What scared Bowe?

Mr-Showtime · Post by **Mr-Showtime** » 25 Feb 2007, 21:10

Was it Lennox Lewis' complete destruction of Razor that did it?

I think so, I reckon he watched that and thought "No Thanks"

What does everyone else think?

why did Bowe dump the belt?

Thoughts....

JC · Post by JC » 25 Feb 2007, 21:33

Also remember he lost to Lewis is the olympic final, might have given Lewis a psychological edge.

cultus · Post by **cultus** » 26 Feb 2007, 02:57

Mr-Showtime wrote:Was it Lennox Lewis' complete destruction of Razor that did it?

I think so, I reckon he watched that and thought "No Thanks"

What does everyone else think?

why did Bowe dump the belt?

Thoughts....

Bowe started to fade by that time .. had many wars behind him with Evander and seeing how he was basically dominated by Golota I think he did the right thing. Bowe would have been tailor made for Lewis at that point.

dr_devious · Post by **dr_devious** » 26 Feb 2007, 09:49

Bowe fought Golota in 1996, and dumped the WBC belt in 92 or 93, so he was still at his peak when he ducked Lewis. He probably believed he would lose to Lewis, after the Olympics defeat and seeing the demolition Lewis put on Ruddock. Also, there was easier money to be made defending against Dokes and Ferguson, rather than facing Lewis. Altogether a sorry chapter in the history of the heavyweight title

zojo · Post by **zojo** » 26 Feb 2007, 11:45

I don't think he was scared at all. He simply would rather fight a few easier fights to make 8 figures (Dokes, Fergusson, Holyfield, Mercer, etc...)than fight one fight for 7 figures.

overhand_right · Post by **overhand_right** » 26 Feb 2007, 12:04

The fact that he felt Lewis's one-shot power up close and personal at the Olympic finals combined with Lewis completely splattering the much feared Ruddock convinced him fighting Lewis again would not aid a long reign at the top.

After he beat Holyfield he got emotional screaming in LLs face 'you faggot i'll fight you anytime i'll knock you out!!'

A month later he was dumping the belt in a bin rather than fight him. Says it all.

HeavyHitters · Post by **HeavyHitters** » 26 Feb 2007, 14:20

J-C wrote:Also remember he lost to Lewis is the olympic final, might have given Lewis a psychological edge.

You are another of many who never saw the fight. Lewis landed one decent punch and the "biased against the USA" referee stopped the fight. It was pathetic. The fight was basically even up to that point, and Bowe wasn't even hurt at all.

It was a joke win for Lewis. And Bowe would have beaten Lewis at that point in their careers when Bowe tossed the belt. They were forcing a mandatory of Lewis on Bowe, right after he gained the belt, when we all know new champions usually get a "give me" fight before facing the number 1 challenger. Bowe knew then how bogus the corrupt WBC, WBA and IBF are, and most boxing fans were just slow to realise this a few years too late.

dempseyfire · Post by **dempseyfire** » 26 Feb 2007, 15:30

HeavyHitters wrote:
J-C wrote:Also remember he lost to Lewis is the olympic final, might have given Lewis a psychological edge.
You are another of many who never saw the fight. Lewis landed one decent punch and the "biased against the USA" referee stopped the fight. It was pathetic. The fight was basically even up to that point, and Bowe wasn't even hurt at all.

It was a joke win for Lewis. And Bowe would have beaten Lewis at that point in their careers when Bowe tossed the belt. They were forcing a mandatory of Lewis on Bowe, right after he gained the belt, when we all know new champions usually get a "give me" fight before facing the number 1 challenger. Bowe knew then how bogus the corrupt WBC, WBA and IBF are, and most boxing fans were just slow to realise this a few years too late.

The details about this have been told in older threads (I'm too lazy to look it up)

It was a political decision. Scared of Lewis? Come on, after watching Bowe-Golota II you have to give credit where credit is due and acknowledge Riddick had balls of steel (LITERALLY). The Olympics fight was an awful stoppage. Lewis landed some hard shots but Bowe didn't even wobble, let alone merit getting a TKO loss.

I'm not sure who would've won necessarily had they fought but the mainstream media has re-written history so that Bowe ducked Lennox b/c he was scared of him, while at the time despite the Ruddock fight Lennox was not yet very highly regarded . . . .

JC · Post by JC » 26 Feb 2007, 17:49

HeavyHitters wrote:
J-C wrote:Also remember he lost to Lewis is the olympic final, might have given Lewis a psychological edge.
You are another of many who never saw the fight. Lewis landed one decent punch and the "biased against the USA" referee stopped the fight. It was pathetic. The fight was basically even up to that point, and Bowe wasn't even hurt at all

You're right, I was too young to see it live and its not I fight I've ever really been interested in seeking out a copy of, if it was a dodgy stoppage that doesn't really surprize me considering what happened to Roy Jones at the same games.

walshb · Post by **walshb** » 26 Feb 2007, 18:20

I suspect the final may have scared Bowe a little, but the actual fight was a lot more competitive than most think. I thought Bowe was the better fighter by far in the first round and landed the better shots, harder shots.He was caught clean and hard in the 2nd, but took them well. That's why the amateur game is so different to the pro game. The referee rarely alows a fighter take severe punishment

dr_devious · Post by **dr_devious** » 26 Feb 2007, 18:24

HeavyHitters wrote:
J-C wrote:You are another of many who never saw the fight. Lewis landed one decent punch and the "biased against the USA" referee stopped the fight. It was pathetic. The fight was basically even up to that point, and Bowe wasn't even hurt at all.

It was a joke win for Lewis. And Bowe would have beaten Lewis at that point in their careers when Bowe tossed the belt. They were forcing a mandatory of Lewis on Bowe, right after he gained the belt, when we all know new champions usually get a "give me" fight before facing the number 1 challenger. Bowe knew then how bogus the corrupt WBC, WBA and IBF are, and most boxing fans were just slow to realise this a few years too late.

Blah, blah, blah!!! If Bowe thought he could beat Lewis, then why throw his belt away and duck him? There was a fierce rivalry between them dating back to the Olympics, if Bowe thought he could win then surely he would have tried to avenge his finals loss, against a man he couldnt stand

mrbassie · Post by **mrbassie** » 26 Feb 2007, 20:00

HeavyHitters wrote:
J-C wrote:Also remember he lost to Lewis is the olympic final, might have given Lewis a psychological edge.
You are another of many who never saw the fight. Lewis landed one decent punch and the "biased against the USA" referee stopped the fight. It was pathetic. The fight was basically even up to that point, and Bowe wasn't even hurt at all.

It was a joke win for Lewis. And Bowe would have beaten Lewis at that point in their careers when Bowe tossed the belt. They were forcing a mandatory of Lewis on Bowe, right after he gained the belt, when we all know new champions usually get a "give me" fight before facing the number 1 challenger. Bowe knew then how bogus the corrupt WBC, WBA and IBF are, and most boxing fans were just slow to realise this a few years too late.

of course he was hurt, take the blinkers off ffs. It was an amateur fight and of course it was stopped sooner than a pro fight would have been but to say he wasn't hurt and that the ref was biased against doodles is plain idiotic

Seamus · Post by **Seamus** » 26 Feb 2007, 21:06

Bowe on his best night vs Lewis on his best night, I'd take Bowe by a late stoppage. What happened in the Olympics is irrelevant to what would have happened in a pro fight. Bowe was not focused at the Olympics, due to the recent stabbing death of his sister, and death of a brother from AIDS. The argument that Bowe was scared to face Lewis really doesn't say much about how they'd match up either. Bowe in his career proved he was the tougher man.

dr_devious · Post by **dr_devious** » 27 Feb 2007, 05:16

Why, because Golota battered him around the ring? The same Golota that Lewis stopped in one round.

overhand_right · Post by **overhand_right** » 27 Feb 2007, 06:15

HeavyHitters wrote:
You are another of many who never saw the fight. Lewis landed one decent punch and the "biased against the USA" referee stopped the fight. It was pathetic. The fight was basically even up to that point, and Bowe wasn't even hurt at all.
:

Anyone can watch this fight on You Tube. Bowe is so clear headed he wobbles then holds up his hands thinking he won. In your opinion it was pathetic, Lewis was overwhelming Bowe in the 2nd from what i could see.

Your main problem is explaining to everyone why Bowe didn't fight Lewis as a pro in 93 when he had the opportunity.

Please, enlighten us, oh boxing genius.

overhand_right · Post by **overhand_right** » 27 Feb 2007, 06:19

Seamus wrote: Bowe in his career proved he was the tougher man.

Please, do elaborate.

Because he was all of 29 years old when Golota bounced him around the ring?

How about being 37 and mixing it with Klitschko?

Ezzard · Post by **Ezzard** » 27 Feb 2007, 06:36

I don't believe that Bowe was scared of Lewis but he did duck him. Lewis went on to achieve a lot more than Bowe did.

Riddick wanted some low risk pay days but they eventually caught up with him.

Lewis was the better fighter and boxer. A match up in their primes would have been very close though but I'd pick Lewis 2-1 in a series.

Seamus · Post by **Seamus** » 27 Feb 2007, 11:52

Riddick Bowe fought a peak Holyfield, and gave him a one sided beating, lost a close decision, and then got off the canvas to KO him. Against an older more ringworn Holyfield, in my opinion, Lewis won a decision by 2 pts, than lost one by 2 pts. Bowe fought psycho Golota, who'd try every trick in the book to win a fight, Lewis fought deer in the headlights Golota, who didn't even warm up and who showed up at the last minute questioning whether he really wanted to be a boxer or not. Lewis got KO'd twice with one punch, and while those were pretty good shots, let's not try and make them out to be some of the hardest punches ever landed. Bowe took punch after punch after punch below the belt from an Andrew Golota, who at least deserves credit for having good hitting power, not to mention coming back from that massive shot from Holyfield.

It's always the same old argument. Lewis would definitely win, because of the Olympics and because Bowe never agreed to a fight when they were pros. None of that has any bearing though regarding what would actually happen in the ring.

walshb · Post by **walshb** » 27 Feb 2007, 12:02

Forget the damn Olympics. It's not close on being an indicator of how an actual pro fight would go. Lewis didn't even knock Bowe down in Seoul. He hurt him but Bowe also hurt Lewis. Their amateur fight was close before Lewis landed some good shots and the ref stopped it. Big deal

As for the pros, a peak Bowe around 92-93 is just too fast for Lewis. Both had heavy heavy shots, but Bowe's were crisper and more accurate as well as faster. Bowe had the better chin and I feel Lewis would lose by early KO.

dempseyfire · Post by **dempseyfire** » 27 Feb 2007, 12:18

overhand_right wrote:
HeavyHitters wrote:
You are another of many who never saw the fight. Lewis landed one decent punch and the "biased against the USA" referee stopped the fight. It was pathetic. The fight was basically even up to that point, and Bowe wasn't even hurt at all.
:
Anyone can watch this fight on You Tube. Bowe is so clear headed he wobbles then holds up his hands thinking he won. In your opinion it was pathetic, Lewis was overwhelming Bowe in the 2nd from what i could see.

Your main problem is explaining to everyone why Bowe didn't fight Lewis as a pro in 93 when he had the opportunity.

Please, enlighten us, oh boxing genius.

He was holding his hands up to his chin to show he was clear-headed and ok . . .this is common practice in boxing.

FACT-Bowe and Lennox had already signed the preliminary papers to fight each other in 1994, but Lennox killed the fight with the McCall loss. If Riddick was so scared of Lewis, how did they come so close to fighting each other?

The Great John L · Post by **The Great John L** » 27 Feb 2007, 12:28

In their respective primes Lewis would have stopped Bowe, probably before the 5th or 6th round. While Bowe was an extremely good HW, he was also not noted for his defense and that would have been his undoing against Lewis.

Yes Bowe did beat Holy 2 out of 3, but he really had very little else on his resume, and to judge how Bowe would have done against a pro version of Lewis strictly by their respective performances against Holyfield is pretty silly. And if that’s what you want to do, then please keep in mind that Lewis did NOT lose to Holyfield in their 2 fights. And using the same illogic, Golota beat the piss out of Bowe in 2 losing efforts while being completely trashed by Lewis. Oh, I forgot, Golota was a deer in the headlights for that fight so it doesn’t count…

Ambling Alp · Post by **Ambling Alp** » 27 Feb 2007, 13:53

But do you think judging two fighters by how successful they were against a fighter as inconsistent as Golota is accurrate?

Sometimes Golota looked pretty good, sometimes he was just awful. Sometimes a little of both in the same fight.

With Holyfield you have a better barometer. Bowe was atleast as competitive against a younger, better Holyfield as Lewis was against a fading Holyfield.

The Great John L · Post by **The Great John L** » 27 Feb 2007, 14:10

Ambling Alp wrote:But do you think judging two fighters by how successful they were against a fighter as inconsistent as Golota is accurrate?

Sometimes Golota looked pretty good, sometimes he was just awful. Sometimes a little of both in the same fight.

With Holyfield you have a better barometer. Bowe was atleast as competitive against a younger, better Holyfield as Lewis was against a fading Holyfield.

My point was that neither is a true barometer, because the styles are quite different. Bowe was not noted as a top defensive fighter, but his size and strength got him through two of his fights with Holyfield, who was shorter and a totally different type of fighter than Lewis. Lewis would have fought a cautious counterpunching fight against Bowe, who would have continually run into right hands as he tried to move in on Lewis. It would have been a bad style matchup for Bowe, who never fought enough top fighters to really learn how to adapt against a fighter like Lewis. He did learn a lot by fighting Holyfield, but what he learned against Holyfield wouldn’t have helped much against the taller, more cautious and harder punching Lewis.

Of course all of this is pure conjecture since Bowe and his management had absolutely intention of fighting Lewis. And there was a reason for that…

Ambling Alp · Post by **Ambling Alp** » 27 Feb 2007, 16:10

Bowe was surely as a good of a defensive fighter as the fading Holyfield that Lewis fought. If Lewis couldn't come close to stopping that version of Holyfield in 24 rounds, then it stands to reason that Bowe would could get past 6 rounds and would have a serious chance.

In most of his fights, Lewis wasn't a busy fighter. A fighter with a good chin could survive the occasional bomb that Lewis might land.

You may have a point that we don't know how Bowe would have adapted to a big skilled fighter like Lewis. However, by the same token you can say that we don't know how well Lewis would have adapted to Bowe.
At the time, Lewis hadn't really been tested.

Bowe was actually more experienced of the two, having been in two big fights with Holyfield.
Bowe was quicker and had a better jab, and was better at fighting inside than Lewis.

I never really bought the theory that Bowe was scared of Lewis. The whole deal with Bowe dumped the WBC in the garbage can business seemed more of a publicity stunt to me. Did you really know at that time that they would never fight? If you did a poll right after that, most people would say they still thought they would fight. It seemed inevitable that they would meet someday after that. It seemed that they were headed that way until Lewis fought Oliver McCall, and by the time Lewis had restablished himself as an elite fighter, Bowe was declining.

Lewis certainly was a top fighter for a longer time than Bowe. However, in a head to head match up with Bowe at his best wouldn't be an easy fight at all for Lewis. It may have been a great fight. Bowe would have a serious chance of winning.

The Great John L · Post by **The Great John L** » 27 Feb 2007, 17:23

Ambling Alp wrote:Bowe was surely as a good of a defensive fighter as the fading Holyfield that Lewis fought.

I don’t think that most would agree with this. In fact, Besides Holyfield Bowe’s resume is so bereft of world class opposition it’s pretty hard to judge how good he actually was, but he was not regarded by many as a very good defensive fighter.

Ambling Alp wrote: If Lewis couldn't come close to stopping that version of Holyfield in 24 rounds, then it stands to reason that Bowe would could get past 6 rounds and would have a serious chance.

Of course he would have had a chance against Lewis. However, using your logic I could also say that if Golota was able to beat the piss out of Bowe twice then certainly the much more talented and harder hitting Lewis would have been able to KO the defensively challenged Bowe. As I said before, apples to oranges.

Ambling Alp wrote:In most of his fights, Lewis wasn't a busy fighter. A fighter with a good chin could survive the occasional bomb that Lewis might land.

Totally agree.

Ambling Alp wrote:You may have a point that we don't know how Bowe would have adapted to a big skilled fighter like Lewis. However, by the same token you can say that we don't know how well Lewis would have adapted to Bowe.

I agree with this as well. Nobody really knows for sure.

Ambling Alp wrote:Bowe was quicker and had a better jab, and was better at fighting inside than Lewis.

Well I do agree that Bowe was a better inside fighter.

I think we’ll have to agree to disagree on this one.

What scared Bowe?

What scared Bowe?

Re: What scared Bowe?

Bowe!!

Re: Bowe!!

Re: Bowe!!

Re: Bowe!!

Re: Bowe!!

Re: Bowe!!

Re: Bowe!!

Re: Bowe!!