Bowe: Was Futch right?

[Max Power]

Eddie Futch said "Riddick Bowe has the potential, the be the greatest HW he had ever seen"

Nobody had such a meteoric rise and fall as Riddick Bowe. His demise, unlike Tyson's, was a result of his unrestrained pursuit of pork chop. Bowe- a relentless food bag even had a kitchen installed in his bedroom.

But there was a period there when he bested Holyfield in 92 and went on to top him in there trilogy that Bowe was definitely up there with any premiere HW. Only 1 year after his last fight with Holyfield, we witnessed his 2 beatdowns by Golota. Obviously this represented such wasted talent. Bowe clearly did not have the mentality of a champion anymore.

His public ducking of Lennox Lewis is probably the most shameful act of all time in HW boxing. Why did he do it? Was he really that afraid of Lennox? Was it that he could not stand to lose to someone he hated so passionately? Or did Rock Newman desperately not want to risk his cash cow until he had milked him for what he was worth first?

If Riddick had tempered his eating habits and remained focussed on his training and not chickened out against Lewis... Could he have beaten him? He was big enough. He had skills, not as sharp as Lewis on the outside but clearly a better inside game. And he had a better chin.

We know he could beat Holyfield, but what about Tyson?

Could he compete with Vitali Klitschko, or Wladimir?

Clearly Riddick robbed us of atleast 1 superfight with Lewis and could have had highly electrifying ones with these others had he the will to succeed.

[Dark Lord Al]

Your a dickhead.
The end

[ruthless rocco]

More of the same old inflammatory dumb assed shit huh @Max Power !!!??

[Beanz]

Your a dickhead.
The end

This is far more eloquent than the eight paragraphs that preceded it.

[Fenster]

Why would that post wind anyone up? The fuck is going on round here

I actually thought Bowe would beat Lewis back then, but have changed my mind over the years. Bowe-Vitali, I would favour a prime Vitali in an entertaining fight. Wlad-Bowe, I would favour Bowe by KO.

I never knew he put a kitchen in his bedroom.

[El Kabong]

How is asking a question a "windup"?

I think Riddick Bowe was a very talented fighter who was kind of like Arturo Gatti in that he could box and when he did he looked great but he could get drawn into battles and it was just hard for him to not want to battle it out even though he could have used his height and size more effectively and prolonged his career.

I always was intrigued by a Bowe-Tyson matchup. Bowe COULD use his reach effectively but he wasn't consistent with it (which always allowed Holyfield back in their fights). Tyson was harmless when kept at the end of a long jab, but let him inside and don't tie him up or drop the jab instead of snapping it back and you've BIG trouble. I also look at Bowe's record and he never fought a big time power puncher in his era: Tyson, Lewis, Ruddock, Morrison, etc he never fought a guy with top notch power which always made me question his chin. I think it would be a battle but Bowe had the mental toughness to beat Tyson had they fought.

I think Lennox Lewis would beat him if Lennox was focused. If Lennox half assed it like he did vs Bruno (where he was lucky to get the win given his effort or lack there of) then Bowe would have demolished him.

Vitali would hammer the dog shit out of Bowe

Wlad vs Bowe would be very interesting. Wlad knows how to fight tall and he follows that plan strictly, he's also very athletic, but Bowe is a rougher kind of fighter and can mix it up. I think if Golota can outbox and befuddle Bowe then Wlad would have an easy time, but if the Bowe that fought Holyfield was around maybe he can get Wlad to run out of gas just by pressure and fighting more on the inside.

Bowe vs Briggs would have been decent too as Briggs could punch, had fast hands, and was a relatively big fella

[Max Power]

Yes, yes and yes.

As for Tyson and Bowe, I can maybe see Bowe as somewhat similar in 92 as Buster Douglas in Tokyo. Both looked similar, similar size and even a similar sad story.

Wladimir vs Bowe is definitely the shaky proposition. I can see Bowe getting Wlad sometimes. I think Bowe would have moments like Tony Thompson did but Bowe hits harder and Wlad did not fight anybody who can work inside but with the height and reach of Bowe. But then again if Wladimir performed flawlessly I can see a decision win as well. He isn't knocking Bowe out though, no way.

Vitali I see the clear favourite over Bowe, he never loses focus.

LEnnox again I favour most of the time but if their fight at the Olympics was anything to go by, for me I don't really call that a KO, not in pro boxing and the first round proved that Bowe's inside game troubled Lewis. I think too if Lewis was half assed at all as he could be against Mercer or McCall or Bruno... He would have gone down to the big daddy and maybe we'd be celebrating old food bag as the premiere HW of the 90's instead.

But again... It's just what ifs?

Briggs vs Bowe would have been good for sure as I believe Bowe 92 vs Tokyo Buster would have been a classic war.