SaadOffTheDeck wrote:Bowe dropped the belt in the trash because a holyfield rematch was more money.after everything Lewis accomplished people forget that he wasn't near the draw or name that evander was then. Holyfield/Ruddock was the expected fight.
Bowe was afraid of Lewis as wasn't afraid of Holyfield... Bowe was so broke at the end of his career he allowed himself to be kicked to pieces by an unknown kickboxer... A Lewis fight would have put a lot of stash in the bank -- and it's not as if you can't fight BOTH Lewis AND Holyfield if money is your foremost agenda... Holyfield had 7 fights with Bowe, Lewis, and Tyson -- and that paid for a lot of his illegitimate children.
Lewis did it right... He couldn't get some scared assed opponents to fight him... but he socked his money into good investments and didn't father 12 kids.
Eclectic response....but very little "there" there. Bowe was not afraid of Lewis.....not one bit.....but was afraid of losing a bigger payday....and went in the direction that 99.99% of all professionals would go.....toward the green. While showing some disrespect to a competitor he cared very little about. Behavior that was pretty explainable in terms other than fear.
golden oldie wrote:The theory there being money was / is more important, than prestige. How convenient when it suits a particular agenda.
And of course American promoters simply DIDN'T have agendas where NON American fighters were concerned did they?
Not a theory, that's what happened. I don't have an agenda. As for the anti-american rhetoric.
There is no rhetoric at all. You must live on a different universe if you deny that King did EVERYTHING in his power to freeze Lewis out of the running after he lost the title to McCall in 94. His very next fight was a title eliminator, but King got his little Mexican puppet to dance to his tune, and kept Lewis out until February 97.
As for your frankly laughable excuses about Bowe chasing the " green " rather than face Lewis. That might ring true, if Bowe hadn't ended up with less than the proverbial pot to piss in, whilst Lewis is worth well over a 100 million dollars.
elmersalsa wrote:He, the great Evander Holyfield, was pretty small in my view if he was using steroids. All those guys were bigger than he, steroids or not.
well, in all fairness, if there ever was
a boxer (aside of shannon briggs),
who looked like he roided, it was the
evander.
When i see Holyfield being ignored when the top 10 heavyweights of all time are being spoken about, i think he's being immensely underrated. If he doesnt make top 10 he is there and there abouts.
Gonzalez didn't beat up Lewis, he edged him out in a close one and Lewis beat him up in the second fight
Bricks wrote:Kalans points are very valid. We often dismiss the psychological aspect of boxing.
Although I think a focused and right Bowe would beat Lewis every time. I think the Golota fights really damaged Bowe psychologically, and seeing Lewis just annihilate him would have possibly imo had an effect on Bowe.
A counterpoint is Jorge Luis Gonzala beat up Bowe and Lewis very badly in the amateurs and had a swaggering confidence yet Bowe went back in and crushed him
dawudbryant wrote:Gonzalez didn't beat up Lewis, he edged him out in a close one and Lewis beat him up in the second fight
Bricks wrote:Kalans points are very valid. We often dismiss the psychological aspect of boxing.
Although I think a focused and right Bowe would beat Lewis every time. I think the Golota fights really damaged Bowe psychologically, and seeing Lewis just annihilate him would have possibly imo had an effect on Bowe.
A counterpoint is Jorge Luis Gonzala beat up Bowe and Lewis very badly in the amateurs and had a swaggering confidence yet Bowe went back in and crushed him
Actually neither Gonzalez nor Lewis "beat up" each other. But Gonzalez beat up Bowe really, REALLY bad. Not bullshit standing "knockdowns" like in Lewis - Bowe Olympic final, but 4 real knockdowns, one of which looked more like a brutal KO - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vR3k71ogKmY
elmersalsa wrote:He, the great Evander Holyfield, was pretty small in my view if he was using steroids. All those guys were bigger than he, steroids or not.
well, in all fairness, if there ever was
a boxer (aside of shannon briggs),
who looked like he roided, it was the
evander.
Bruno ?
hear you. still think evander tops
it especially with this neck bulks.
Great, thanks for the link, Bowe well and truly avenged it though as a pro
Boxing Writer wrote:
dawudbryant wrote:Gonzalez didn't beat up Lewis, he edged him out in a close one and Lewis beat him up in the second fight
Bricks wrote:Kalans points are very valid. We often dismiss the psychological aspect of boxing.
Although I think a focused and right Bowe would beat Lewis every time. I think the Golota fights really damaged Bowe psychologically, and seeing Lewis just annihilate him would have possibly imo had an effect on Bowe.
A counterpoint is Jorge Luis Gonzala beat up Bowe and Lewis very badly in the amateurs and had a swaggering confidence yet Bowe went back in and crushed him
Actually neither Gonzalez nor Lewis "beat up" each other. But Gonzalez beat up Bowe really, REALLY bad. Not bullshit standing "knockdowns" like in Lewis - Bowe Olympic final, but 4 real knockdowns, one of which looked more like a brutal KO - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vR3k71ogKmY
I just think the title of this thread is an oxymoron.....UNLESS he was juicing.
Based on performance alone, this guy was a warrior who proved folks wrong time and time again and never showed an ounce of fear or anything less than 100% commitment. He was the definition of confidence in the ring.
Not sure a guy like that can be over rated.
If I rate him as a Cruiser he is easily #1......And probably in the top 10 of HW's as well. Or very close to top 10.
