BoxRec

I don't think Bowe dumping his belt rather than defend against Lewis makes him a coward. Ricky Hatton hasn't defended any of his belts barring the WBU, preferring to drop them rather than face his mandatories, but I don't think it would be correct to call him a coward, nor do I hear anyone call him a coward because of that.

Also, I agree that the stick Bowe took in the Holyfield and Golota fights showed the man had balls enough.

If Lewis has been itching all these years to find out what it's like to kill a man in the ring, he should come out and fight Bowe.

I don't think it's fair to call Bowe a coward although he was clearly afraid of Lewis. Isn't it the case that fighters aren't afraid so much of being hurt as they are afraid of losing? This could explain why the Bowe who went to war and showed great courage against Holyfield & Golota wanted nothing to do with Lennox.

Glyn Leach wrote:Also, I agree that the stick Bowe took in the Holyfield and Golota fights showed the man had balls enough.

Even a bully (a coward) knows who to pick on.

Yes, he had balls, but he was terrified of Lewis; & that's after continually insulting him.

He remembered the the '88 Olympic final & ran like a thief, rather than face his biggest rival as a pro.

It might be acceptable if we were talking about a run-of-the-mill defence against some nondescript HW; but no, we are talking about his biggest nemesis.

Bowe let himself & boxing down by refusing to fight Lewis & that makes him a coward in my book.

I really don't think Lewis would take this fight - the payday would be OK but not huge as Bowe is totally gone. Lennox has looked after his money and doesn't need more - and I just don't think he is nasty enough to batter Bowe, regardless of past history.

Bowe is a punch drunk, emotional mess and has no business getting beaten half to death by Lewis

I think when it comes to Bowe Lewis would be very nasty and I'm sure he's said as much himself. Don't think he'll be stupid enough to fight him now though as it would only tarnish his reputation and he wouldn't do that for Bowe.

At this point, it's hard to hold Bowe's actions against him. The poor bastard probably barely knows what planet he's on. (But dumping the title belt in the trash was totally ridiculous.) I don't think Lewis will be goaded or bribed into fighting him now--if he does, shame on him.

Syntax Error wrote:

Riddick Blowe wrote:Troll

Troll?

Me?

Never! :P

I just don't like cowardice in boxing.

Boxing is not the place for cowards, especially ones with big mouths like Bowe.

Bowe a coward???.... have you seen his fights with Holifield and Golota??... only a fool would call Bowe a coward.....

silkov wrote:

Syntax Error wrote:

Riddick Blowe wrote:Troll

Troll?

Me?

Never! :P

I just don't like cowardice in boxing.

Boxing is not the place for cowards, especially ones with big mouths like Bowe.

Bowe a coward???.... have you seen his fights with Holifield and Golota??... only a fool would call Bowe a coward.....

I've explained myself 300+ times in this thread so far; so I refer you to my previous answers & if that makes me a fool for believing that about a man who ducked his biggest rival, then I am that, just like Bowe is a coward.

A man should never be labelled a coward for one act of cowardice.

Especially a fighter, let alone a fighter like Bowe, who went to war with a warrior like Evander 3 times and came out on top twice.

If Riddick Bowe is a coward, then so is 99.99995% of the male population on Earth

Bowe didn't want to fight Lewis, that much is clear.
Doesn't make him a coward though.

It's a shame it never happened, as the two, in their prime were the best of the "great" 4(along with Tyson and Holy) in that particular era, and it would have been a fascinating match up.

I think Bowe hated Lewis, but hated the thought of losing to lewis far greater, so didn't want to risk that happening.

Syntax Error wrote:

Glyn Leach wrote:Also, I agree that the stick Bowe took in the Holyfield and Golota fights showed the man had balls enough.

Even a bully (a coward) knows who to pick on.

Yes, he had balls, but he was terrified of Lewis; & that's after continually insulting him.

He remembered the the '88 Olympic final & ran like a thief, rather than face his biggest rival as a pro.

It might be acceptable if we were talking about a run-of-the-mill defence against some nondescript HW; but no, we are talking about his biggest nemesis.

Bowe let himself & boxing down by refusing to fight Lewis & that makes him a coward in my book.

In my book your a useless c^nt.

Thank you for that constructive addition. In my book those who hurl abuse while hiding behind a false name epitomise cowardice. You have put Bowe's alleged yellow streak in perspective.

StepinFetchit wrote:

Syntax Error wrote:

Glyn Leach wrote:Also, I agree that the stick Bowe took in the Holyfield and Golota fights showed the man had balls enough.

Even a bully (a coward) knows who to pick on.

Yes, he had balls, but he was terrified of Lewis; & that's after continually insulting him.

He remembered the the '88 Olympic final & ran like a thief, rather than face his biggest rival as a pro.

It might be acceptable if we were talking about a run-of-the-mill defence against some nondescript HW; but no, we are talking about his biggest nemesis.

Bowe let himself & boxing down by refusing to fight Lewis & that makes him a coward in my book.

In my book your a useless c^nt.

You sound like Riddick Bowe; hurling insults from the safety & anonymity of your PC.

Well done; if that's what turns you on, then keep it up (if you can)!

yiddo14 wrote:A man should never be labelled a coward for one act of cowardice.

Especially a fighter, let alone a fighter like Bowe, who went to war with a warrior like Evander 3 times and came out on top twice.

If Riddick Bowe is a coward, then so is 99.99995% of the male population on Earth

Bowe didn't want to fight Lewis, that much is clear.
Doesn't make him a coward though.

It's a shame it never happened, as the two, in their prime were the best of the "great" 4(along with Tyson and Holy) in that particular era, and it would have been a fascinating match up.

I think Bowe hated Lewis, but hated the thought of losing to lewis far greater, so didn't want to risk that happening.

Fair points.

I can see your point-of-view.

Maybe I'm too harsh on Bowe, but it has always riled me; what he did back then, refusing to fight Lewis.

I also agree that we were robbed of a potential classic.

The sad thing is, I think Bowe could have beaten Lewis in 1993.

Lewis was quite reckless & still raw, whereas Bowe showed he was quite accomplished technically.

We will never know sadly.

Back to topic, as they say.

Syntax - Take your point about a bully picking his fights. Maybe I can accept that Bowe was a "relative" coward. Without doubt, I got the impression in conversation with Bowe that he was frightened of Lewis's power. However, you don't claw yourself off the deck against Holyfield and Golota unless you have at least some of the right stuff in your veins. At crisis points like that a fighter does not have the luxury of making a clinical decision as to whether or not it is "safe to be brave", he reacts by instinct. And Bowe reacted with the instincts of a brave fighter.

Without question, Bowe dropping the WBC belt robbed boxing of a great fight. But commercially it was wrong for him, and for Lewis, to meet at the point they had just won their "eliminators". It should be remembered that Lewis turned down a $2 million offer from the Bowe camp at that point, claiming the money wasn't good enough. Does that make Lewis a coward for not taking the fight purely for the honour of victory?

Big old grey area.

In hindsight, Bowe and Lewis peaked at totally different times. Does it really matter that much that they didn't fight? Bowe, Holy, and Lewis all seemed to lose the plot in the early 90s. Lewis didn't skill up until manny Steward. Evander frankly showed some questionable ring generalship in fights with Bowe (1st) and Cooper. Bowe's conditioning and motivation went pear shaped. Guys like Moorer, Foreman, Botha, Seldon were able to grab titles.

Lewis, thankfully, went on to become a great champion; Bowe petered out.

Obviously Bowe's attitude did suck. Dumping a belt so as not to face the top contender. It didn't evoke a lot of pride in his profession. In fact, "incidents" such as Hatton dismissing Witter do piss the fans off and lead to fragmented "kingdoms" when there needn't be.

Had Lewis fought a lazier Bowe after around 1994-5, we all know what the Yanks would be saying anyhow...

Glyn Leach wrote:Back to topic, as they say.

Syntax - Take your point about a bully picking his fights. Maybe I can accept that Bowe was a "relative" coward. Without doubt, I got the impression in conversation with Bowe that he was frightened of Lewis's power. However, you don't claw yourself off the deck against Holyfield and Golota unless you have at least some of the right stuff in your veins. At crisis points like that a fighter does not have the luxury of making a clinical decision as to whether or not it is "safe to be brave", he reacts by instinct. And Bowe reacted with the instincts of a brave fighter.

Without question, Bowe dropping the WBC belt robbed boxing of a great fight. But commercially it was wrong for him, and for Lewis, to meet at the point they had just won their "eliminators". It should be remembered that Lewis turned down a $2 million offer from the Bowe camp at that point, claiming the money wasn't good enough. Does that make Lewis a coward for not taking the fight purely for the honour of victory?

Big old grey area.

Good shout.

You guys have convinced me now. :P

It's just a red mist thing with me, when Bowe starts insulting a dignified fighter like Lewis, but I take your points on board; you're quite correct.

I completely agree with what you're saying on an emotional level though Syntax, it was a real loss that they never got down to business

I think Bowe is always given a bit of a raw deal over the whole chuck the WBC belt in the bin incident.

He has just fought the hardest fight of his life vs Holyfield.... he was surely entiled to an easy couple and the fight many in the boxing world wanted to see was Holyfield vs Bowe II.

Agreed, but binning it was a very cheap publicity stunt.

Glyn Leach wrote:Also, I agree that the stick Bowe took in the Holyfield and Golota fights showed the man had balls enough.

Too many, if anything, for Golota's liking

But, come on, you guys have to admit. Bowe probably would have knocked Lewis out if they did fight back in the mid 90's. Bowe had an excellent jab, and was a great inside fighter. Also blessed with a great chin. To me, that spells a KO in Jorge Luis Gonzalez fashion for "Big Daddy"!

HeavyHitters wrote:But, come on, you guys have to admit. Bowe probably would have knocked Lewis out if they did fight back in the mid 90's. Bowe had an excellent jab, and was a great inside fighter. Also blessed with a great chin. To me, that spells a KO in Jorge Luis Gonzalez fashion for "Big Daddy"!

Not likely.

Bowe didn't want to fight Lewis for a very good reason.

Maybe he was still having nightmares about the beating he received from Lennox in the Olympic final?

One thing is for sure, Lewis was always mentally tougher.
Would have been a great fight, with Bowe in his prime and Lewis not, it would have been tough to call, but I still side with Lennox.

I don't think Bowe's jab was all that. He struggled to jab the smaller Holyfield. Bowe always wanted to get inside to lean on and use the uppercuts. Bowe's jab was fine, but he could never really use it consistently, IMO. It was kind of like Kelly Pavlik's is now.

Lewis' outside game was better than Bowe's, especially from 1995 on.