Who just happened to be a greater fighter & more formidable rival at that stage than any single man Lewis beat in all his long career. Funny, that.
...& Rahman beat Lewis, when Lewis was out-of-shape. At least he did it convincingly, with a KO. I had Bowe edging Holyfield out in their rematch, despite being significantly under-conditioned.
It's funny that Bowe didn't want to fight Lennox. It's possible he had more doubts than anyone else. Watching that Amateur fight - maybe it was stopped properly maybe not - it certainly is no indication of what would have happened in a professional ring. Bowe has shown throughout his pro career that he can bounce back from adversity and win. Prime vs. Prime - I take Lennox hands down. But as others have mentioned, Lennox wasn't in his prime in 1993. He was a much more raw and significantly cruder fighter imo (even tho the Ruddock fight may have been his best showing ever). Lennox's prime didn't start until Steward took over imo. I still think if they had met in 93-94 that Lennox wins the fight, but it would be sloppy, unimpressive and a 12 round decision, both guys probably get hurt at some point. I definitely see people's point when they pick Bowe over Lennox in the early 90's mythical matchup. Bowe had proven more as a pro up to that point.
The difference being that Lewis had never been that high in weight prior to the first Rahman fight and came down seven pounds for the rematch. Bowe, on the other hand, weighed in for the Holyfield rematch only a pound over his previous career high, and settled into the 240's for pretty much the rest of his relevant career....243 for Dokes, 244 for Ferguson, 246 for Holyfield II, 247 for Mathis Jr., etc. Even the Gonzalez fight, which many pointed to as one of his best performances post-Holyfield II, he was 243. Bowe didn't see the 230's again until the Golota rematch, and I remember questions being raised at the time about how he managed to take that weight off. Simply put, the 240's was where Bowe was fighting post-1992 (after Bowe-Holyfield I and Lewis-Ruddock). Bowe was still in his mid-20's at that time. Lewis, at the time of the Rahman fights, was already in his mid-30's.
Lewis was the more finished product as a fighter when they were amateurs. You can make the case that Lewis didn't improve as much as he should have early in his career with Davenport and Correa training him, while Bowe was being trained by Futch, but watch the way Bowe fought in the amateurs and even as a pro...the lazy defense, the dropping of the hands, the poorly thrown right hands, etc. Lewis always had the better technique of the two and always had the harder punch.
The fact is, as his performance indicates, Bowe was not in top-condition for his second fight with Holyfield. In top-condition a year earlier, he beat a better fighter than anyone Lewis ever did.
a Lewis in the early 90's just didn't have the same jab and rang and longer distance boxing ability that he had later on he would have trader with Bowe in a slugfest
...& he'd lose. Not an ounce of Bowe's surprising durability, when it came down to it. The Lewis of several years later was a far smarter, more co-ordinated, & more complete fighter, whose chances would be much better than in the early-90's.
Actually, the fact is he was in the condition he'd pretty much be in for the rest of the 90's. So, if you're going to talk about Lewis-Bowe in the context that it has been discussed, which is 1993 onward, that's the one you're stuck with. Sorry. And "as his performance indicates" certainly is clever wording...since you're ready to give none of the credit for that performance to Holyfield or Steward.
Perhaps. Razor Ruddock at the time Lewis beat him was rather formidable though. At the time of the Holyfield-Bowe-Lewis-Ruddock tournament for the title...the majority picked Ruddock to win it. Hindsight says that Ruddock was the worst of the four...but at the time this wasn't the perception.
Will you contend Ruddock was better than the Holyfield Bowe beat in 1992, though? That's the question.
Bowe beat an undersized Holyfield (Evander was lighter for that fight than he had been for his previous Heavyweight title fights)...Ruddock could have arguably beaten Bowe at that stage..being bigger and more powerful (Bowe had ducked Ruddock too, if you recall). I agree that Evander was a better overall fighter than Ruddock...but stylewise, Ruddock would have been a more difficult fight for Bowe (Styles triangle like Ali-Frazier-Foreman).
I guess once Evander added God to his life, he got bigger and harder. Or maybe he was yet to meet Victor Conte at a Bible study group. :boohoo::boohoo:
Holyfield in 1992 was clearly better, but you can't hold it against Lennox that these supposed 'bigger' fights didn't happen. Bowe robbed us of a defining fight when he threw his belt in a bin to prevent facing his mandatory challenger (Lewis) in, what 1993? You can dress this up in any way you choose, and I must admit that your obvious distaste for Lewis is somewhat perplexing, but Bowe had the ideal chance to end any speculation as to who was better at that time between him and Lennox by fighting him. And Bowe called a press conference at which he publically shit his pants. One win at Ammy level for Lennox and the above arse-collapse are the facts of the Lewis/Bowe scenario. Every other piece of speculation is exactly that- speculation. I myself prefer to focus on the known facts. MTF
I'm not holding any of what transpired against Lewis --- I'm just saying Bowe, in beating Holyfield in '92, defeated a better fighter than anyone Lewis ever did. Nothing more to it than that. I guess I just feel that, in the end, Bowe was a better fighter than Lewis in 1993, & would've taken the bout. No disrespect intended toward Lewis, who will always rank above Bowe historically for me, as he should anyone.
I do think this is very fair. Lennox in 1993 was nothing like the fighter he became. And the fighter that is historically ranked ahead of Bowe (deservedly so) is not the same fighter that existed when this fight was first supposed to happen.
I have to disagree somewhat. Americans deliberately denigrated Lennox Lewis in the early 90s...because those were the days when they refused to give British fighters any credit....and in addition to this they merely wanted to shower praises on Riddick Bowe and to a lesser extent Tommy Morrison and Ray Mercer..as the future of the division, and felt that Lewis was in competition with their American hopes. Simple as that. Lewis looked GREAT against Gary Mason, Tyrell Biggs, Derek Williams, Mike Dixon..in the run-up to facing Ruddock. Still the US press had Ruddock the overwhelming favourite to KO Lewis. Those of us (mainly Brits) who saw Lewis performances leading up to the Ruddock fight knew that Razor was no match...but the US were taken by surprise (and YES Ruddock wasn't American..but the US sooner clinged onto a Canadian representative than they did a Brit). Anyway...Lewis wiped out Ruddock and the US press had to give him respect. He looked average against Bruno soon after and then was stopped by McCall (quick stoppage IMO)..and suddenly he was average again and the Ruddock fight deemed either a one-off or Ruddock had slipped.. He gets Manny Stewart as a trainer and he still doesn't get the dues...but only after he unified in beating Holyfield and then destroyed the latest GAH (Great American Hope)..called Michael Grant (who a large percentage of american pundits picked to beat him)...suddenly the US press and fans alike want to pretend that he's a MUCH improved fighter...under Manny...but this is what the TRUTH IS: The "theory" that he grew as a fighter was only invented to cover their collective asses (Pundits and fans alike) who foolishly under-rated this man and refused to give him his just dues until the turn of the century. Saying he suddenly improved as a fighter was just to cover their stupidity and boxing blindness. Lennox didn't improve (not significantly anyway)...it just took a long time for Americans to recognize his greatness.
Well I am from London and I disagree entirely. Lennox was a cruder fighter before Emmanuel Steward got to him. His jab was more pawing, his right hand was more looping, his footwork not quite as good, and i think he introduced a better upper cut to his overall arsenal. like i have already stated i do still think lennox beats bowe no matter when they fight.... but i do think it's a valid point to consider that bowe might have been a more polished pro in 1993.
1. Lennox 2. It's Arguably the BIGGEST Fight that NEVER Happened...Not Sure How Entertaining it Would've Been, but it Would've Undeniably Been IMPORTANT... 3. By WINNING this Fight, Lennox Would've Gained Acceptance ALOT Soooooner than he Did...Bowe's Career Would've Been Affected about as Much as it Is Now... 4. Ultimately, NO Difference...Lennox Would've Been Accepted Sooooner & Bowe would B Thought Of as LESS than Lennox... 5. Yes... REEDopcorn:
