What if? Lennox Lewis vs Riddick Bowe

What if? Lennox Lewis vs Riddick Bowe
By Terrance Alexander (Thurs Apr 19, 2001)

As Lennox Lewis prepares for his heavyweight title defense this Saturday against Hasim Rahman in South Africa, What If wonders whether life would have been different for Lewis if his amateur foe Riddick Bowe didn't throw his WBC belt in a trash can in the early-90's. The site is Caesars Palace in Las Vegas, and let's leave it up to referee Mills Lane to kick things off.

"Let's Get it On"

ROUND ONE: The stare down was memorable, and seconds into the fight, Bowe and Lewis began to take their hostilities out on each other. Lewis' defense early is good, as he catches a lot of Bowe's punches on his arms and shoulders, but soon a double left hook and right hand smash into Lewis' jaw. Lewis backs off and tries to establish a stiff jab, but Bowe wants to brawl. He bullies Lewis into a corner, and is warned by Lane for using elbows. Bowe returns to the fray with a wild swing and miss, and Lewis capitalizes with a combination to the body and head. Lewis now has Bowe in the corner, but as Lennox moves in, a crackling left drops Lewis on the seat of his pants. He is up at five, but he now has a nasty mouse under his right eye, and the swelling is increasing.
ROUND TO BOWE

ROUND TWO: Lewis comes out quickly, and despite his corner's screams for him to jab, he meets Bowe in the center of the ring and rips two left hooks to the head. Bowe fires back, but Lewis' uppercuts are finding a home between Riddick's wide hooks. Lewis has stopped moving and is just waging war. Bowe is looking for one big punch to end it, but he is missing wildly.
ROUND TO LEWIS

ROUND THREE: Lewis looks a little winded as the third starts, and Bowe has settled down a bit, working the jab, and not letting Lewis inside. Bowe starts dancing and showboating a bit, and Leswis responds with a couple of hard combinations. Bowe answers back with some 1-2's of his own, aiming for Lewis' rapidly swelling eye, and just when the tide is turning, an overhand
right staggers Bowe. 'Big Daddy' reaches for the ropes to steady himself, but he's in trouble. Luckily, the bell rescues him.
ROUND TO LEWIS.

ROUND FOUR: The legendary Eddie Futch gives Bowe a tongue lashing between rounds, but he falls back into a familiar pattern in the fourth, with Lewis pitching and Riddick catching. Midway through the round, the pace slows, and Bowe starts to control the round with his jab. It's still anybody's fight.
EVEN ROUND

ROUND FIVE: Lewis again initiates the action, and after his strong start, Bowe looks bewildered. Lewis' jab is controlling the fight, but after a few seconds of posturing, Bowe jumps in with a three punch combination punctuated with a left uppercut. The crowd roars, and Bowe and Lewis start to trade, with Riddick getting the better of the exchanges.
ROUND TO BOWE

ROUND SIX: The pattern of the earlier rounds repeats, but now it's Bowe landing, and with alarming frequency on a tired Lewis, whose right eye is closing more and more each round. Lewis is unable to clinch, and Bowe's punches are starting to wear him down.
ROUND TO BOWE

ROUND SEVEN: Bowe comes roaring out of the corner, and soon he has Lewis on the ropes. Bowe's punches are hurting Lewis, while Lennox's shots have lost their sting. Lewis looks like he's on his way out when a couple of hooks stun Bowe and bring the Brit back into the fight. Both fighters push each other at the bell, eager to resume hostilities.
ROUND TO BOWE

ROUND EIGHT: Bowe waves Lewis on at the start of the round, and Lennox obliges, moving into Riddick's range. A stiff jab snaps Lewis' head back, and and a couple of successive 1-2's send Lewis to the floor. Lewis makes it to a knee, suddenly looking exhausted. He rises at eight, but his legs are unsteady. Bowe rips punch after punch at Lewis, and with Lewis not firing back, Lane steps in at the 2:28 mark.

Your Winner..by Eighth Round TKO - Riddick 'Big Daddy' Bowe

At the time of the stoppage, Bowe led on all three official scorecards -
68-64, 68-65, 69-64.

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