How good was Lennox Lewis?

On a serious note....Lewis is probably the second most under appreciated heavyweight in boxing history.
 
JayElectra said:
I think it's pretty tough to argue he's is any lower than #5 all time at HW. I'd almost be inclined to put him behind only Ali and Louis.
Click to expand...

Yeah I feel the same way. I think if he fought in a best of 5 series like they used to do in basketball against any heavyweight I think he would win all of them. Although I think Ali would beat him in his prime. But not without a hell of a fight.
 
My top 10 hw list

Ali
Louis
Lewis
Holmes
Johnson
Foreman
Frazier
Rocky
Evander
Tyson

Dempsey/Wlad could easily replace Tyson at 10. But iron mike is my dude.
 
The best HW in history, IMO. Wins over Klitschko, Tyson, Holyfield, Tua, Rahman, Golota, Ruddock, Mercer, Morrison, Briggs, Bruno. 8 of those guys were stopped. Name after name and he took them all down.

Got caught being silly by Rahman and McCall then avenged those losses in the utmost definitive fashion. There aren't very many HW's throughout history who match up well with him.

If you think of the greatest heavyweights of all time, you should think of only a handful of guys. Lewis will always be one of those guys.
 
JayElectra said:
Who do you think is the most?
Click to expand...

can't speak for LI, but I'd say that among my most underrated HW's AT are Johansson (only really has the win over Patterson, but that's a damn good win), Patterson himself, Holmes (depending on who you ask), and Vitali. Chris Byrd wasn't bad either, but I wouldn't put him on the level of the others, who are all either ATG HWs or near it.
 
great fighter, a thoroughbred's confidence, one of the great right hands in the history of the division, one of the most intelligent heavyweight champions. The only heavyweight champion in history who never took and easy defense, he fought the best he could find and beat them convincingly. Downside? too big, had poor movement, did not have a great chin. I don't know where to put him all time, I would put him after Holmes in the post-Ali era though.
 
ironfist05 said:
can't speak for LI, but I'd say that among my most underrated HW's AT are Johansson (only really has the win over Patterson, but that's a damn good win), Patterson himself, Holmes (depending on who you ask), and Vitali. Chris Byrd wasn't bad either, but I wouldn't put him on the level of the others, who are all either ATG HWs or near it.
Click to expand...

I too believe Patterson was a damn good fighter, often overlooked. You never hear him mentioned as a great heavyweight or a great fighter. I think he and Cus traded a true chance at greatness and immortality for the money to be made at heavyweight. Floyd could have been a great lightheavyweight and some people think he could have been a middleweight, that is one small heavyweight, even in the era of Marciano. The 60's brought a new era of big heavyweights and Patterson was really just too small. He probably would have been able to take shots a lot better at middleweight and lightheavy and everything else he had. Great power and lightening fast hands to go along with a true craftsman's work ethic.
 
Louis
Ali
Holmes
Lewis
 
Great. Very Great.

No debate top 5 HW and could be top 3.
 
I remember once soon after Foreman won the title from Moorer, he was commentating an HBO fight featuring Lewis. George said something like "Lewis is fighting like he is the real champ", and either Lampley or Merchant said "Yeah, but you are the champ", and Foreman replied "I know, but no way do I want to fight him!". George is no dummy!
 
Lennox beat any HW in history. Line'em up and Lennox lays'em down.
 
Second best of all time, I have em beating everybody on his day
 
wartor said:
He beat:

Vitali Klitschko
Mike Tyson
Evander Holyfield
Click to expand...

Well, 'vander was getting old and Tyson was shot to bits.

I understand the negativity, he wasn't my favourite to watch. Fought very conservatively too often. Got one shot KO'd twice by journeymen. Was getting beat up by Bruno:p until he landed the big shot.
Ruddock and Grant were his finest hours.
 
There's no one he couldn't beat in his prime. He fought Vitali Klit on extremely short notice when Kirk Johnson bailed out and still won the fight. I mean, who does that? Seriously, it's taken 20 years just to get May and Floyd to fight or RJJ V Hopkins 2. This guy feared no one.

The problem is, he rarely just went in there and KO'd people. In his biggest tests against a prime Tua or even that Klit example he looked lackluster. He outboxed Tua and never seemed in trouble but didn't beat him to a pulp as he should have. He later defended the fight and said Tua has to take it from me, I don't owe it to the fans to go in there and KO him.

The fans were still used to that Tyson or Bowe mentality where the fighters wanted to knock your head off and couldn't accept this new pugilist mentality. This was mostly an American thing, though I am one of those fans that had a hard time stomaching a 12 round jab fest.

Against Vitali he struggled, had he not gotten that gift of a cut with his vicious uppercuts who knows how the fight would go.

He had no business losing to Rahman in that spectacular fashion. Granted, he easily KO'd him in the rematch.

Everytime you wanted to love the guy, he let you down, but he is a top 10 of all time HW and in his prime he could beat Ali, Foreman, etc. Not to say Ali or Foreman couldn't beat him.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Latest posts

Forum statistics

Threads
1,236,658
Messages
55,432,483
Members
174,775
Latest member
kilgorevontrouty

Share this page

Back
Top