Was Lennox Lewis the greatest HW of ALL-TIME?

[BIG H]

Head to head on their best nights, the guys who I think could beat him are:

Tyson
Holmes
Ali
Holyfield
Foreman (only if by KO)

[ElTerribleMorales]

Head to head on their best nights, the guys who I think could beat him are:

Tyson
Holmes
Ali
Holyfield
Foreman (only if by KO)

agree, a past his prime Holyfield took him to the limit in the rematch, so i'm pretty sure the same Holyfield that fought Bowe would have given him as much hell and most likely would have beaten him, IMO a prime Larry Holmes would have beaten him as well, had a better jab (IMO the best jab ever in the history of the HW division) and a good strong straight right, would have disrupted Lewis' tempo all night

[brocktonblockbust]

on 2nd thought, having swung far in Lewis' favor after years of discrediting him, I will come back around a bit against him and say that he wouldnt have fared any better against some smaller figthters liek frazier than he fared against Tua, which is this: a boring fight, play-it-safe thing. Tua also was lazy and risk-averse in that fight, something guys like Tyson, Frazier and even Marciano would NEVER be. Has anyone ever seen those 3 shorties fighting cautiously? Therefore Lewis would have his hands full against even guys as short as Rocky, since they wouldnt cower out and chciken out like many recent fighters have against him, after tasting his huge jab and counter right uppercuts, alot just resigned themselves to fighting from the outside and getting picked apart/KO'd. Maybe Marciano would get KO'd fast with his in-your-face style, but atleast he'd have more of a chance at knocking Lewis out than the way Tua fought Lewis. Hey, I think the Rock could maybe crack Lewis' ribs if he ever got inside and landed a nice Suzie-Q.

[Dark Lord Al]

Bes of 3 my answer is yes , and personally i dont buy this 1965 Clay guff ,

[BIG H]

on 2nd thought, having swung far in Lewis' favor after years of discrediting him, I will come back around a bit against him and say that he wouldnt have fared any better against some smaller figthters liek frazier than he fared against Tua, which is this: a boring fight, play-it-safe thing. Tua also was lazy and risk-averse in that fight, something guys like Tyson, Frazier and even Marciano would NEVER be. Has anyone ever seen those 3 shorties fighting cautiously? Therefore Lewis would have his hands full against even guys as short as Rocky, since they wouldnt cower out and chciken out like many recent fighters have against him, after tasting his huge jab and counter right uppercuts, alot just resigned themselves to fighting from the outside and getting picked apart/KO'd. Maybe Marciano would get KO'd fast with his in-your-face style, but atleast he'd have more of a chance at knocking Lewis out than the way Tua fought Lewis. Hey, I think the Rock could maybe crack Lewis' ribs if he ever got inside and landed a nice Suzie-Q.

The fight against Tua was a masterclass and a complete shut out. Whether or not you found it 'boring' has no basis in how effective it was or how likley he was ever t0 lose that fight.

[erics44]

9 times out of 10 Lennox Lewis would have beaten Ali

it might be hard to swallow because of the fairy tales of Ali but its true

id put lewis in the top 2 or 3 HWs of all time

[Althugz]

9 times out of 10 Lennox Lewis would have beaten Ali

it might be hard to swallow because of the fairy tales of Ali but its true

id put lewis in the top 2 or 3 HWs of all time

I don't know about 9 out of 10 times - I can picture them being pretty even like the Frazier fights (obviously in a different way because of the differing styles).

I know it's a cop-out answer but I'd still put Ali as the greatest just for everything he achieved in and out of the boxing ring. It's very rare that you get a superstar who is the absolute best at his sport, fights everybody put in front of him, has a chin, has the skills and has the charisma/worldwide appeal that Ali had. You just can't touch that.

In terms of pure boxing, Ali in his prime gives every heavyweight in history a run for their money imho..But styles make fights.

As far as Lewis, he was very under-appreciated while boxing. Another case of "missed when he was gone. I'd put him within the top 5 heavy's of all time.

[erics44]

9 times out of 10 Lennox Lewis would have beaten Ali

it might be hard to swallow because of the fairy tales of Ali but its true

id put lewis in the top 2 or 3 HWs of all time

I don't know about 9 out of 10 times - I can picture them being pretty even like the Frazier fights (obviously in a different way because of the differing styles).

I know it's a cop-out answer but I'd still put Ali as the greatest just for everything he achieved in and out of the boxing ring. It's very rare that you get a superstar who is the absolute best at his sport, fights everybody put in front of him, has a chin, has the skills and has the charisma/worldwide appeal that Ali had. You just can't touch that.

In terms of pure boxing, Ali in his prime gives every heavyweight in history a run for their money imho..But styles make fights.

As far as Lewis, he was very under-appreciated while boxing. Another case of "missed when he was gone. I'd put him within the top 5 heavy's of all time.

if someone asked me who was the greatest hw of all time I could answer Ali because of his charisma and what he achieved outside the ring

hes not the greatest hw boxer of all time, he would have lost to a number of others most of the time

[Otley]

Lets put another name out there...Jack Johnson...he was a hell of a boxer with great skills...i reckon he could have given everyone a tough fight...even Lewis

job biscuit (Johnson would have slaughtered Marciano)!!!

eh eh!!!

[brocktonblockbust]

yes he certainly completed dominated Tua, boring as all hell as it was; but he couldnt really seriously hurt or let alone finish him. Tua fought un-gallantly and hardly took risks to press Lewis. My point is if a pressure fighter like Frazier or Tyson really pressed Lewis, good chins that they had of iron practically, and willing to take a few to give a few, how well would Lewis have dealt with 1988 Tyson? I dont know, Im just wondering what others think.

As for 1965 Clay being guff, well, listen, that dude WAS magic in that year, as in '66, '67 as well.

[Spicoli]

yes he certainly completed dominated Tua, boring as all hell as it was; but he couldnt really seriously hurt or let alone finish him. Tua fought un-gallantly and hardly took risks to press Lewis. My point is if a pressure fighter like Frazier or Tyson really pressed Lewis, good chins that they had of iron practically, and willing to take a few to give a few, how well would Lewis have dealt with 1988 Tyson? I dont know, Im just wondering what others think.

As for 1965 Clay being guff, well, listen, that dude WAS magic in that year, as in '66, '67 as well.

Minus the hand speed and one punch pop it almost describes the Mercer Lewis slugged it out with. I'm not entirely sure Tyson could soak up the Lewis artillery that Mercer had and Mikes jab was almost a throw away jab where Rays was short, sturdy and did damage that night. The biggest hitters Tyson faced up to then were Smith and Bruno and maybe Tucker, all stung him at one point. Best vs best I lean to Lewis to take Tyson. Would have been nice scrap

[Dark Lord Al]

yes he certainly completed dominated Tua, boring as all hell as it was; but he couldnt really seriously hurt or let alone finish him. Tua fought un-gallantly and hardly took risks to press Lewis. My point is if a pressure fighter like Frazier or Tyson really pressed Lewis, good chins that they had of iron practically, and willing to take a few to give a few, how well would Lewis have dealt with 1988 Tyson? I dont know, Im just wondering what others think.

As for 1965 Clay being guff, well, listen, that dude WAS magic in that year, as in '66, '67 as well.

Bob Hayes was olimpic 100 m champion in 1964 , you think he would hold up against Usain Bolt ?
Clay was a top fighter but its ridiculous to think he would have beaten all of todays massive HW'S , the guy was out fought by glass jawed Ken Norton.
No way in hell he beats Lewis best of 3 , sorry i just dont buy the living in the past bullshit, yes some old time fighters who have to make weight could beat todays fighters of the same weight , but im sorry clay was a pup compared to Hw's like Lewis.

[THE THIRD MAN]

I see the Lewis nuthuggers are out in force! Lewis was as slow as a three toed sloth, he was smoked twice himself, won a disputed rematch with Holyfield, i don't even think that one was close, Lewis thought after the draw all he had to do was turn up to win. He was given a gift decision. He never fought Bowe. He was at times lazy, lumbering and easily hit.

Who would beat him ?

Liston KO's Lewis inside 5
Ali wins a wide UD
Frazier KO's Lewis inside 5 (Frazier had no problems with a taller ALI in 1971)
Foreman (1973/4) KO's Lewis inside 5
Holmes wins a wide UD
Tyson (1986-89 KO's Lewis inside 5

There is a quick half dozen.
He would have trouble with Norton, Lyle, Shavers (can you imagine what would happen if Shavers hit him?) I give Terrell a chance!

If he fought Vitali again he would've been Knocked out! Lewis behind on all score cards at time of stoppage. Wlad would beat him too!

Greatest of all time? Shit, he's not even the greatest of the past 20 years!

[Mr140]

The Third man between having kts dick in your mouth and your just blind hate of Lewis its just funny. I mean we can name a lot of fighters that trouble Ali that should not have in his prime. Liston best win is Patterson thats it fucking blown up light heavyweight. Tyson lost ever big fight he was ever in what makes Lewis any different. The fight with Holyfield was close but first fight the real deal got own and i am Holyfeild fan a huge Holyfeild but he lost that fight strait up i can say that much. Now i would not have Lewis in the greatest of all time but if you don't have Lewis in the top 10 heavy then you don't know shit. Also Bowie wanted nothing to do with Lewis don't know why his name even coming up in this thread, with Lewis resume and beating every man put in front of him he deserves alot more then what people are giving him.

[Matias64]

I think sportmen of 2010's are generally better trained, more healthy, stronger, bigger, faster, have better technic, etc than those of 1960's, 1970's, 1980's. Besides in internet world teams behind boxers have much more knowledge about weakness and strongness of boxers. Knowledge of boxing is now better than ever before - even in times of Lenox Lewis. That's why there many things support this list of all time best heavyweight champions:

1. Vitali Klitschko
2. Wladimir Klitschko
3. Lenox Lewis
4. Mike Tyson
5. Muhammad Ali
6. Larry Holmes
7. George Foreman
8. Joe Frazier
9. Sonny Liston
10. Rocky Marciano or Joe Louis

You can think about it by comparing athletics like Carl Lewis vs. Usain Bolt, Jim Hines vs. Carl Lewis or Bekele vs. Lasse Viren (Emil Zatopek vs. Paavo Nurmi). The problem is that we tend to appreciate too much these old time heroes with no critic at all.

On the other hand i have to say that Joe Louis in his time and Muhammad Ali in his time were surely showing much more skill and technic than any of their rivals at the same time of before. It's not their fault if knowledge of boxing, know how, is now much more better. It's just unfair to compare Muhammad Ali to Vitali Klitschko just as computer of 1950's to supercomputer of our time.