Lennox Lewis was the greatest heavyweight of the last 40 years and its not even close

[Piff Huxtable]

he was in rehab for drugs...don king for whatever pulled him out of it to face lennox for the vacant belt

and it was a fight where mccall beat himself more than lewis beat him...lewis lands flush shots on mccall and mccall remained clear eyed and upright..lewis did nothing spectacular other than land punches on a fighter who was in no mental condition to fight...it sucks all around

the 90s were full of fukkery:
McCall emotional breakdown
Tyson bit Holyfield ear (we love the sport)
Bowe-Golota I and II
Fan Man
Akinwande getting DQ'd for hugging
the ref just looking on while Ray Mercer is killing Tommy Morris

 

[mitter]

Dude had a bevy of masterful combos and a devestating right hand.

Shout out to Shannon Briggs for not getting enough respect either

Sorry, but no. Here's why:

1. He got knocked the fukk out by mediocre fighters twice in his relative prime. It's worse than Tyson losing to Douglas because it took a sustained beatdown to KO Tyson. Lewish got KOed by one punch (more or less) both times.

2. This is not entirely his fault (lots of politics, etc.), but he was an afterthought in the heavyweight division for most of the 90s. In other words, he was not involved in the biggest fights, and his "titles" were viewed as alphabet titles. Nobody really thought of him as the real heavyweight champion until 1999.

 

[FabTrey]

Lewis was 35, Tyson was 34. No exuses

you can't go by the age. every fighters have their own unique story. Tyson at the time he fought Lewis was a shell of his own shell. he was a punching bag. Lennox on the other hand was still in his prime.

 

[Renzo]

Lewis may be the most overrated fighter ever. Second only to Ali? He was dominant but he wasn’t exactly setting the world on fire. You only heard this nonsense start coming out from HBO once he beat Tyson and he only got that recognition because for whatever reason people saw him as the Anti Tyson. In real time he was considered a safe but boring boxer that had a knack for suing other fighters and refusing to fight mandatories to the point he was stripped of every title he ever won. He’s in the 10-15 range if anything.

 

[mitter]

How can someone be the greatest heavyweight of an era when most of the biggest, most consequential fights of his time did not involve him?

Let's recap the 1990s and the biggest, most consequential fights. For most of the decade, Lewis was an afterthought.



1990: Douglas KOs Tyson, Holyfield KOs Douglas

1991: Holyfield is the champ, Tyson wins two wars with Ruddock. Everyone is looking ahead to Tyson vs. Holyfield, but Tyson has to pull out due to injuries, and then he gets in legal trouble and goes to prison.

1992: Bowe takes the title from Holyfield in a legendary fight. Negotiations between Bowe and Lewis' camps break down, and Bowe is stripped of the WBC title for not making a mandatory defense against Lewis. Lewis pics up the WBC title, but everyone views Bowe as the real champ.

1993: Holyfield takes back the title from Bowe in a very close fight known for the "fan man" incident

1994: The division is in a state of flux as Holyfield is facing health issues, Lewis's alphabet title got taken by journeyman McCall, Bowe is eating himself out of contention, Foreman KOs Moorer, and all the promoters and sanctioning bodies are really looking ahead to Tyson's upcoming release from prison

1995: More of everyone waiting around for Tyson. Bowe vs. Holyfield III is the biggest fight of the year

1996: Tyson comes back, takes a few titles (Tyson drops the WBC title instead of facing Lewis, and Lewis picks up this alphabet title the next year in a rematch against McCall). Tyson is beating everyone badly and there's no doubt he is the top heavyweight ... until Holyfield KOs Tyson in the biggest fight of the year

1997: Lewis picks up an alphabet title, but nobody cares. Holyfield is viewed by virtually everyone as the champ. Tyson-Holyfield II was the biggest fight. Also, Holyfield picked up another belt by getting revenge against Michael Moorer.

1998: Tyson is away, Holyfield is viewed as the champ and there is nobody left for him to fight but Lewis

1999: Lewis and Holyfield finally fight. Lewis got robbed in the first fight and finally gets what he deserves in the rematch decision.




It's not all Lewis' fault (there were a lot of politics, and Lewis also suffered from not being American and not being very marketable). Both Bowe (in 1992) and Tyson (in 1996) dropped belts instead of facing Lewis. Why? Relatively high risk and very low reward (as I said, Lewis was not very marketable and casual fans in America didn't care about him.)

Having said that, Lewis is not entirely blameless. He could have been involved in bigger fights if he took less money, but his camp were trying to maximize their money while minimizing their risk (just like virtually every fighter's camp, but people like to pretend that this was true of everyone BUT Lewis).

 

[KamikazePilot]

Lennox Lewis is the greatest heavyweight of all time in my eyes and there are others who come close but Lennox was the total package.

 

[Formerly known as...]

Lewis is very underrated. VERY.

That final fight against Vital, he had to dig deep as hell and he did.

Lennox was a beast for sure.

 

[Box Factory]

I probably dont know enough about boxing to have a worthwhile opinion, but we had a descrambler box when i was a kid and watched every title fight he had

I always remember thinking he had the greatest jab ever and that it was impossible to get inside on him because of it . No idea how true that is or isnt

 

[mitter]

Lennox Lewis is the greatest heavyweight of all time in my eyes and there are others who come close but Lennox was the total package.

Yes, he had the total package, including a glass jaw

 

[Renzo]

How can someone be the greatest heavyweight of an era when most of the biggest, most consequential fights of his time did not involve him?

Let's recap the 1990s and the biggest, most consequential fights. For most of the decade, Lewis was an afterthought.



1990: Douglas KOs Tyson, Holyfield KOs Douglas

1991: Holyfield is the champ, Tyson wins two wars with Ruddock. Everyone is looking ahead to Tyson vs. Holyfield, but Tyson has to pull out due to injuries, and then he gets in legal trouble and goes to prison.

1992: Bowe takes the title from Holyfield in a legendary fight. Negotiations between Bowe and Lewis' camps break down, and Bowe is stripped of the WBC title for not making a mandatory defense against Lewis. Lewis pics up the WBC title, but everyone views Bowe as the real champ.

1993: Holyfield takes back the title from Bowe in a very close fight known for the "fan man" incident

1994: The division is in a state of flux as Holyfield is facing health issues, Lewis's alphabet title got taken by journeyman McCall, Bowe is eating himself out of contention, Foreman KOs Moorer, and all the promoters and sanctioning bodies are really looking ahead to Tyson's upcoming release from prison

1995: More of everyone waiting around for Tyson. Bowe vs. Holyfield III is the biggest fight of the year

1996: Tyson comes back, takes a few titles (Tyson drops the WBC title instead of facing Lewis, and Lewis picks up this alphabet title the next year in a rematch against McCall). Tyson is beating everyone badly and there's no doubt he is the top heavyweight ... until Holyfield KOs Tyson in the biggest fight of the year

1997: Lewis picks up an alphabet title, but nobody cares. Holyfield is viewed by virtually everyone as the champ. Tyson-Holyfield II was the biggest fight. Also, Holyfield picked up another belt by getting revenge against Michael Moorer.

1998: Tyson is away, Holyfield is viewed as the champ and there is nobody left for him to fight but Lewis

1999: Lewis and Holyfield finally fight. Lewis got robbed in the first fight and finally gets what he deserves in the rematch decision.




It's not all Lewis' fault (there were a lot of politics, and Lewis also suffered from not being American and not being very marketable). Both Bowe (in 1992) and Tyson (in 1996) dropped belts instead of facing Lewis. Why? Relatively high risk and very low reward (as I said, Lewis was not very marketable and casual fans in America didn't care about him.)

Having said that, Lewis is not entirely blameless. He could have been involved in bigger fights if he took less money, but his camp were trying to maximize their money while minimizing their risk (just like virtually every fighter's camp, but people like to pretend that this was true of everyone BUT Lewis).

100% except no one was ducking Lewis.. he priced himself out of an eventual Tyson fight only to find out he couldn’t even get the fight because HBO wasn’t willing to give him a contract to fight Tyson who was tied to Showtime.. who was Lewis to duck? He wasn’t some world beating monster wrecking shyt.. struggling with Bruno Mercer and knocked out by Tysons old sparring partner McCall..

 

[UpAndComing]

100% except no one was ducking Lewis.. he priced himself out of an eventual Tyson fight only to find out he couldn’t even get the fight because HBO wasn’t willing to give him a contract to fight Tyson who was tied to Showtime.. who was Lewis to duck? He wasn’t some world beating monster wrecking shyt.. struggling with Bruno Mercer and knocked out by Tysons old sparring partner McCall..

 

[mitter]

That was about money and politics. Bowe's camp made offers to Lewis' camp, which were declined. Rock Newman also didn't want to deal with the WBC.

Bowe and Lewis actually had an agreement to fight in 1994, but Lewis subsequently got KOed by McCall. I guess that's more evidence that Bowe wanted to avoid Lewis at all costs



The truth is, money and politics prevented the fight from happening in 1993, and both sides are to blame. But somehow a very one-sided narrative that favors Lewis has caught on. The truth is, Lewis had offers, but his camp rejected them. Sure, Lewis was not going to make as much in those deals, but Bowe was the lineal, legitimate champ and a bigger name (mostly because he was American). So because Lewis priced himself out, Bowe was ducking him?

See this story

After Lewis Turns Down $11 Million, Bowe Fight Won't Happen Until '94

and this one

Bowe and Lewis Fight Is On (Published 1994)

 

[Renzo]

Bowe at that time would’ve bodied Lewis inside 6.. Manny Trained Lewis would be a different story..and him dropping the title had more to do with Lewis pricing himself out and tying everything up in court than Bowe somehow ducking him.

 

[Renzo]

That was about money and politics. Bowe's camp made offers to Lewis' camp, which were declined. Rock Newman also didn't want to deal with the WBC.

Bowe and Lewis actually had an agreement to fight in 1994, but Lewis subsequently got KOed by McCall. I guess that's more evidence that Bowe wanted to avoid Lewis at all costs



The truth is, money and politics prevented the fight from happening in 1993, and both sides are to blame. But somehow a very one-sided narrative that favors Lewis has caught on. The truth is, Lewis had offers, but his camp rejected them. Sure, Lewis was going to make as much in those deals, but Bowe was the lineal, legitimate champ and a bigger name (mostly because he was American). So because Lewis priced himself out, Bowe was ducking him?

See this story

After Lewis Turns Down $11 Million, Bowe Fight Won't Happen Until '94

and this one

Bowe and Lewis Fight Is On (Published 1994)

Keep in mind he did the same thing to Tyson years later.. Priced himself out by over valuing his drawing abilities.. then sued Tyson til Tyson was like fukk it and tossed the belt.. Lewis is the only man to win his first two belts from dumpster diving..

 

[mitter]

Bowe at that time would’ve bodied Lewis inside 6.. Manny Trained Lewis would be a different story..and him dropping the title had more to do with Lewis pricing himself out and tying everything up in court than Bowe somehow ducking him.

I agree

Bowe developed much faster than Lewis. I think Bowe would have schooled Lewis in 1993. From 1995 on, I give Lewis the edge.