Riddick bowe fights i should watch

[Rover]

Foreman never wanted to fight Bowe, Tua was never in the mix at the time, Moorer never pressed the Bowe fight which he had the right to press but opted not to and took money to be quiet.

Bowe could've fought Lewis in 93 but didn't.

Lewis could've fought Bowe in 95 but got himself KOd by McCall in 94.

Lewis again could've fought Bowe for big bucks in 96, on HBO, instead of Bowe v Golota 1, but he declined to everybody's puzzlement.

It really helps if you were following the sport at the time, or at very least do your research before disparaging fighters.

Bowe was REQUIRED to fight Lewis in 93 but didn't. There's no way to spin that. 95 and 96 are irrelevant; I'm concerned with when Bowe was the heavyweight champion.

[Rover]

No, there was never any explanation to why the 96 fight didn't happen. Bowe had just KOd Holyfield, the media recognised him as the best in the world, no one respected Don King's paper champs, Lewis was offered a lucrative big money fight vs Bowe on HBO but he didn't fancy it - for whatever reason. Bowe instead fought Golota and Lewis fought Mercer.

Despite what "the media" said, that has nothing to do with 1993 when the fight would've been much more significant, as it'd have been for the undisputed heavyweight championship. Bowe was required to fight Lewis. Instead, he threw the belt in the garbage and fought Michael Dokes. And yes, I was following the sport at the time.

[Ambling Alp II]

Tyson was past his best, but he was far from finished. He looked very good in the Bruno fight. Holyfield was the one who many people thought was finished. He had looked bad in most of the Bowe fight and was 34, four years older than Tyson and had taken a lot more punishment in his career.
At that point, Lewis looked like a much bigger challenge. The conventional wisdom going into the first Holyfield fight was that Tyson would blow Holyfield out easily. Tyson was pretty competitive in the first several rounds; but Holyfield fought a great fight and beat him.

No legitimate reason why Tyson could not have fought Lewis much sooner. The fans were screaming for it for several years. I agree that Lewis probably would have won; Tyson may have thought that as well. At minimum, though you have to give Tyson a puncher's chance. It was one of if not the potnetially biggest fights out there for several years.

Not in 1996. Lewis didn't even have a title. He won a close one over Mercer that May. Lewis was still on HBO cards except for the Golota PPV at the end of 97 until the first Holyfield fight. Look at it this way: Holy and Lewis would've beaten Tyson at that point (96). If Tyson had fought Lewis and then Holy had gone on to accomplish what he did over the next couple years, the complaint would've been that Tyson didn't fight Holyfield, a fight that had been talked about since the late 80s!

We will have to agree to disagree. No sense beating this to death anymore.

[The Great John L]

No, there was never any explanation to why the 96 fight didn't happen. Bowe had just KOd Holyfield, the media recognised him as the best in the world, no one respected Don King's paper champs, Lewis was offered a lucrative big money fight vs Bowe on HBO but he didn't fancy it - for whatever reason. Bowe instead fought Golota and Lewis fought Mercer.

Despite what "the media" said, that has nothing to do with 1993 when the fight would've been much more significant, as it'd have been for the undisputed heavyweight championship. Bowe was required to fight Lewis. Instead, he threw the belt in the garbage and fought Michael Dokes. And yes, I was following the sport at the time.

I think their respective resumes end any debate about which one was interested in actually establishing a legacy in the sport, and make any argument like this irrelevant.

[Rover]

No, there was never any explanation to why the 96 fight didn't happen. Bowe had just KOd Holyfield, the media recognised him as the best in the world, no one respected Don King's paper champs, Lewis was offered a lucrative big money fight vs Bowe on HBO but he didn't fancy it - for whatever reason. Bowe instead fought Golota and Lewis fought Mercer.

Despite what "the media" said, that has nothing to do with 1993 when the fight would've been much more significant, as it'd have been for the undisputed heavyweight championship. Bowe was required to fight Lewis. Instead, he threw the belt in the garbage and fought Michael Dokes. And yes, I was following the sport at the time.

I think their respective resumes end any debate about which one was interested in actually establishing a legacy in the sport, and make any argument like this irrelevant.

Bingo.

[keithmoonhangover]

While Bowe was talking about his legacy, Lewis was creating his in the ring.

[Rover]

While Bowe was talking about his legacy, Lewis was creating his in the ring.

[loaded_gloves]

Bowe was REQUIRED to fight Lewis in 93 but didn't. There's no way to spin that. 95 and 96 are irrelevant; I'm concerned with when Bowe was the heavyweight champion.

You seem totally unaware of the flagrant corruption and hypocrisy, and the backroom machinations, in the WBC ordering Bowe to go directly in with Lennox Lewis after his epic Holyfield brawl.

Bowe and Newman were fiercely independent, as they had a right to be. Their coming out on top was unexpected and ruffled the feathers of the oldboys who felt they controlled boxing.

Don King, best friend of the WBC, had options on Lewis in 92/93. He had nothing on Bowe. Put that together yourself.

[keithmoonhangover]

Bowe was REQUIRED to fight Lewis in 93 but didn't. There's no way to spin that. 95 and 96 are irrelevant; I'm concerned with when Bowe was the heavyweight champion.

You seem totally unaware of the flagrant corruption and hypocrisy, and the backroom machinations, in the WBC ordering Bowe to go directly in with Lennox Lewis after his epic Holyfield brawl.

Bowe and Newman were fiercely independent, as they had a right to be. Their coming out on top was unexpected and ruffled the feathers of the oldboys who felt they controlled boxing.

Don King, best friend of the WBC, had options on Lewis in 92/93. He had nothing on Bowe. Put that together yourself.

Put it together and Bowe still ducked him.

[Syntax Error]

It would have been great if Bowe would have fought Tyson, Moorer, Tua, Foreman, and of course Lewis. Lewis certainly wanted to fight him; of course the press conference where he declined to fight Lewis will always hurt his reputation.

However, it's doubtful that Tyson, Foreman and Moorer did. Tua probably would have been willing but Bowe probably would have beaten him.

It's important to really look at a fighter's career in the context of what was happening at the time. Before he ever fought for the title, Bowe fought Seldon (who had just given McCall a tough fight) Tubbs, Biggs, Cooper (who was still a decent fighter) and Thomas, who we didn't know how much he had left. He did all of this in his first three years as a pro.

After Holyfiled, he took on Donald, Hide, Gonzales, and Golota. While that doesn't look particularly impressive now, you have to remember that at the time they were considered fighters with some ability. No one could tell that they would not do that much after Bowe fought them.

Hardly anyone fights all of the best opponents that they could have. Lewis never took on Foreman or Moorer. Even Holyfield never fought Tua or Ruddock.

Bowe could have fought better competiton, no doubt about it. However, it was not as bad as some people think.

There's a difference between criticizing a guy for not having fought every possible quality opponent v. criticizing a guy for not having fought the best and blatantly ducking him. Holyfield didn't fight Tua or Ruddock; he fought Foreman, Moorerx2, Lewisx2, Bowex3, Tysonx2. 'Nuff said.
Bowe beat Holyfield and was mandated to fight Lewis. Instead, he pulled his stunt and fought Michael Dokes and Jesse Ferguson.
Bowe was done by the end of 96, and Golota was comparable to Tua in terms of accomplishments, so I won't even criticize Bowe for the Tua fight. My main issue with him always will be that disgrace involving Lewis. Those two were clearly the top dogs, Bowe was ordered to fight him, and he fought Michael friggin' Dokes!

I pretty much agree with what you said. Bowe should be criticized for not fighting Lewis, no doubt about it. I was just commenting on the notion that he constantly avoided the best fighters, which is not really true. It's likely that some of them, (Foreman, Moorer, and Tyson) wanted no part of him. He fought much better competiton than most guys do on their way up and beat some decent opponents after winning the title. And of course he did fight Holyfield three times.

If Bowe had to do it all over again, I think he would have fought Lewis. Even if he got blown away in the first round, he would have got less criticism than blatantly ducking him. However, that was his decision and he has to live with it. Or he could have avoided Lewis but no so blatantly and got a lot less criticism. Tyson avoided Lewis until he could use the "past his prime" excuse and gets almost no criticism for this.

I'm no apologist for Tyson, but he could never have fought Lewis in his prime.

The only time they could have had a competitive battle was 1996, but Lewis was an ex champ with nothing to bring to the party.

Tyson was busy trying to mop up all his belts & get Holyfield in the ring, a decision he must surely regret for the rest of his life.

[keithmoonhangover]

Bowe was REQUIRED to fight Lewis in 93 but didn't. There's no way to spin that. 95 and 96 are irrelevant; I'm concerned with when Bowe was the heavyweight champion.

You seem totally unaware of the flagrant corruption and hypocrisy, and the backroom machinations, in the WBC ordering Bowe to go directly in with Lennox Lewis after his epic Holyfield brawl.

Bowe and Newman were fiercely independent, as they had a right to be. Their coming out on top was unexpected and ruffled the feathers of the oldboys who felt they controlled boxing.

Don King, best friend of the WBC, had options on Lewis in 92/93. He had nothing on Bowe. Put that together yourself.

Bowe isn't the only fighter to walk straight into a mandatory challenger.

Bowe and no one else signed his signature on the contract to fight Dokes.

Bowe and no one else dropped the WBC belt in the bin.

Bowe is ultimately to blame for the not fighting Lewis. Not Don King, not Rock Newman, not Lewis and not the WBC.

Bowe. Ducked. Lewis.

[BoxBuzz]

.....maybe.....and if so....Lucky for Lewis

[keithmoonhangover]

.....maybe.....and if so....Lucky for Lewis

No maybe about it. Facts.

[Rover]

Bowe was REQUIRED to fight Lewis in 93 but didn't. There's no way to spin that. 95 and 96 are irrelevant; I'm concerned with when Bowe was the heavyweight champion.

You seem totally unaware of the flagrant corruption and hypocrisy, and the backroom machinations, in the WBC ordering Bowe to go directly in with Lennox Lewis after his epic Holyfield brawl.

Bowe and Newman were fiercely independent, as they had a right to be. Their coming out on top was unexpected and ruffled the feathers of the oldboys who felt they controlled boxing.

Don King, best friend of the WBC, had options on Lewis in 92/93. He had nothing on Bowe. Put that together yourself.

What does the fight with Holyfield (its difficulty) have to do with anything? It had been mandated that the Bowe/Holyfield winner fight Lewis, who beat Ruddock in the eliminator. Try again.

[keithmoonhangover]

Bowe was REQUIRED to fight Lewis in 93 but didn't. There's no way to spin that. 95 and 96 are irrelevant; I'm concerned with when Bowe was the heavyweight champion.

You seem totally unaware of the flagrant corruption and hypocrisy, and the backroom machinations, in the WBC ordering Bowe to go directly in with Lennox Lewis after his epic Holyfield brawl.

Bowe and Newman were fiercely independent, as they had a right to be. Their coming out on top was unexpected and ruffled the feathers of the oldboys who felt they controlled boxing.

Don King, best friend of the WBC, had options on Lewis in 92/93. He had nothing on Bowe. Put that together yourself.

What does the fight with Holyfield (its difficulty) have to do with anything? It had been mandated that the Bowe/Holyfield winner fight Lewis, who beat Ruddock in the eliminator. Try again.

Loaded Gloves is blinkered towards 'his' fighters. Bowe, G-Man etc etc.

[Rover]

Bowe was REQUIRED to fight Lewis in 93 but didn't. There's no way to spin that. 95 and 96 are irrelevant; I'm concerned with when Bowe was the heavyweight champion.

You seem totally unaware of the flagrant corruption and hypocrisy, and the backroom machinations, in the WBC ordering Bowe to go directly in with Lennox Lewis after his epic Holyfield brawl.

Bowe and Newman were fiercely independent, as they had a right to be. Their coming out on top was unexpected and ruffled the feathers of the oldboys who felt they controlled boxing.

Don King, best friend of the WBC, had options on Lewis in 92/93. He had nothing on Bowe. Put that together yourself.

Bowe isn't the only fighter to walk straight into a mandatory challenger.

Bowe and no one else signed his signature on the contract to fight Dokes.

Bowe and no one else dropped the WBC belt in the bin.

Bowe is ultimately to blame for the not fighting Lewis. Not Don King, not Rock Newman, not Lewis and not the WBC.

Bowe. Ducked. Lewis.

I can't believe someone would use the excuse that Bowe had a tough fight with Holyfield, so that justified him ignoring an obligation of which he was aware prior to the Holyfield fight. It was crystal clear that the Bowe-Holyfield winner had to fight the Lewis-Ruddock winner. What, did Bowe think he was going to have a piece of cake fight with Holyfield?

[Rover]

.....maybe.....and if so....Lucky for Lewis

No maybe about it. Facts.

There hasn't been a more blatant duck job, though Punkvetkin/Wlad is a tie.

[Rover]

.....maybe.....and if so....Lucky for Lewis

Perhaps that might catch on.

Interviewer to fighter A.

Why did you duck fighter B?

Fighter A.

Well you know its lucky for him I did, cos I woulda whupped his ass.


Dream on. Bowe saw the way LL dispensed with Ruddock, and sheet out. Simple as.

You mean trashed out?

[loaded_gloves]

This thread has become the ministry of half truths, gross misrepresentation and misinformation.

[Syntax Error]

From Riddick Bowe's point-of-view, this thread must make for depressing reading.

Instead of a celebration of his best fights, it's more about the fights he should have had.

I'd love to hear Riddick speak from the heart & without bias about his career, but I fear I'll be waiting a long time, if that interview he did on Ringside last year is anything to go by; an interview where he claimed that Lennox Lewis ducked him & not the other way around!

[Syntax Error]

While Bowe was talking about his legacy, Lewis was creating his in the ring.

Absolutely right. 8)

Legacies are created by fighting, not by talking.

[keithmoonhangover]

This thread has become the ministry of half truths, gross misrepresentation and misinformation.

Yet you ignore the factsI presented.

[Rover]

This thread has become the ministry of half truths, gross misrepresentation and misinformation.

Yet you ignore the factsI presented.

I think he means some of us have the temerity to disagree with his frankly nonsensical theory that Bowe DIDN'T blatantly duck LL.

It's pretty pathetic when you have to as a last resort claim that it was because of the tough Holyfield fight when Bowe knew before the Holyfield fight that the winner would have to face the Lewis-Ruddock winner, which turned out to have been Lewis.

[Adamj1987]

so indtead of suggesting fights for me to watch you lewt me watch you nlots fight on my thread about who he didnt fight

[The Great John L]

so indtead of suggesting fights for me to watch you lewt me watch you nlots fight on my thread about who he didnt fight

Well, other than his fights with Holyfield, he spent the rest of his career avoiding all of the better HWs. The Golota fights were wildly entertaining, and the Tubbs fight was a good chess match that Bowe was lucky to win. Otherwise, there just wasn't much else in his resume.