A prime Bruno v Riddick Bowe

[colinthfc]

Anyone tip Bruno?

[brown bomber]

Only the stupid.

[GazOC]

Bowe.

[kosaros]

Only the stupid.

:deal Unless the thread starter meant the Bowe of today :yep

[JonOli]

Bowe's prime was pretty short lived, if I remember rightly, then a steep decline. You'd have to tip Bowe though.

[Mr Butt]

bowe

[Utter1]

R. Bowe was deffo a level above F. Bruno who was a very good B level fighter.

Somtimes you can get styles where a lesser fighter just happens to better the greater fighter ala Forrest with Mosley but in this case Bowe is just better all around..........a comfortable UD or very late stoppage.

[Tony Bellew]

Only the stupid.

Spot on!!

The Bowe that turned up for the 1st Holyfield fight would have beaten most heavyweights I feel!! Sad to see the way he declined!! He could have gone down as a great had he lived the right life!! As a fighter he had everything, Spped,Power,Good defence,great on inside,good engine(when fit),great ring generalship too!! Just a great all round fighter on his day..:good

[GPater11093]

Bowe would beat him he was pretty well rounded and a good technician. Just liked the inside too much for his own good IMO.

[Danny]

Bowe's prime was very brief & that was his own fault! If only he had more discipline....

However, Bruno would have faced him full of confidence! Frank would have tried hard, but at the end of the day, a peak Bowe was a better fighter than Frank has ever been & that's no disrepspect!

However, I do not see Bruno getting beaten in similar fashion to the way he did against Tyson back in 1989! Bruno may have even lasted the distance with Bowe, but he would take some punishment throughout!

[Flea Man]

Bowe would batter Frank at long-range (better jab than Bruno, and Bruno had a fantastic HW jab IMO) mid-range (Bowe could let off combo's that would smash through even Frank's strong arms) and on the inside (Bowe was a great inside fighter for such a big man)

I really rate Frank Bruno; he gets a lot of unfair stick from people who haven't actually watched him fight or just think he is 'china chinned'. But Bowe is all wrong for him.

[chico g]

Bowe, he has the power and chin...

[Raashid]

Bowe, he has the power and chin...

Do you think? The much smaller Holyfield had him down and very nearly out in the rubber match. Whilst that Bowe may well have been dimished by his lack of conditioning, not to mention the two prior Holyfied wars, but I do wonder what a big punching heavyweight would have done if he connected with Bowe's chin. In fact, Holyfield aside, I don't recall anyone seriously testing his chin.
I agree that Bowe had the superior technical skills and a Bruno-Bowe fight would be similar to Bruno-Witherspoon with a game Bruno getting stopped as he gassed, but that knockdown agaonst Holyfield makes me wonder whether Frank would have a slight puncher's chance...

[Ste Hawkins]

Not as clear cut as some of you think in my opinion. Bowe was shit scared of heavy hitting big heavyweights and that was a major reason he avoided Lennox. Bruno's jab would also compare favourably against the often lazy Bowe of the early rounds. Look at Herbie Hide's first 4 rounds against Bowe, he outjabbed him constantly. And watch Bruno's first 4 rounds of the jab against Lennox.
However I still think if Bowe was fit and motivated (big if's) he'd stop Frank. His speed of combinations and inside fighting would drain Big Frank and it would probably end in a similar fashion to the Bruno/Lewis fight.:bbb

[Axl_Nose]

Anyone tip Bruno?

If anybody tips Bruno they are clinically insane .. Bowe was a brilliant attacking fighter in the early 90's in the few times he prepared properly and was disciplined .. The stiff Bruno wouldnt have stood a chance. Bowe had every shot in the book, a truly great left jab and a beast of an uppercut, he had the skills to be a great but he didnt have the attitude.

You put the best version of Wlad or Vitali, in with the best version of Bowe and Bowe chews them up and spits out the bones .. David Haye is lucky that theres no Bowe around nowadays as he'd be dealt with as brutally as Herbie Hide was ..

[Axl_Nose]

Do you think? The much smaller Holyfield had him down and very nearly out in the rubber match. Whilst that Bowe may well have been dimished by his lack of conditioning, not to mention the two prior Holyfied wars, but I do wonder what a big punching heavyweight would have done if he connected with Bowe's chin. In fact, Holyfield aside, I don't recall anyone seriously testing his chin.
I agree that Bowe had the superior technical skills and a Bruno-Bowe fight would be similar to Bruno-Witherspoon with a game Bruno getting stopped as he gassed, but that knockdown agaonst Holyfield makes me wonder whether Frank would have a slight puncher's chance...

I remember plenty of people testing Frank's chin and it usually ended with the ref calling it off. Considering Bowe's attacking arsenal and offensive style, for Frank has no chance. Holyfield is no gauge in this argument, Holyfield was a truly brilliant offensive fighter who would have also destroyed Frank Bruno in probably 5 rounds .....
Bruno looked ok against cautious fighters like Lewis, Witherspoon, Crusher, McCall .. Against an attacking fighter like Tyson he was way out of his depth and against Bowe and Holyfield it would be the same story .. Frank Bruno would never be able to handle attacking, offensive, skilled Heavyweights, he's a guy that needs a slow pace to establish his own rhythm .... No chance against Bowe or Holyfield ..

[Ste Hawkins]

If anybody tips Bruno they are clinically insane .. Bowe was a brilliant attacking fighter in the early 90's in the few times he prepared properly and was disciplined .. The stiff Bruno wouldnt have stood a chance. Bowe had every shot in the book, a truly great left jab and a beast of an uppercut, he had the skills to be a great but he didnt have the attitude.

You put the best version of Wlad or Vitali, in with the best version of Bowe and Bowe chews them up and spits out the bones .. David Haye is lucky that theres no Bowe around nowadays as he'd be dealt with as brutally as Herbie Hide was ..
I saw almost all of Bowe's fights. My memory of him is different. Herbie was a very raw, chinny young fighter with a serious size disadvantage, yet he twatted Bowe with every shot in the book until he himself got tagged. I agree Bowe had skills but putting him on a pedestal like this is folly. Gifted yes, but he was a bully and way too easy to hit and often way too lazy to deserve these accolades. And I bet my last dollar he'd have ducked Klitschko just like he ducked Lewis. :bbb

[Axl_Nose]

I saw almost all of Bowe's fights. My memory of him is different. Herbie was a very raw, chinny young fighter with a serious size disadvantage, yet he twatted Bowe with every shot in the book until he himself got tagged. I agree Bowe had skills but putting him on a pedestal like this is folly. Gifted yes, but he was a bully and way too easy to hit and often way too lazy to deserve these accolades. And I bet my last dollar he'd have ducked Klitschko just like he ducked Lewis. :bbb


That is a very modern day attitude of Bowe, whether he knew it or not he took on a very good Holyfield 3 times .. The first 2 times at least, he was in wars, he came through in the first and he got edged in the second. But in these 2 fights he proved to have more of a fighters heart than Lewis or either Klitschko .. I agree he was a bully, and he never liked the idea of Lewis but i disagree when you say he wouldnt of fancied the Klits .. I think Bowe would have seen these 2 for what they are, 2 stiff 'center ring' specialists who have no idea how to fight if the fight 'goes tough' and into the trenches ....
Im not that big a fan of Bowe, but to compare him with Bruno is quite ridiculous, Bowe was a brilliant fighter, anybody who beats Holyfield back then needs to be respected. Alot of people on here like to denigrate Holyfield as if he was a second rate fighter, these people are obviously teenagers, as anybody with any kind of knowledge knows that Lewis simply couldnt have survived with an early 90's Holyfield, regardless of weight, Holyfield's talent, speed, forward rhythm would have been way too much for Lewis but i agree that Lennox would have taken Bowe .. Style's make fights, but Bruno v Bowe, PUHHLEEASE !! That is an insane argument ..

You are the first person in history to make the argument that Hide got anywere against Bowe, the way i remember it, Bowe toyed with Hide knocking him down 6 times and then the crowd started throwing bottles into the ring, it was such an obvious mis-match ..:patsch

[Axl_Nose]

I saw almost all of Bowe's fights. My memory of him is different. Herbie was a very raw, chinny young fighter with a serious size disadvantage, yet he twatted Bowe with every shot in the book until he himself got tagged. I agree Bowe had skills but putting him on a pedestal like this is folly. Gifted yes, but he was a bully and way too easy to hit and often way too lazy to deserve these accolades. And I bet my last dollar he'd have ducked Klitschko just like he ducked Lewis. :bbb

If you knew your stuff you would know that at the time when Bowe 'supposedly' ducked Lennox Lewis. He was due for the biggest payday in boxing history, to fight George Foreman in China. Why would he choose to fight Lennox Lewis when Lewis at that time was an absolute nobody in America, Lewis Drew zero money .. The Foreman fight didnt materialize because Holyfield beat him in the re-match, casting Bowe into the wilderness as he wasnt with Don King ..

The only reason why fights dont come off is that there isnt enough cash involved, Boxers dont consider being scared, if Bowe was offered serious cash for a Lewis fight in the early 90's he would have taken it, i dont think he fancied it but he would have taken it. Another aspect that people must take into account is Tyson. At that point, everybody was jockeying for position to face Tyson when he was released from prison, knowing that thats were the real money was. Bowe's attitude destroyed him but lets not look back on history and consider Frank Bruno to be his equal, next you'll be telling me that Henry Cooper was a good heavyweight !!

[essexboy]

If you knew your stuff you would know that at the time when Bowe 'supposedly' ducked Lennox Lewis. He was due for the biggest payday in boxing history, to fight George Foreman in China. Why would he choose to fight Lennox Lewis when Lewis at that time was an absolute nobody in America, Lewis Drew zero money .. The Foreman fight didnt materialize because Holyfield beat him in the re-match, casting Bowe into the wilderness as he wasnt with Don King ..

The only reason why fights dont come off is that there isnt enough cash involved, Boxers dont consider being scared, if Bowe was offered serious cash for a Lewis fight in the early 90's he would have taken it, i dont think he fancied it but he would have taken it. Another aspect that people must take into account is Tyson. At that point, everybody was jockeying for position to face Tyson when he was released from prison, knowing that thats were the real money was. Bowe's attitude destroyed him but lets not look back on history and consider Frank Bruno to be his equal, next you'll be telling me that Henry Cooper was a good heavyweight !!

Bruno is definately not Bowe's equal but all that stuff about Bowe not facing Lewis to fight Foreman smells like bullshit to me. That might be his excuse, to fight a man two decades past his prime for a big payday but if he had any dignity at all he would have fought his most serious rival at the time, Lewis and avenged his amateur loss. If Lewis was an unknown why did he offer Lewis out on national television then all the theatrics with throwing the belt in a bin, I thought Lewis was well known in the US at the time commentating and whatnot. Bowe let himself down there.

[Axl_Nose]

Bruno is definately not Bowe's equal but all that stuff about Bowe not facing Lewis to fight Foreman smells like bullshit to me. That might be his excuse, to fight a man two decades past his prime for a big payday but if he had any dignity at all he would have fought his most serious rival at the time, Lewis and avenged his amateur loss. If Lewis was an unknown why did he offer Lewis out on national television then all the theatrics with throwing the belt in a bin, I thought Lewis was well known in the US at the time commentating and whatnot. Bowe let himself down there.

It may smell like bullshit in 2009 but back in the early 90's Lewis was a nobody and Foreman was the 'legend from Zaire, a legend from the glory days, trying to regain the title', in America that played like a dream .. Lewis was always in the picture at that point but he was only on the fringes .. Bowe v Foreman in China would have happened if Bowe would have beaten Holyfield in the re-match, but Bowe turned up 25 lbs over-weight and Holyfield was Holyfield, a teak tough warrior who was ready to go to war ..
Dont under-estimate the Tyson factor, in this time period (early 90s), every fighter was looking for his release date and wanting to be the guy with the belt that faced him, because that was the most serious money in heavyweight history ..... It didnt make sense that Bowe would take on the dangerous Lewis at that point, considering Tyson was in his sights and Lewis was a nobody that guaranteed no money at that point. Remember it was only in the late 90s that Lewis commanded respect in the States ..

Looking back 15 years is sometimes easy, but as ever in boxing and as Bunce always says, its all about 'cash common sense', and Lewis wasnt in the mix at that point for the big names, and then when he picked up that WBC title he got wiped out by McCall, setting him back even further .. In some ways Lewis had himself to blame ..

[widdy]

If you knew your stuff you would know that at the time when Bowe 'supposedly' ducked Lennox Lewis. He was due for the biggest payday in boxing history, to fight George Foreman in China. Why would he choose to fight Lennox Lewis when Lewis at that time was an absolute nobody in America, Lewis Drew zero money .. The Foreman fight didnt materialize because Holyfield beat him in the re-match, casting Bowe into the wilderness as he wasnt with Don King ..

The only reason why fights dont come off is that there isnt enough cash involved, Boxers dont consider being scared, if Bowe was offered serious cash for a Lewis fight in the early 90's he would have taken it, i dont think he fancied it but he would have taken it. Another aspect that people must take into account is Tyson. At that point, everybody was jockeying for position to face Tyson when he was released from prison, knowing that thats were the real money was. Bowe's attitude destroyed him but lets not look back on history and consider Frank Bruno to be his equal, next you'll be telling me that Henry Cooper was a good heavyweight !!

fucking out of order here,cooper was a good heavyweight,what just becouse a boxer don't win a world title,or beat the best there not good,insulting mate,very fucking insulting.:patsch
bruno would of put up a good fight,he always did,wasent he ahead against witherspoon,a bloody good heavyweight at the time,until he ran outa steam,same with lewis fight.
bruno was a good fighter,a bit robotic,but very powerfull,most heavyweights struggled with him,but his chin and stamina always let him down,it would of been the same with big bully bowe:bbb

[Arnie]

Shame about Bowes life style he was great but could of been one off the greatest heavies