Riddick Bowe has thrown some punches at Lennox Lewis outside the ring. The former heavyweight champ claims Lewis dodged him during their careers, saying Lewis got "given" the heavyweight title Bowe gave up.
In an old interview from The Arsenio Hall Show that's making the rounds again, Bowe didn't hold back about his feelings for Lewis.
"He doesn't say anything nice about me. I guess it's personal you know we have a clash of personalities, he don't like me and I don't like him and what we need to do is get it on. He has something that belongs to me, I won my titles in the ring and somebody just gave him something, I say that I'm the best, he say that he's the best so you know we just don't like each other, plain and simple."
Bowe, known as 'Big Daddy', ended his first run in boxing in 1996 but came back in 2004 for two more fights against Andrew Golota. He claimed Lewis knew he was the top dog.
"I think Lennox realises I'm the best fighter out there … I would like to fight him and shut up his big mouth. You can't fight a running man. It's hard for me to catch up with him."
The irony is that many folks accused Bowe of ducking Lewis back in the day. In the early 90s, they were supposed to fight, but it never happened. Bowe even threw his WBC belt in the trash, which many saw as him refusing to face Lewis as the mandatory challenger.
Lewis, for his part, thought Bowe's manager, Rock Newman, was the one who stopped the fight from happening.
'The Lion' started his pro career in 1989 after grabbing Olympic gold in Seoul the year before. He went on to become heavyweight champ three times and beat a bunch of great fighters.
One of Lewis' biggest wins came against Evander Holyfield in 1999, making him the undisputed champ. That fight showed Lewis could handle the best, even if Bowe thinks otherwise.
