Is Lennox Lewis the most underrated Heavyweight Champion ever?

I would probably contend that Larry Holmes is more underrated than Lennox Lewis. Yep yep yep

As many have stated, Lennox was underrated as a champion while he was active, but as time has passed and there has yet to be a successor to his crown; the appreciation for him has grown adequately in spite of his atrocious commentating. But Larry Holmes was immensely undderrated as a champion and even though we respect him more now, he still is undderrated, not just for his fighting skills, but for his stand on human rights and to a lesser extent his rare pension for fighting more often than almost any champion in recent memory.

he was underated during his active years but to be honest i think he is a bit overated now

I still reckon I'm the only one who had him and the VitMan equal on the scorecards going into that 7th round. :D (No joke, either. I've watched it 4 times and keep getting the same score...)

I would probably contend that Larry Holmes is more underrated than Lennox Lewis. i can agree with that.

I can't think of a more under-rated HW champ than Lennox, so yeah, I guess he is.

Top five heavyweight of all time. Don't ask me to say where, although I will say that he isn't number one. Beat all the best fighters of his era save Bowe, who refused to fight him and dominated the division for a long time. The only shame is that he didn't fight Tyson earlier. He was unlucky that the McCall loss came when it did, ending his chances of fighting Tyson back in the day. Not that Don Kind would have gone along with it, considering that he flat out refused the fight when Lewis was Tyson's mandatory. You could say that it's a shame he didn't find Holyfield earlier as well, but Holyfield is a strange fighter in that he was probably as good as he ever had been at heavyweight when the fight was made. All the bullshit about the Klitschko fight irritates me. Was he getting beaten in that fight when it was stopped? Yes, but not by much. Was the cut severe enough to stop the fight? Yes, easily. Is opening up a legitimate cut on your opponent a TKO? Yes. Lewis realised he had lost it after the fight and he didn't have anything to prove to anyone so he decided to quit while he still had his dignity.

He is a top 10 HW , but he did get his ass beat by Vitali. No way around that. And, not that is should diminish him in any way.

the only people that underate lewis dont know boxing! i would fancy his chances against anyone in history! not saying he`d def win but has a good chance! why do you think bowe ducked him? & holyfield & tyson only fought him when don king coulnt prevent the inevitable! ie lewis>holyfield & lewis>tyson!

Lennox is my fave fighter of them all; i grew up watching him kicking ass but I've heard many claim him to be the goat which is a bit silly. I'd say Larry Holmes is more underrated but then again the man's bitterness and public persona doesn't do him any favors.

He's NOT the best British boxer ever. Top 3 but not Best.

I would probably contend that Larry Holmes is more underrated than Lennox Lewis. Good shout! Was Larry Holmes underrated, no. under appreciated? YES!! Most people rate him easily in their top 10 heavyweights, and some in their top 5, but for some reason when I talk boxing with people I never say remember the Holmes vs. (fill in the blank) fight? He never was in the headlines for anything else other than a title win or whatever, he for all his skill never was bigger than life, like Ali or Leonard. Anyway, I think he just wasn't appreciated, but he was truly an all-time great, and the numbers alone speak to that.

How on Earth can somebody be under-rated when they have been the Undisputed Heavyweight Champion of the World? That is an incredible achievement and not something that many men have done in the last quarter of a century. Tyson may have been well past his past when he got out of jail in 1995, but don't forget that Lewis also beat Vitali Klitschko and before that he beat Evander Holyfield - twice. He is one of England greatest ever fighters. Great pic for the Lewis fans: http://members.tripod.com/~witchslayer/Tua/Fight/LEWIStua1v.jpg

he is the greatest ever!

I would probably contend that Larry Holmes is more underrated than Lennox Lewis.

He ain't underrated no more. Ever since he's been retired, his legacy has been growin. HW suckin like it has the past few yrs makes more and more cats appreciate LL for the work he did during his career. The only ones who don't respect him are likely biased Tyson fans, for obvious reasons. Dude was a great HW champ. Agreed. Good post.

He is getting the credit he deserves now. Only because the division is worse now then when Lennox dominated. A lot of people took Lennox for granted IMO.

He is getting the credit he deserves now.

He ain't underrated no more. Ever since he's been retired, his legacy has been growin. HW suckin like it has the past few yrs makes more and more cats appreciate LL for the work he did during his career. The only ones who don't respect him are likely biased Tyson fans, for obvious reasons. Dude was a great HW champ.