All in all, he was a splendid fighting machine in his prime.

Quality of opposition: Excellent. His first professional fight was in 1989 against Lionel Butler, a tough customer in his own right. Bowe would go on to fight such capable opponents as, Eddie Gonzalez, Art Tucker, Pinklon Thomas, Bert Cooper, Tyrell Biggs, Tony Tubbs, Rodolfo Marin, Phllipp Brown, Bruce Seldon, Elijah Tillery (in his second fight with Tillery, Bowe is declared winner by disqualification over Elijah who began kicking Big Daddy until he was grabbed from the neck and thrown outside the ring by Bowe's manager, Rock Neuman as a wild melee ensued), Pierre Coetzer, Evander Holyfield (thrice), Michael Dokes, Andrew Golota (twice), and Jesse Ferguson.

Unfortunately, a fight with Lennox Lewis never came off and the question of who would have won will never be answered. This would haunt Bowe, as many people believed that he avoided fighting Lewis. Also, a fight with Mike Tyson would have been compelling to say the least. Fights with Ray Mercer and Oliver McCall might have been great as well.

ERA: 1989-1996. Plenty of great heavies including Tyson, Holyfield, Bruno, Moorer, Mercer and Lewis. One problem here is that Riddick Bowe's prime was far too short and he was not able to dominate his era as he might have.

Observations: Riddick Bowe was at his peak when he took the title from Evander Holyfield and became the undisputed heavyweight champion of the world in November 1992. He then blew away Bert Cooper in two and muscular Bruce Seldon in one. At 32-0 and 25 years of age, he appeared invincible and greatness was his. After a controversial NC over Buster Mathis (Bowe hit his fat opponent while he lay on the canvas). He went on to defeat three previously undefeated fighters in Larry Donald, Herbie Hide and Jose Louis Gonzales (the later two in savage fashion). However, when he met Holyfield for the third time, he did not look nearly as fit as the fighter who won the title three years earlier. His training routine has dropped off considerably, but his eating habits and increased considerably....and when those two elevators meet, it is not a good thing.

And it showed during the last fight of this hard fought trilogy. A lethargic Bowe was decked by a Holyfield left hook in the fifth and appeared hurt in the eighth, but then he landed a big right hand during a furious exchange of bombs and that was it for the "Real Deal." But in winning, it was clear something was very wrong with "Big Daddy." He was more vulnerable, his musculature had lost definition, he was lethargic, and he could not sustain a steady punch volume. All of a sudden, he appeared ready for a big fall.

His two brutal fights with Andrew Golota in 1996 proved just that and were a case of "winning the battle and losing the war." (The ensuing riot after Golota was DQ' d for low blows in the first fight became breaking news across the United States, and an infamous night in the history of boxing. Golota was hit by a Bowe entourage man with a telephoneoverhand right to the head but it hardly stunned him). If nothing else, the second debacle proved Bowe had great heart as he refused to be knocked out , but he took terrible punishment as the Pole again came at him with everything but the kitchen sink. He recovered from three knockdowns, and managed to drop Golota once before the final result. Riddick wisley said there would not be a trilogy. Although a shell of what he used to be, he still was able to put hurt on "The Foul Pole." As one write commented, "It is not often you see combination punching to the groin area." Nevertheless, though he won both fights by justified DQ's, he was, for all practical purposes, "ruined" by Golota's ferocious assault....whether fair or foul. Arguably, he may well have sustained irreparable damage in those two fights.

Incredibly and unwisely, Big Daddy has made a comeback in 2004 after eight years of inactivity. With the claims (if not specter) of brain damage hanging over him, he dispatched hapless Marcus Rhode in two rounds. His split decision win over Billy "The Kid" Zumbrun in 2005 did more for Billy's reputation than it did for Big Daddy's. Manifestly, his skill set has diminished to the likely point of no return....and he needs to find a new direction for his controversial life....but those personal issues (and they are numerous) are not what this is about. Indeed, and given his accomplishments IN THE RING, this is about whether he should he be inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame when his time comes?

What do you think?