'96 versions match-up against each other Prime Bowe against the Ibebauchi against Byrd Who wins each fights
I know people will disagree with me but Bowe never fought a big strong tough powerful guy like Ibeabuchi and I don't think he ever had the toughness to survive such an encounter. He either fought big guys with zero skill like Gonzalez or Chinny little guys like Bert Cooper or Featherfists like Donald or small Heavyweights like Holyfield.
Bullshit. The questions in this fight are on Crazy Ike, not Bowe. Ike didn't have enough power to put Bowe away. This is where the myth of Ike goes overboard. He had GOOD power, but sure as Hell not Tyson/Foreman/Lewis power. And I think it would take Tyson/Foreman/Lewis power to take out prime Bowe. If ANYBODY gets stopped in this fight, it's Ike. I could easily see Bowe having a right uppercut field day on Ike and eventually stopping him. There's a big difference in Ike getting off as much as he did vs an unskilled midget in Tua. But against Bowe, it wouldn't be as easy as Bowe would have that ramrod jab in Ike's face from the start. Ike wasn't exactly an elusive target. Bowe was more talented than Ike, and more proven. We saw that Bowe had tremendous heart when he faced real adversity. Ike? The Tua fight answered some questions, but quite honestly, Tua kicked Ike's ass in the later rounds. People forget that. 92 Bowe whups Ike's ass.
I was never sold on Bowe's durability. I saw him as a big cheap shotting bully who picked on guys like washed up Dokes and Ferguson. Bowe was protected by Rock whatshisname....I remember him flat out ducking Razor Ruddock at the time.....as well as the well documented duck job against Lennox Lewis. I maintain to this day that if fanman hadn't crashed the ring Evander would have stopped him that night and if Evander wasn't recovering from some virus he would have definitely finished Bowe in the rubber match (Bowe was OUT on his feet...OUT). The moment the Golota fight was signed I had picked the Pole to win. I said to myself that this is the first time Bowe is up against a guy his size that's in his prime....he's going to get beat up. Ibeabuchi was big and durable with decent power and that's all you needed to beat Riddick "Big Bully" Bowe. I agree that Bowe was more skillful...but that's not always enough to win.
Ike is weird, he's either massively overrated or grossly underrated. I mean, he walks right through Anthony Joshua because Joshua got punched once and apparently that conclusively proves AJ has no chin. However Ike stands absolutely no chance at all against Bowe. For the record I think Bowe wins, but he has a really rough time of it for as long as the fight lasts.
Bowe was a very talented heavyweight, but he didn't have the fortitude IMO. He quit against Lennox in the Olympics. He and Rock Newman avoided every big puncher like the plague as a professional (unless they were small and chinny). In the second Holyfield fight he would have been stopped if not for "Fanman" (that's why the fanman thing pissed me off so much). In the third Holyfield fight, something was OBVIOUSLY wrong with Evander yet he had Bowe down and almost out....he just had no energy to finish him off. Golota was the first big strong man in his prime that Bowe faced and Bowe was getting beaten up by him both times. So Bowe may have been more talented than Ibeabuchi but Ike would have fucked him up eventually. Vitali would have fucked up Bowe too (not Wlad though). Lewis would have finished Bowe in 3 rounds.
Please explain how Quitali fucks up a prime Bowe, when he couldn't even fuck up a fat, unmotivated Lewis? Lewis was MENTALLY retired after the Tyson fight, even if physically he fought once more. If Vitali was this great his groupies pretend he was, he would have starched Lewis that night. Instead, he put up a spirted effort, but got cut to shreds and stopped. But he fucks up prime Bowe, right? Utter nonsense.
if not for the eye Vitali would have stopped Lennox in that fight. Lennox only got a second wind when he saw the fucked up eye. Nevertheless, Lewis is tougher than Bowe, IMO. Sure lennox was knocked out twice, but I see both as flukes. Lewis showed against many fighters that he had a solid chin and could tough it out. Bowe, IMO was always a pussy waiting to be exposed. That's why Rock Newman protected him so much..including having him throw the WBC belt in the garbage rather than face Lewis. He also ducked Ruddock prior to that. Vitali may have been a sloppy fighter compared with the aesthetically pleasing style of Bowe....but he was big strong and tough and Bowe wouldn't have been able to survive him for 12 rounds.
