Tyson Fury vs. Oleksandr Usyk | PPV - 18 May 2024

[coneye]

Mmmm is this gonna be Furys excuse

[BigDoofus]

Mmmm is this gonna be Furys excuse

We just need big lennox to confirm it and Teddy's toupee to fantasize about a hairy arsehole and it will become FACT.

[big lennox]

I generally think that Bowe would have beaten the pre-Stewart version of Lennox Lewis. That they didn’t fight is a much more significant loss to heavyweight history than Fury and Joshua not fighting each other.

I agree, and have always thought so. Bowe was a very complete fighter at that stage, and had all the physical tool to boot, whilst Lewis still had some bad habíts.

Bowe would have exposed them.

The thing is Eddie Futch told Emmanual Steward he thought Lewis would walk through Bowe. And Lennox did actually walk through Bowe in the amateurs. And he did walk through Golota in a round a few months after Golota had retired Bowe.

Bowe matched up well against Holyfield who liked to fight inside. He arguably lost against Tubbs when a past prime Tubbs boxed him. He lost to Holyfield when Holyfield boxed instead of slugged. And he lost to Golota simply because Golota simply jabbed him in the face. Okay he didn't technically lose, but he did to the fans

And you think Bowe with those limitations is beating Lenny the Lion, nah, not having it

I think the Bowe that boxed Golota in the first and second fights was finished. His balance was awful and I think the Holyfield fights and going up and down in weights had taken their toll on him.

I still remember the shock of hearing Bowe speak after the second Golota fight. It was suddenly very slurred.

Bowe is a wasted talent. He was sensational in the first Holyfield fight and still amazing in their next two fights.

With more discipline, he could have achieved even more. I would have loved to have seen the Bowe in the first Holyfield fight vs Lennox. Bowe had a lot of heart, so it would have been competitive. A great pity it didn't happen, and it does taint Bowe's legacy.

That's why it is so important that Fury vs Uysk happens.

Thank goodness for the Saudi money, because before that came along Fury was doing the most tremendous impression of someone who didn't fancy taking on Uysk, hence former World Champions like Johnny Nelson saying they didn't think Fury believed he could beat Uysk..

Perhaps that was why there was only 68k US pay per view buys for Fury vs Ngannou, despite a £500m marketing campaign.

[Riddick Bowie]

The thing is Eddie Futch told Emmanual Steward he thought Lewis would walk through Bowe. And Lennox did actually walk through Bowe in the amateurs. And he did walk through Golota in a round a few months after Golota had retired Bowe.

Bowe matched up well against Holyfield who liked to fight inside. He arguably lost against Tubbs when a past prime Tubbs boxed him. He lost to Holyfield when Holyfield boxed instead of slugged. And he lost to Golota simply because Golota simply jabbed him in the face. Okay he didn't technically lose, but he did to the fans

And you think Bowe with those limitations is beating Lenny the Lion, nah, not having it

When did Eddie Futch make such a remark? Sounds like bullshit in what is a very biased post that misses a great deal of nuance. For one, Lewis did not "walk through" Bowe. Bowe hurt Lewis, Lewis hurt Bowe, the ref prematurely stopped it in Lewis' favour. That result has no bearing on a later pro fight anymore than Tyrell Biggs beating Lewis in 84 does, or Tillman beating Tyson twice the same year, or Jorge Gonzalez walking through Bowe in 87.

Bowe looked great against a prime Evander Holyfield, Lewis was not able to look great against a faded, nearly 40 year old Holyfield. A large section of the press scored the rematch for the ancient Holyfield.

Bowe's bad habits caught up with him against Golota, Lewis taking out the crazy Pole in 1 doesn't make Lewis a lock to beat Bowe retroactively. If your thing is looking at one fighter hypercritically and the other one with rose tinted glasses then you're never going to make a compelling argument. If you want to talk about "limitations" why not look at Lennox being outjabbed by Bruno and Mercer, getting splattered by McCall and Rahman, and quickly retiring rather than risk tangling with Vitali a second time?

[The Gratest]

Mmmm is this gonna be Furys excuse

We just need big lennox to confirm it and Teddy's toupee to fantasize about a hairy arsehole and it will become FACT.

Lying and now potty mouthing. Deary me John, you really are having a tough time lately.
You need to stop lashing out just because SugarHill has banned you from Tyson's training camp for being a melt.

[jamesmcdonnell]

The thing is Eddie Futch told Emmanual Steward he thought Lewis would walk through Bowe. And Lennox did actually walk through Bowe in the amateurs. And he did walk through Golota in a round a few months after Golota had retired Bowe.

Bowe matched up well against Holyfield who liked to fight inside. He arguably lost against Tubbs when a past prime Tubbs boxed him. He lost to Holyfield when Holyfield boxed instead of slugged. And he lost to Golota simply because Golota simply jabbed him in the face. Okay he didn't technically lose, but he did to the fans

And you think Bowe with those limitations is beating Lenny the Lion, nah, not having it

When did Eddie Futch make such a remark? Sounds like bullshit in what is a very biased post that misses a great deal of nuance. For one, Lewis did not "walk through" Bowe. Bowe hurt Lewis, Lewis hurt Bowe, the ref prematurely stopped it in Lewis' favour. That result has no bearing on a later pro fight anymore than Tyrell Biggs beating Lewis in 84 does, or Tillman beating Tyson twice the same year, or Jorge Gonzalez walking through Bowe in 87.

Bowe looked great against a prime Evander Holyfield, Lewis was not able to look great against a faded, nearly 40 year old Holyfield. A large section of the press scored the rematch for the ancient Holyfield.

Bowe's bad habits caught up with him against Golota, Lewis taking out the crazy Pole in 1 doesn't make Lewis a lock to beat Bowe retroactively. If your thing is looking at one fighter hypercritically and the other one with rose tinted glasses then you're never going to make a compelling argument. If you want to talk about "limitations" why not look at Lennox being outjabbed by Bruno and Mercer, getting splattered by McCall and Rahman, and quickly retiring rather than risk tangling with Vitali a second time?

Eddie Futch said that Bowe was the most naturally talented fighter he ever trained. I find it extremely hard to believe he would have said Lewis would have walked through him.

Bowe dominated Holyfield in fight 1, and was getting on top in fight 2, when the fanman shite happened, which I think favoured Holyfield as it gave him time to recover.

Bowe's prime was short, and by the golota fight he was already well on the slide - his own fault, but nevertheless it's a fact.

I'd have picked Bowe to find an uppercut on the inside to hurt Lewis and finish him off had they met in Bowe's prime, it's a crying shame we never got that fight.

[BigDoofus]

Thank goodness for the Saudi money, because before that came along Fury was doing the most tremendous impression of someone who didn't fancy taking on Uysk, hence former World Champions like Johnny Nelson saying they didn't think Fury believed he could beat Uysk..

Fury’s team made 2 offers to Usyk. Usyk claimed he was “injured” for the first and walked away from the second.
What did Usyk’s team do to try and make the fight?

The same Johnny Nelson that claims he was better than Usyk?

[The Gratest]

John, you got caught out lying earlier this week. Give it a rest now, you're embarrassing yourself.

[Riddick Bowie]

The thing is Eddie Futch told Emmanual Steward he thought Lewis would walk through Bowe. And Lennox did actually walk through Bowe in the amateurs. And he did walk through Golota in a round a few months after Golota had retired Bowe.

Bowe matched up well against Holyfield who liked to fight inside. He arguably lost against Tubbs when a past prime Tubbs boxed him. He lost to Holyfield when Holyfield boxed instead of slugged. And he lost to Golota simply because Golota simply jabbed him in the face. Okay he didn't technically lose, but he did to the fans

And you think Bowe with those limitations is beating Lenny the Lion, nah, not having it

When did Eddie Futch make such a remark? Sounds like bullshit in what is a very biased post that misses a great deal of nuance. For one, Lewis did not "walk through" Bowe. Bowe hurt Lewis, Lewis hurt Bowe, the ref prematurely stopped it in Lewis' favour. That result has no bearing on a later pro fight anymore than Tyrell Biggs beating Lewis in 84 does, or Tillman beating Tyson twice the same year, or Jorge Gonzalez walking through Bowe in 87.

Bowe looked great against a prime Evander Holyfield, Lewis was not able to look great against a faded, nearly 40 year old Holyfield. A large section of the press scored the rematch for the ancient Holyfield.

Bowe's bad habits caught up with him against Golota, Lewis taking out the crazy Pole in 1 doesn't make Lewis a lock to beat Bowe retroactively. If your thing is looking at one fighter hypercritically and the other one with rose tinted glasses then you're never going to make a compelling argument. If you want to talk about "limitations" why not look at Lennox being outjabbed by Bruno and Mercer, getting splattered by McCall and Rahman, and quickly retiring rather than risk tangling with Vitali a second time?

Eddie Futch said that Bowe was the most naturally talented fighter he ever trained. I find it extremely hard to believe he would have said Lewis would have walked through him.

Bowe dominated Holyfield in fight 1, and was getting on top in fight 2, when the fanman shite happened, which I think favoured Holyfield as it gave him time to recover.

Bowe's prime was short, and by the golota fight he was already well on the slide - his own fault, but nevertheless it's a fact.

I'd have picked Bowe to find an uppercut on the inside to hurt Lewis and finish him off had they met in Bowe's prime, it's a crying shame we never got that fight.

I agree; it's also a crying shame no one remembers Bowe and Lewis signing to fight in 94, the narrative is only ever 'Bowe never wanted to fight Lewis'. It was Lewis who blew it by losing to McCall, Bowe fulfilled his end of the bargain by bashing Donald. Ah well.

[Phenomenal-Nutrition]

The thing is Eddie Futch told Emmanual Steward he thought Lewis would walk through Bowe. And Lennox did actually walk through Bowe in the amateurs. And he did walk through Golota in a round a few months after Golota had retired Bowe.

Bowe matched up well against Holyfield who liked to fight inside. He arguably lost against Tubbs when a past prime Tubbs boxed him. He lost to Holyfield when Holyfield boxed instead of slugged. And he lost to Golota simply because Golota simply jabbed him in the face. Okay he didn't technically lose, but he did to the fans

And you think Bowe with those limitations is beating Lenny the Lion, nah, not having it

When did Eddie Futch make such a remark? Sounds like bullshit in what is a very biased post that misses a great deal of nuance. For one, Lewis did not "walk through" Bowe. Bowe hurt Lewis, Lewis hurt Bowe, the ref prematurely stopped it in Lewis' favour. That result has no bearing on a later pro fight anymore than Tyrell Biggs beating Lewis in 84 does, or Tillman beating Tyson twice the same year, or Jorge Gonzalez walking through Bowe in 87.

Bowe looked great against a prime Evander Holyfield, Lewis was not able to look great against a faded, nearly 40 year old Holyfield. A large section of the press scored the rematch for the ancient Holyfield.

Bowe's bad habits caught up with him against Golota, Lewis taking out the crazy Pole in 1 doesn't make Lewis a lock to beat Bowe retroactively. If your thing is looking at one fighter hypercritically and the other one with rose tinted glasses then you're never going to make a compelling argument. If you want to talk about "limitations" why not look at Lennox being outjabbed by Bruno and Mercer, getting splattered by McCall and Rahman, and quickly retiring rather than risk tangling with Vitali a second time?

Do you think Emanuel Steward is a liar?

'I was with Eddie Futch one day and he, and his wife, and I were together in Las Vegas just sitting at a little coffee shop. I asked him about the Riddick Bowe fight when he threw away the belt rather than fight Lennox. He said, “Emanuel that was my doing. It was my decision because what happened in the ’88 Olympics, I always felt if they fought professionally it would have been the same thing. Even though Bowe was good, Lennox was always such a physically strong and mentally strong big kid, that eventually he would have still overpowered Bowe again because he was just that type of a rough guy”.'

Source: The Legacy Of Lennox Lewis With Emanuel Steward • East Side Boxing • News Archives (https://www.boxing247.com/weblog/archives/139128

I've seen the video of the quote too but I couldn't put my hands on it.

Anyway yes Lewis did offer Bowe coming off the Holyfield loss with no belts a title shot for 60-40 split. Compare that to:

"The WBC gave Bowe and Lewis until December 13 to reach an agreement or the fight would go to a purse bid. If Bowe refused to meet Lewis, the WBC title would be awarded to Lewis. Rock Newman, Bowe's manager, made two offers to Lewis. The first would have guaranteed Lewis $3 million, while giving Bowe 90% of the purse and Lewis 10%. The second offer was for Lewis to refuse the WBC title, have an interim fight in the United States for $2.5 million, and then fight Bowe for $9 million or a percentage to be negotiated. Frank Maloney, the manager of Lewis, rejected both offers and countered with his own proposal: a 75-25 percent split of the purse. Newman turned it down. Maloney later had a change of heart and agreed to the first offer, but Newman told him he was too late. Newman said a deal for Bowe to defend the title against an opponent other than Lewis was imminent.

As for knocking Lewis for his efforts against Bruno, Mercer, McCall and Rahman. Well Lennox took on all comers, while Bowe took on dross Holyfield aside.

[Phenomenal-Nutrition]

I agree, and have always thought so. Bowe was a very complete fighter at that stage, and had all the physical tool to boot, whilst Lewis still had some bad habíts.

Bowe would have exposed them.

The thing is Eddie Futch told Emmanual Steward he thought Lewis would walk through Bowe. And Lennox did actually walk through Bowe in the amateurs. And he did walk through Golota in a round a few months after Golota had retired Bowe.

Bowe matched up well against Holyfield who liked to fight inside. He arguably lost against Tubbs when a past prime Tubbs boxed him. He lost to Holyfield when Holyfield boxed instead of slugged. And he lost to Golota simply because Golota simply jabbed him in the face. Okay he didn't technically lose, but he did to the fans

And you think Bowe with those limitations is beating Lenny the Lion, nah, not having it

len got the win over bow in the ams but he certainly didnt walk through him, he was getting it put on him and getting well beat until turning the fight with a big shot in the 2nd. and it's not like bowe was levelled, it was one of those that would never come close to being a stoppage in the pros, and bowe was known for his recovery as a pro

not saying it wasnt a legit win, because they are very cautious in am boxing, but hardly len walking over him and showing that it woulda happened in the early 90s too

Nah he wasn't getting well beat. Lenny was winning everything on the outside. Bowe was winning everything on the inside. That's pretty much how it'd go in the pros. Lewis wins everything outside, Bowe gets the better of it inside. Also I've rewatched it and Bowe looked a bit out of it to me when it was stopped.

As for powers of recovery, well sure but against who? Because Holyfield didn't have upper tier power. Bowe was kept away from punchers in the pros. Didn't face Lewis, Foreman, Rudduck, Morrison, Bruno, McCall. He'd beat the latter boxers most likely, but we haven't seen him in with big punchers. Bowe said the guy who hit him the hardest was Herbie Hide, for the record.

[big lennox]

It could well be that Lewis had Bowe's measure and that's why Bowe's team, on the face of it, kept them apart. Sadly, the only way of knowing the outcome is seeing them box and it never happened.

I've always been a big fan of Lewis. I loved his willingness to take on all comers.

Bowe was talented though and, whether he was badly advised or through poor decisions, I think his career could have been so much more.

Even a loss to Lennox would have enhanced his career because it would have shown his willingness to take risks.

[Phenomenal-Nutrition]

I agree, and have always thought so. Bowe was a very complete fighter at that stage, and had all the physical tool to boot, whilst Lewis still had some bad habíts.

Bowe would have exposed them.

The thing is Eddie Futch told Emmanual Steward he thought Lewis would walk through Bowe. And Lennox did actually walk through Bowe in the amateurs. And he did walk through Golota in a round a few months after Golota had retired Bowe.

Bowe matched up well against Holyfield who liked to fight inside. He arguably lost against Tubbs when a past prime Tubbs boxed him. He lost to Holyfield when Holyfield boxed instead of slugged. And he lost to Golota simply because Golota simply jabbed him in the face. Okay he didn't technically lose, but he did to the fans

And you think Bowe with those limitations is beating Lenny the Lion, nah, not having it

I think the Bowe that boxed Golota in the first and second fights was finished. His balance was awful and I think the Holyfield fights and going up and down in weights had taken their toll on him.

I still remember the shock of hearing Bowe speak after the second Golota fight. It was suddenly very slurred.

Bowe is a wasted talent. He was sensational in the first Holyfield fight and still amazing in their next two fights.

With more discipline, he could have achieved even more. I would have loved to have seen the Bowe in the first Holyfield fight vs Lennox. Bowe had a lot of heart, so it would have been competitive. A great pity it didn't happen, and it does taint Bowe's legacy.

That's why it is so important that Fury vs Uysk happens.

Thank goodness for the Saudi money, because before that came along Fury was doing the most tremendous impression of someone who didn't fancy taking on Uysk, hence former World Champions like Johnny Nelson saying they didn't think Fury believed he could beat Uysk..

Perhaps that was why there was only 68k US pay per view buys for Fury vs Ngannou, despite a £500m marketing campaign.

The first Golota fight Bowe was out of shape. I think before the fight he said 'why I should I get in shape for these bums' or something to that effect. But then again Golota was the best SHW jabber he'd faced upto that stage and the fastest super HW hands. The second 1 he was in better shape and apparently even dehdrated himself to lose weight. Maybe Golota's style was all wrong for him either way. Maybe those fights ruined both men to a certain extent because they were both so brutal.

Bowe at times had good punch slipping ability in some of his early fights. But I think he couldn't be bothered to try and slip punches sometimes, like it was too much effort. So instead he just walked forward and took a punch to land a punch. He did that against pretty much everyone and it worked until someone had an answer for it.

[SeanBrennan]

do you think the fight is at risk due to regional tensions?

There's already a thread about what Fury's weight will be mate.

ah sorry, thanks for flagging mate

[polecateddy]

Bowe rode at his highest when schooling Larry Donald, who had outclassed Jeremy Williams and was being lauded for his Larry Holmes jab and of course Gonzalez, the Cuban with wins over Bowe and Lewis in the amateurs. At that time Bowe was the best heavyweight on the planet. But definitely shot against Golata. Bowe crashed form quickly and was done in those fights.

[SeanBrennan]

Bowe rode at his highest when schooling Larry Donald, who had outclassed Jeremy Williams and was being lauded for his Larry Holmes jab and of course Gonzalez, the Cuban with wins over Bowe and Lewis in the amateurs. At that time Bowe was the best heavyweight on the planet. But definitely shot against Golata. Bowe crashed form quickly and was done in those fights.

is there a broadly known reason why he refused to fight Lewis in the pros. I remember him lobbing the belt in a bin but that was just a photo when I was a nipper.

[Riddick Bowie]

Bowe rode at his highest when schooling Larry Donald, who had outclassed Jeremy Williams and was being lauded for his Larry Holmes jab and of course Gonzalez, the Cuban with wins over Bowe and Lewis in the amateurs. At that time Bowe was the best heavyweight on the planet. But definitely shot against Golata. Bowe crashed form quickly and was done in those fights.

is there a broadly known reason why he refused to fight Lewis in the pros. I remember him lobbing the belt in a bin but that was just a photo when I was a nipper.

Lewis beat Ruddock and Bowe beat Holyfield and the two were meant to fight each other next.

Bowe was a dopey guy who would do what he's told and fight anyone, however, Rock Newman was at war with the WBC and having reached the summit and holding the most valuable prize in sports wasn't going to put his cash cow in with Lennox Lewis after a brutal war with Holyfield. Any manager who would do so is a fool. So he staged the trash can stunt to portray Lewis as a garbage champ while he milked the belts. 10m vs Dokes!

In 1994 they signed to fight for a TVKO mega fight in 95 but Lewis blew it when he lost to McCall.

Bowe, Newman and HBO tried to entice Lewis into a fight I'm 1996 but with Tyson mega millions available Lewis declined and they fought Golota and Mercer respectively, bad moves for both men in hindsight.

[Riddick Bowie]

The thing is Eddie Futch told Emmanual Steward he thought Lewis would walk through Bowe. And Lennox did actually walk through Bowe in the amateurs. And he did walk through Golota in a round a few months after Golota had retired Bowe.

Bowe matched up well against Holyfield who liked to fight inside. He arguably lost against Tubbs when a past prime Tubbs boxed him. He lost to Holyfield when Holyfield boxed instead of slugged. And he lost to Golota simply because Golota simply jabbed him in the face. Okay he didn't technically lose, but he did to the fans

And you think Bowe with those limitations is beating Lenny the Lion, nah, not having it

len got the win over bow in the ams but he certainly didnt walk through him, he was getting it put on him and getting well beat until turning the fight with a big shot in the 2nd. and it's not like bowe was levelled, it was one of those that would never come close to being a stoppage in the pros, and bowe was known for his recovery as a pro

not saying it wasnt a legit win, because they are very cautious in am boxing, but hardly len walking over him and showing that it woulda happened in the early 90s too

Nah he wasn't getting well beat. Lenny was winning everything on the outside. Bowe was winning everything on the inside. That's pretty much how it'd go in the pros. Lewis wins everything outside, Bowe gets the better of it inside. Also I've rewatched it and Bowe looked a bit out of it to me when it was stopped.

As for powers of recovery, well sure but against who? Because Holyfield didn't have upper tier power. Bowe was kept away from punchers in the pros. Didn't face Lewis, Foreman, Rudduck, Morrison, Bruno, McCall. He'd beat the latter boxers most likely, but we haven't seen him in with big punchers. Bowe said the guy who hit him the hardest was Herbie Hide, for the record.

Bowe signed to fight Lewis, Mercer and tried to fight Morrison but Lewis got KOd by McCall, Mercer lost to Ferguson and Morrison opted to fight Lewis instead of Bowe, then took a Bentt tune up which nixed that fight.

[SeanBrennan]

thanks both, much appreciated re context and explanation. Amazing and horrific to think Bowe still fighting now.

[Riddick Bowie]

The thing is Eddie Futch told Emmanual Steward he thought Lewis would walk through Bowe. And Lennox did actually walk through Bowe in the amateurs. And he did walk through Golota in a round a few months after Golota had retired Bowe.

Bowe matched up well against Holyfield who liked to fight inside. He arguably lost against Tubbs when a past prime Tubbs boxed him. He lost to Holyfield when Holyfield boxed instead of slugged. And he lost to Golota simply because Golota simply jabbed him in the face. Okay he didn't technically lose, but he did to the fans

And you think Bowe with those limitations is beating Lenny the Lion, nah, not having it

When did Eddie Futch make such a remark? Sounds like bullshit in what is a very biased post that misses a great deal of nuance. For one, Lewis did not "walk through" Bowe. Bowe hurt Lewis, Lewis hurt Bowe, the ref prematurely stopped it in Lewis' favour. That result has no bearing on a later pro fight anymore than Tyrell Biggs beating Lewis in 84 does, or Tillman beating Tyson twice the same year, or Jorge Gonzalez walking through Bowe in 87.

Bowe looked great against a prime Evander Holyfield, Lewis was not able to look great against a faded, nearly 40 year old Holyfield. A large section of the press scored the rematch for the ancient Holyfield.

Bowe's bad habits caught up with him against Golota, Lewis taking out the crazy Pole in 1 doesn't make Lewis a lock to beat Bowe retroactively. If your thing is looking at one fighter hypercritically and the other one with rose tinted glasses then you're never going to make a compelling argument. If you want to talk about "limitations" why not look at Lennox being outjabbed by Bruno and Mercer, getting splattered by McCall and Rahman, and quickly retiring rather than risk tangling with Vitali a second time?

Do you think Emanuel Steward is a liar?

'I was with Eddie Futch one day and he, and his wife, and I were together in Las Vegas just sitting at a little coffee shop. I asked him about the Riddick Bowe fight when he threw away the belt rather than fight Lennox. He said, “Emanuel that was my doing. It was my decision because what happened in the ’88 Olympics, I always felt if they fought professionally it would have been the same thing. Even though Bowe was good, Lennox was always such a physically strong and mentally strong big kid, that eventually he would have still overpowered Bowe again because he was just that type of a rough guy”.'

Source: The Legacy Of Lennox Lewis With Emanuel Steward • East Side Boxing • News Archives (https://www.boxing247.com/weblog/archives/139128

I've seen the video of the quote too but I couldn't put my hands on it.

Anyway yes Lewis did offer Bowe coming off the Holyfield loss with no belts a title shot for 60-40 split. Compare that to:

"The WBC gave Bowe and Lewis until December 13 to reach an agreement or the fight would go to a purse bid. If Bowe refused to meet Lewis, the WBC title would be awarded to Lewis. Rock Newman, Bowe's manager, made two offers to Lewis. The first would have guaranteed Lewis $3 million, while giving Bowe 90% of the purse and Lewis 10%. The second offer was for Lewis to refuse the WBC title, have an interim fight in the United States for $2.5 million, and then fight Bowe for $9 million or a percentage to be negotiated. Frank Maloney, the manager of Lewis, rejected both offers and countered with his own proposal: a 75-25 percent split of the purse. Newman turned it down. Maloney later had a change of heart and agreed to the first offer, but Newman told him he was too late. Newman said a deal for Bowe to defend the title against an opponent other than Lewis was imminent.

As for knocking Lewis for his efforts against Bruno, Mercer, McCall and Rahman. Well Lennox took on all comers, while Bowe took on dross Holyfield aside.

Emmanuel Steward if he really said that was lying. Convenient he waited till long after Futch was dead to tell that tale. For one, it was Rock Newman and not Eddie Futch that opted not to make a first defence against Lewis.

When Steward was with Tucker, Moorer, Holyfield and McCall they were great, when he wasn't they were suddenly head cases. When he was with Lewis he was the best; when he was with Wlad, Wlad was better. I'm sure had he lived he'd be shilling whoever he was training now.

[Riddick Bowie]

Lewis of course ditched the WBA belt wanting a gimme vs Michael Grant rather than defend against his old sparring partner John Ruiz who he knew was handy; he ditched his IBF belt rather than fight slippery Byrd preferring to a Tyson rematch where he could further desecrate Iron Mike's corpse.

Lennox is always excused for dumping his belts and permitted all the context in the world; Bowe is blamed for dumping his belt and is afforded no context whatsoever.

[SeanBrennan]

Lewis of course ditched the WBA belt wanting a gimme vs Michael Grant rather than defend against his old sparring partner John Ruiz who he knew was handy; he ditched his IBF belt rather than fight slippery Byrd preferring to a Tyson rematch where he could further desecrate Iron Mike's corpse.

Lennox is always excused for dumping his belts and permitted all the context in the world; Bowe is blamed for dumping his belt and is afforded no context whatsoever.

surely Lewis was never trying to dodge a Ruiz fight? He got sparked by Tua who Lewis pretty much humiliated. t

[The Docker]

Lewis of course ditched the WBA belt wanting a gimme vs Michael Grant rather than defend against his old sparring partner John Ruiz who he knew was handy;

f'in hilarious is that, akin to dodging a bullet
In favour of having your head guillotined.

[si7dog7]

This thread now degenerating into anti-len
Ffs
I really genuinely hope Usyk sparks the pretend caravan guy.
Tyson whatshisname isn’t in the same conversation as Lennox or Riddick. Come on now!!!!!

[polecateddy]

John Ruiz? He took an awful long time to shake off the Tua nuking and was never a viable match up. Foreman basically said openly Lewis was too good. I don’t think he avoided anyone whatsoever. Some pundits were picking Michael Grant over Lewis, so it was hardly a gimme. During that era I don’t recall Bowe ever openly calling for the match. The truth was Lewis was improving under Stewart and Bowe was in decline, making a meal of the Hide fight and his balance was shot to pieces in the Golota matches. The guy quoted brain damage in his DV/kidnapping trial.