We're not talking about who was the better HW champ, that honour goes to Joe Louis and I doubt anyone would argue. Say what you want about Louis' competition, he held the belt for a long time and became a legend, while Bowe showed flashes of greatness but didn't have the dedication and discipline to keep it going.

But I think this is the big flaw with a lot of people's logic when they talk about hypothetical match ups between past and present guys: they automatically pick the more "accomplished" guy and completely ignore the relevant info, like styles and physical attributes.

Who cares if Joe Louis was a better HW champ, held onto the strap longer, had more longevity, ect. We're not talking about who can fight the longest or who had the best discipline. We're talking about one night, one fight, prime vs prime. The Joe Louis who smashed Schmeling in one round vs the Bowe who beat up Holyfield.

If you look at the two guys, Bowe is bigger, he's stronger, he's longer, he has superior punching power and he has the better chin. Joe Louis was NEVER a slickster, he was a feared boxer/puncher who was almost always the big puncher and used that power as a deterrent, so I have serious doubts as to whether he would be able to outfox Bowe. It really looks bad for Louis when you look at it objectively.