while Bowe obviously had a good chin, he just didn’t have a deep enough resume to really know how good it actually was. As I mentioned, it’s pretty obvious that his management kept him away from the bigger punchers in the division.

[Roco]

Doesn't matter which Bowe turns up for me. His defence is not good enough to withstand Tyson.

Bowe's heart here could contribute to him getting seriously hurt.

[SaadOffTheDeck]

And who did Tyson ever beat in Bowe's class? Oh yeah, nobody.

And what do you mean by class? That’s a very subjective term. I've got Bowe in my top 20 based on his size and apparent skills, but his ring accomplishments certainly aren't comparable to most other ATG HWs, and his carefully managed career should raise questions about his obvious shortcomings.

I'm talking about the match in regards to styles. Bowe was an excellent offensive fighter but not a big puncher. His greatest failing was his defense which was pedestrian at best, and at times appeared porous. Tyson fought quite a few tall and skilled boxers and beat most of them quite easily. Yes he lost to Douglas which certainly could be considered in this matchup, but Buster was a very good defensive fighter. His biggest failing was his lack of desire and conditioning, which wasn’t a weakness for Bowe.

When you’ve got two top HWs styles play a major part, and Bowes obvious defensive shortcomings would have been nearly impossible for him to overcome. And while Bowe obviously had a good chin, he just didn’t have a deep enough resume to really know how good it actually was. As I mentioned, it’s pretty obvious that his management kept him away from the bigger punchers in the division.

His ring accomplishments exceed any Heavyweight that Tyson ever defeated. Stylistically the fight favors Bowe imo, by a large margin. Bowe wasn't a big puncher? That's just silly.

[Heartbreak_Kid79]

And who did Tyson ever beat in Bowe's class? Oh yeah, nobody.

Tyson has been severely knocked for quality of his opponents.... but theres still some impressive results.
Michael Spinks only ever lost to Tyson by a brutal KO in under a minute. Spinks was regarded the linear heavyweight at the time, and had a very successful career.

Though Larry Holmes was past his best, Mike is still the only guy to ever KO him. Holmes was good enough to work his way back into another couple of world titles several years AFTER Tyson demolished him. A 42 year old holmes was still standing at the end, unscathed against Evander Holyfield.

Tyson lost his focus when his original management (Jim Jacobs passed away) / training team (Jevin Ronney fired) folded, and he replaced them with yes-men.

Bowe vs 1991 Tyson is a close call.
I would favour the 1988 Tyson over Bowe however

[SaadOffTheDeck]

Holmes was much better against Mercer & Holyfield than he was against Tyson. I'm not shitting on Mike, it's just clear he never beat a heavyweight of Bowe's caliber where as Riddick arguably beat one much better than Mike 3 times.

[The Great John L]

His ring accomplishments exceed any Heavyweight that Tyson ever defeated. Stylistically the fight favors Bowe imo, by a large margin. Bowe wasn't a big puncher? That's just silly.

Bowe was a good puncher, not a great one, although with his weak opposition I can understand why you think he was a big puncher.

And I suppose you think Bowe was a very good defensive fighter as well?

[SaadOffTheDeck]

No, neither was Tyson. They were both big punchers. Not sure which one hit harder.

[The Great John L]

Holmes was much better against Mercer & Holyfield than he was against Tyson. I'm not shitting on Mike, it's just clear he never beat a heavyweight of Bowe's caliber where as Riddick arguably beat one much better than Mike 3 times.

I guess you're saying Holyfield here and you believe that Bowe should have gotten the nod in their second fight?

And you're right Tyson did not beat anyone as good as Holyfield, but he did something better. He beat everybody in the division of any consequence and didn't avoid anybody. It's a lot harder to win 10 fights in a row against a group of very good HWs than it is to take 2 of 3 against one great HW because it shows the ability to beat a variety of different styles. If you don't understand that then you're not only missing a major aspect of boxing, and just about any other sport as well.

Outside of Holyfield, Bowe's resume almost makes Wlads look top notch. Hell using your logic you could justify that Mike Spinks would beat a prime Tyson because he beat Holmes twice and Holmes was better than anyone Tyson ever beat. Might as well throw Willie Meehan in the argument as well.

As I said I've got Bowe in my top 20 AT HWs, but his defense was so pedestrian it's hard to picture him beating any big punchers without a glass jaw.