BoxRec

I just dug out an old Boxing World magazine from c1989 and the cover was Bowe and Mercer being promoted as the future of the division.

Intersting to argue now who has the better legacy. Bowe, who undoubtedly had more talent but pissed it up against the wall or Mercer who fought on too long but put up some great showings against Lewis and Morrison and never bottled anything.

I think I would be happier looking back on my career if I was Mercer.

Slapsie

chinny wrote:say what you like about Bowe but his performance vs Holyfield I was superb.

Despite his reputation as a quitter from the amateurs, in the Golota fights in more ways than one he proved he had a massive pair of kahunas.

Only one loss and that was disputed SD. Looks destined to make a mess of that legacy though.

Could it have possibly been one of the most competitive HW fights in history? Me thinks so without question it could have.

Bowe was such a good inside fighter for a big guy.

http://www.stripes.com/article.asp?sect ... icle=59385

Bowe weighs in

TerribleTerry wrote:I loved the way Bowe boxed - he had a great set of skills for a big man. Dominating jab, booming right hand and nice, sharp, short punches when fighting in close.

He will not get the same level of plaudits from historians in comparison to his contemporaries Holyfield and Lewis but I for one used to really enjoy watching him fight.

I agree.

For me Bowe is as good equipped HW there has been. Great Jab, good movement for a big man, hard puncher, put his shots together very well, good chin, and good head movement. His lack of discipline and frequent visits to the cookie jar made getting in shape harder and the need to lose vast amounts of weight before each fight took a massive toll on his body.

He appeard to me to be a modern, bigger version of Joe Louis but with a better chin. Great inside fighter was Bowe.

In my opinion he is up there with Holmes, Louis and Foreman as the greatest of all the HW's. He would have given Tyson Lewis and Ali absolute fits.

I think Bowe v Lewis is probably at the top of my 'fights i wished had happened' lists.
I'm a huge fan of Lewis but that fight is 50/50

Punchy Joe wrote:http://www.stripes.com/article.asp?sect ... icle=59385

Bowe weighs in

Hmmm. A fit & ready 271lbs...

He's looking more like Big Granddaddyo these days, must be that excellent 70's beard.

Shirow wrote:

Punchy Joe wrote:http://www.stripes.com/article.asp?sect ... icle=59385

Bowe weighs in

Hmmm. A fit & ready 271lbs...

The thing is though, factoring in his age and his dietary history that probably IS about as low a weight as you could hope for from Big Daddy these days.

He shouldn't be fighting anymore, that much is sure, I just hope they don't put him in with anyone who can do him damage

Slapsie Maxie wrote:I just dug out an old Boxing World magazine from c1989 and the cover was Bowe and Mercer being promoted as the future of the division.

Intersting to argue now who has the better legacy. Bowe, who undoubtedly had more talent but pissed it up against the wall or Mercer who fought on too long but put up some great showings against Lewis and Morrison and never bottled anything.

I think I would be happier looking back on my career if I was Mercer.

Slapsie

I like Mercer but I'd have to disagree, Mercer lost every time he fought the real top guys. Bowe was the champion of the world, Mercer never was.

stujones wrote:I always think Bowe is dealt a harsh card with this "he ducked Lennox Lewis". The fact was he beat Holyfield in an absolute war in Oct/Nov 1992... by Dec 1992 he was told to push up or shut up by the WBC (or put it in the bin) to fight Lewis.

I'm sorry, but Bowe was not ready to fight such a tough opponent in early 1993. It would have been boixng suicide - he needed, and warranted, a long rest and a couple of bums - and thats what he did. He fought Holyfield a year after his truimph, and that still not only was the money, but also still alot of respect - cause most regarded Holyfield as #2 and Lewis just some paper champion.

Even if I agreed with your reasons for him not fighting Lewis at that time (which I don't), he really took the idea of fighting a "couple of bums" to a new level with Dokes and Ferguson. And the Holyfield rematch was not considered at the time to be anything special. Eith hindsight, yes it was, but at the time it was just seen as Bowe going over old ground, with a win looking like a formality especially in the wake of Holyfield looking unimpressive against Stewart.

I actually thought Holyfield looked good vs Stewart - of course it was considered a good match, first fight was a one of THE fights of all time - of course the rematch was a goer.

Dokes was a pretty poor warm up (although I am sure he was in BM's top ten) as for Ferguson, well he had just beaten Mercer - who is somehow classed as some monster since.

stujones wrote: Dokes was a pretty poor warm up (although I am sure he was in BM's top ten) as for Ferguson, well he had just beaten Mercer - who is somehow classed as some monster since.

Yep, it was supposed to be Mercer fighting Bowe initially.
I agree that Holyfield II was looked at as almost a soft defense at the time.
To be fair to the Bowe camp, there was a rematch clause contingent on Holy beating a top 10 contender (as it happened, Stewart).
Seems strange now but it was assumed Bowe was starting out on a long and dominant reign - and on ITV too!

stujones wrote:I actually thought Holyfield looked good vs Stewart - of course it was considered a good match, first fight was a one of THE fights of all time - of course the rematch was a goer.

Dokes was a pretty poor warm up (although I am sure he was in BM's top ten) as for Ferguson, well he had just beaten Mercer - who is somehow classed as some monster since.

Dokes was not anywhere near any top 10 when the fight was announced and then miraculously appeared in the WBA's rankings. Certainly no publications or independent rankings included him and the fight was universally condemned.

Yes, Ferguson got his shot by beating Bowe's intended opponent, but that ironically does not mean he was as good as the intended opponent. Could you imagine if Garing Lane had gotten a title shot for beating Alex Garcia, or Cliff Couser for beating Monte Barrett? Yes, Ferguson was better than Lane or Couser, but it was that kind of scenario.

oliverfennell wrote: Yes, Ferguson got his shot by beating Bowe's intended opponent, but that ironically does not mean he was as good as the intended opponent. Could you imagine if Garing Lane had gotten a title shot for beating Alex Garcia, or Cliff Couser for beating Monte Barrett? Yes, Ferguson was better than Lane or Couser, but it was that kind of scenario.

Agreed - Mercer would have been a much more interesting fight due to his iron jaw but Rock and Bowe couldn't exactly ignore the Ferguson defeat as I think it was on the undercard to Dokes!
They burnt so many bridges during that 1 year title reign they never got to fight for the real title again.
Didn't they even make up their own version of the 'world' title for Holyfield 3?

chinny wrote:

oliverfennell wrote: Yes, Ferguson got his shot by beating Bowe's intended opponent, but that ironically does not mean he was as good as the intended opponent. Could you imagine if Garing Lane had gotten a title shot for beating Alex Garcia, or Cliff Couser for beating Monte Barrett? Yes, Ferguson was better than Lane or Couser, but it was that kind of scenario.

Agreed - Mercer would have been a much more interesting fight due to his iron jaw but Rock and Bowe couldn't exactly ignore the Ferguson defeat as I think it was on the undercard to Dokes!
They burnt so many bridges during that 1 year title reign they never got to fight for the real title again.
Didn't they even make up their own version of the 'world' title for Holyfield 3?

Sure, I'm not suggesting they should have ignored Mercer's defeat and fought him anyway, but there were certainly a lot of better qualified title challengers out there than Ferguson at that time.

[quote="oliverfennellSure, I'm not suggesting they should have ignored Mercer's defeat and fought him anyway, but there were certainly a lot of better qualified title challengers out there than Ferguson at that time.[/quote]

I seem to remember they were lining up George Foreman as one of Bowe's defences.
They also had the idea to have Bowe defend the title in the break between the second and third quarters of the superbowl, supposedly making it the most watched fight ever. I don't think they could get the numbers to add up but it shows Newman was thinking long term re the exposure that would provide.

well I think Ferguson filled a gap - a "worthy" opponent and also gave Bowe a chance to re-charge the batteries. I just think the WBC were unreasonable to Bowe given the hardness of the Holyfield fight. I deserved to pick and chose a few opponents before going for it.

Bowe was favoured over Holyfield in the rematch, but it was NEVER considered a soft defence, the first fight was a war.

stujones wrote:well I think Ferguson filled a gap - a "worthy" opponent and also gave Bowe a chance to re-charge the batteries. I just think the WBC were unreasonable to Bowe given the hardness of the Holyfield fight. I deserved to pick and chose a few opponents before going for it.

Bowe was favoured over Holyfield in the rematch, but it was NEVER considered a soft defence, the first fight was a war.

The WBC played fair. The agreement was always that the winner of Bowe-Holyfield would meet the winner of Lewis-Ruddock. Bowe knew this when he signed to fight Holyfield. It was a hollow way for Lewis to win the title, but I for one applaud the WBC for actually sticking by their rules for once.

I'm not saying you are not correct there Oliver, however would you really expect Bowe to be ready to fight someone as talented as Lewis in February after the Holyfield war... no chance.

I actually think it was one of those strange scenarios where 2 rights make a wrong.

I just can't help feeling that Lewis looking so sensational vs Ruddock had a lot to do with Bowe's decision...