Wladimir and Vitali would have been OK...I'm not so sure Bowe would have had such an easy time with them. Remember he didn't want to fight Lewis because Lennox wrecked him in the amateurs.
Bowe was an exciting fighter because he gave up his height and liked to fight on the inside....it wouldn't work to his advantage vs either brother. But he did have a hell of a chin.
I think the best style match ups would be:
Mike Tyson for Vitali as in the late 80's and all through the 90's Tyson stopped moving his head and was beatable by guys who had good chins, knew how to box and had good defense.....Vitali is hard to hit unless you are head hunting and if you are he's 6'8 and leans back....it would be difficult for the 5'10 Tyson to connect often enough to cause significant damage IMO.
Riddick Bowe for Wlad, while I think that Riddick was a very good fighter he was 6'5 and gave up his size to fight on the inside because he liked to mix it up which is what made him VERY popular, however, giving up size and distance to let Wlad use how he wants is dangerous for anyone. Bowe had a good chin, was never stopped (he didn't fight many of the best power punchers of his era though), but got dropped by Evander, and vs Golota while he wasn't the same fighter he WAS getting schooled before Golota just blew up.
The worst matchup for the two are:
Lennox Lewis for Vitali...those two seemed evenly matched even when Lewis was SAID to be out of shape. Lewis a great boxer, a self professed "pugilist specialist" when he was younger could box and move as good as anyone before him. Although he could get careless it only happened twice in his career and he was able to avenge those losses.
Evander Holyfield for Wladimir...now I don't doubt that Wlad would totally own Evander for the majority of the fight but Evander has a great chin and the best stamina of his era. Evander would apply great pressure to Wlad and Wlad would bust him up BUT Evander would just take it and keep coming....that's a more dangerous fight than Tyson IMO who yes very well could catch Wlad with a haymaker BUT #1 Wlad doesn't drop from just one punch #2 Tyson allowed people to tie him up all throughout his career and Wlad is bigger and stronger than damn near everyone Tyson ever fought.
Bookmarks