I think Bowe at his best was a terrific fighter. A terrible night for anyone in history, and I know alot of people also think he was better than Lennox.
However, being that he ducked Lennox and had a relatively short reign as champion where do we rank him?
I dont know.
At his prime, I think Bowe was better than Lewis. But his prime was so short. He was never the same after those wars with Holyfield.
No, his body of work wasn't as good for as long as Lewis's. Plus, he clearly wanted no part of Lennox as a pro. Are we overrating Bowe? Aside from Holyfield, what did he do in his "prime" to rate so highly? That might be the better question. He clearly was talented but seems like Evander was the only one who could get him to show what potential he had. 
Bowe was at his peak when he beat Jorge Luis Gonzalez IMO. He fell off big time because of the wars with Holyfield and because he abused his body (he had a refrigerator in his room so "the champ" wouldn't have to walk the kitchen for his ice cream. WTF?)
Lennox was better only because Lennox was smarter. Bowe was more talented, but Lennox peaked late. When he started working with Steward he went from a good, but clumsy HW with a shaky chin to a masterful tactician with a devastating uppercut, good movement and a some excellent long range weapons. Lennox's fighting prime was after his physical prime and by that time Bowe was getting his nuts used as a speedbag by Golota.
Yeah Gonzalez was the other performance that stood out to me.
Bowe did fight and beat a better version of Holyfield than Lewis, but you cant really justify ranking him ahead on that and Gonzalez din't live up to his potential as a pro .
Plus, the ducking is unforgivable.
Another story of great potential squandered. Always had work ethic issues
After his all time great performance against Evander to win the heavyweight title, it seemed all downhill from there.
The Riddick that showed up against Evander was young, fresh, strong, fast, fluid and powerful. He looked like he was going to kill Evander on multiple occasions.
That said, apparently the first thing he did upon becoming HW champ was install a kitchen in his bedroom.
The Riddick against Evander 1 would probably have beaten Lennox.
But he ducked Lennox, and was arguably cautious about fighting him because Lennox KO'ed him in Seoul.
If only he had kept his senses up and his weight down for a few more years then he could have fought Lewis in 99/2000 time.
Technofiend - After his all time great performance against Evander to win the heavyweight title, it seemed all downhill from there.
The Riddick that showed up against Evander was young, fresh, strong, fast, fluid and powerful. He looked like he was going to kill Evander on multiple occasions.
That said, apparently the first thing he did upon becoming HW champ was install a kitchen in his bedroom.
Holyfield himself said that he seriously doubted that if we was at his absolute best he could have beaten the Bowe that showed up that night. Bowe was something special, but unfortunately his mind and his body deteriorated quickly, part of it being his lifestyle and part of it being his profession.
Lennox on the other hand had good sense and constantly worked like a real pro. If you recall after the Tyson fight he said as much himself "I'm like fine wine and I learn my craft over time" or something to that effect. Lennox had a lot of physical gifts, but learned to hide the chinks in his game by learning to become the perfect fighter for his abilities.
Bowe handled Holyfield much more impressively in that one fight than Lennox ever did. But Lennox does have the better body of work, without question.
Lennox developed late is not really accurate. He was just inconsistent. But 1992 Lennox that beat ruddock was easily a match for bowe. Fast and aggressive with huge power. He would have taken bowe or holy 
Trane -Lennox would have beaten Bowes at any stage of their careers. Already TKO'd him at the Olympic trials so Bowe wanted no part of him. LL was more talented by far, Bowe was the smarter fighter.
Didn't Jorge Luis Gonzalez stop , or at least beat both of them as an amateur?
I watched Bowe Lewis the other week and Bowe looked more like a kid than I remembered. I know there wasn't much age difference but I think Lennox was a bit more developed at that stage.
Lennox was scary against Ruddock
Lennox annihilated Ruddock in 92 but at that time was still not the fully formed HW nor superior box-fighter he was 6 or 7 years later.
From that point, his jab developed, his physique and his all round fighting ability improved.
This is very noticable in video footage.
ShamusO'nyou - I think Bowe at his best was a terrific fighter. A terrible night for anyone in history, and I know alot of people also think he was better than Lennox.
However, being that he ducked Lennox and had a relatively short reign as champion where do we rank him?
I dont know.
I would love to rank RB ahead of LL: he was a warrior, could seriously brawl, but the facts remain that he was a lazy trainer and didn't have the true heart of a great champion and his record reflected that; particularly after the Golota debacles.
LL never did it for me, too mechanical and risk averse and fought too many stiffs, don't care what his record said, and he legitimately lost the second fight aganist EH: ridiculous decision. He was a massive HW, great reach, well conditioned and he used that to his advantage against majority average opposition.
Despite that, RB should not be ranked in the top ten HW of all time, he simply didn't deserve to be there because he never fulfilled his potential.
(he had a refrigerator in his room so "the champ" wouldn't have to walk the kitchen for his ice cream. WTF?)
OH SHIT!! legit LOL.
No way.
He lacked the heart and consistency.
The fact that he ducked Lennox for so long tells you Riddick's opinion, in reference to the question.