If Mike Tyson had fought Riddick Bowe

[milmascaras1]

a prime riddick bowe would have KO'd that rapist, wife beating, mike tyson who i believe was a huge hype job. aside from getting spanked by the incomparable (sarcasm) buster douglas, the first real great fighter he fought (holyfield) showed he was a hyper job. he's very fortunate to have fought in the mid-late 80's instead of the rough and tumble 70's cause he would have never have won any title.

[El Kabong]

I think this is a pick 'em fight....

The fight plan for Bowe
Use the height, use the jab, tie up on the inside. Use your superior athletic ability to move and counter.

The fight plan for Tyson
Slip the jab, cut off the ring, use angles to attack and counter. Apply steady pressure, throw punches in combinations, and to cheat a little initiate the clinch, break early and fire off combinations.

Why Bowe wouldn't win
As dominant as Bowe was, he NEVER fought a big time power puncher like Tyson or anywhere near Tyson. Riddick got rocked by Holyfield and at times despite his physical abilities he had the tendency to be lazy in the ring, allowing himself to take punishment and allowing shorter fighters to fight on the inside.

Why Tyson wouldn't win
Mike Tyson had a weak psyche and if he was stood up to he could be broken. Riddick Bowe for whatever flaws he had, he possessed an enormous amount of heart when challeneged. The biggest flaw of Tyson's style was that he had to be in close to do damage and if he was kept at distance and tied up on the inside he could be shut out.

I see it like this.....45% Tyson wins by KO/TKO in the early to middle rounds, 50% Bowe wins by KO/TKO in the late rounds, and 5% Bowe wins by decision.

[ElTerribleMorales]

a prime riddick bowe would have KO'd that rapist, wife beating, mike tyson who i believe was a huge hype job. aside from getting spanked by the incomparable (sarcasm) buster douglas, the first real great fighter he fought (holyfield) showed he was a hyper job. he's very fortunate to have fought in the mid-late 80's instead of the rough and tumble 70's cause he would have never have won any title.

yet he has wins over Ruddock, Bruno, Holmes, Spinks, and others

if Tyson was a "hype job", then what the hell are guys like Chambers, Arreola, and McCline who with the heavyweight division being at it's worst still can't manage to win a strap

Bowe would beat Tyson if he used his jab and countered Tyson with the uppercut while coming in, but Mike had the power and speed to drop Bowe

[rjj tszyu]

This is a hard fight to call IMO. One thing I will say though is I don't think it would go the distance. I hear time and time again how good Bowe's chin was but was really tested against someone of Tysons power or speed? No. Also I felt as though Evander was not far off stopping him when the fan man came into the ring in their second fight. So as far as Tyson goes I think he COULD KO Bowe.

On the other hand if Bowe was keeping Tyson at bay and winning the fight in the later rounds I think Tyson would fall eventually and I think Tysons heart would give out on him as it did in pretty much all his defeats.

Tyson IMO didn't have the mental toughness to be truly great in the ring and to me Bowe didn't have the mental toughness outside the ring to stay out of the fridge and be great in it.

[piye]

Two greats I think Tyson stop him.

[ICB]

This is a hard fight to call IMO. One thing I will say though is I don't think it would go the distance. I hear time and time again how good Bowe's chin was but was really tested against someone of Tysons power or speed? No. Also I felt as though Evander was not far off stopping him when the fan man came into the ring in their second fight. So as far as Tyson goes I think he COULD KO Bowe.

On the other hand if Bowe was keeping Tyson at bay and winning the fight in the later rounds I think Tyson would fall eventually and I think Tysons heart would give out on him as it did in pretty much all his defeats.

Tyson IMO didn't have the mental toughness to be truly great in the ring and to me Bowe didn't have the mental toughness outside the ring to stay out of the fridge and be great in it.

Really mate ? i felt the total opposite, Evander Holyfield comeback in the 4th 5th 6th rounds. But in the 7th round Riddick Bowe was regaining control of the fight when the fan man come in, i think you should watch that again mate beause i think the total opposite.

As for Riddick Bowe's chin, well i wouldn't say he had a granite chin. But it was quite a solid chin with great heart. I mean how many Heavyweight's could of took that punishment in the 2nd Andrew Golota fight.

You have to have a good chin and have some balls, to wishstand that hammering he took. I mean in one round he took 70+ power punches and thats a crazy amount for Featherweight's let alone Heavyweights.

[generalbulldog]

Since this is a hypothetical match up where I"m assuming the best version of Tyson and best version of Bowe shows up, I go with Tyson.

[rjj tszyu]

This is a hard fight to call IMO. One thing I will say though is I don't think it would go the distance. I hear time and time again how good Bowe's chin was but was really tested against someone of Tysons power or speed? No. Also I felt as though Evander was not far off stopping him when the fan man came into the ring in their second fight. So as far as Tyson goes I think he COULD KO Bowe.

On the other hand if Bowe was keeping Tyson at bay and winning the fight in the later rounds I think Tyson would fall eventually and I think Tysons heart would give out on him as it did in pretty much all his defeats.

Tyson IMO didn't have the mental toughness to be truly great in the ring and to me Bowe didn't have the mental toughness outside the ring to stay out of the fridge and be great in it.

Really mate ? i felt the total opposite, Evander Holyfield comeback in the 4th 5th 6th rounds. But in the 7th round Riddick Bowe was regaining control of the fight when the fan man come in, i think you should watch that again mate beause i think the total opposite.

As for Riddick Bowe's chin, well i wouldn't say he had a granite chin. But it was quite a solid chin with great heart. I mean how many Heavyweight's could of took that punishment in the 2nd Andrew Golota fight.

You have to have a good chin and have some balls, to wishstand that hammering he took. I mean in one round he took 70+ power punches and thats a crazy amount for Featherweight's let alone Heavyweights.

I see your point, but I felt that Bowe was giving his final effort in that round knowing that Holyfield was starting to dominate and was edging towards the KO. Just my view on it though mate and as I said I can totally see where your coming from.



Here it is anyway for anyone else who wants to have a look!

[holmcall]

Bowe style would be very difficullt for Tyson. Plus Bowe was avery good inside fighter.

[El Kabong]

Bowe style would be very difficullt for Tyson. Plus Bowe was avery good inside fighter.

Yes Bowe was good on the inside but if you allow Tyson to fight you on the inside you're begging for a beat down.

I just think if Holyfield can rock the hell out of Riddick Bowe then Tyson with quick combinations and good head movement can do the same.


I hate to do this because I think both Holmes and Bowe were a bit better than this fight, but this hypothetical match reminds me of Tyson-Holmes....Holmes had a PROVEN rock solid chin and Tyson just wrecked his world. Granted it was on short notice, but I figure Bowe wouldn't have had added much more speed, power, or defense than Holmes did.

[Balboa]

a prime riddick bowe would have KO'd that rapist, wife beating, mike tyson who i believe was a huge hype job. aside from getting spanked by the incomparable (sarcasm) buster douglas, the first real great fighter he fought (holyfield) showed he was a hyper job. he's very fortunate to have fought in the mid-late 80's instead of the rough and tumble 70's cause he would have never have won any title.

This not only strikes me as an unfair summation, but a pretty heavily biased one as well. It's simply not true. Legal and social antics outside the ring aside, Mike Tyson was an absolute phenom for the very short window his spark was at it's hottest. There was no lengthy prime or peak for Iron Mike but for about a 4 year span in the late 80's right up to the very early 90s Mike could have stood his ground with any heavyweight in history and been competetive. I find that to be a gross underevaluation of the man's talents inside the ring and heavily tainted by his troubles outside it.

That said, a Bowe-Tyson fight for me gets really simple. This one boils down to chins. Riddick was a very fluid and suprisingly graceful boxer in flashes who possessed decent power. Tyson was an uncorked typhoon with ridiculous power and a swarming style coupled with great combo ability.

Mike also had one of the most underrated chins in boxing. To beat Mike, you had to beat his ass silly (obviously we're not talking about McBride here, I mean when he was still passionate). Buster and Evander and even Lewis had to damn near break his face before enough was enough. Mike could take a HELL of a shot.

Riddick? Not so much. Can he outbox Mike over 12? Yes, and it's not an unplausible scenario.

More likely however, is that a prime Mike busts Riddick ALL up and early and it's over and nasty like any number of brutal Tyson Ko's before. Too much thunder for that chin, IMO.