The Lewis Era vs. The Klitschko Era

[KnockoutTheFat]

I remember watching the Lewis - Ruddock fight live on HBO. That was a young, pre-Steward Lewis. I remember thinking while watching it that Lennox's technique was all wrong and he held his right way to open. He didn't pay for it in that particular fight but I think the chickens came home to roost against McCall. In a sense, there WERE two Lennox Lewises: Pre and post Manny Steward.

Poet

If you don't mind me asking you what fight showed the very best version Lennox Lewis?

[StarshipTrooper]

So then, what if there were.....THREE Lennox Lewis'?

My favorite Lennox moment is without a doubt the Rahman revenge. The knockout he delivered to Hasim that night was just flat out brutal. I remember hearing those 2 shots land live on TV and I was surprised Rahman's head didn't come off.

One of my favorite Heavyweight knockouts of all time.

That KO was about as beautiful as one could ask for! He distracted him with a left hook then dropped the right in unseen. Picture perfect!

Poet

[StarshipTrooper]

If you don't mind me asking you what fight showed the very best version Lennox Lewis?

Honestly I think the second Rahman fight was the one contest where he showed the total package. Before that he was content to just show enough to get the job done and no more so we only got to see parts of the picture. Against Rahman Lennox didn't just want to win he wanted to destroy.

Poet

[ßringer]

That KO was about as beautiful as one could ask for! He distracted him with a left hook then dropped the right in unseen. Picture perfect!

Poet

Absolutely, and certainly this picture is worth a thousand words.

[ßringer]

Honestly I think the second Rahman fight was the one contest where he showed the total package. Before that he was content to just show enough to get the job done and no more so we only got to see parts of the picture. Against Rahman Lennox didn't just want to win he wanted to destroy.

Poet

It's a shame Lennox never really had that killer instinct more often in his career.

You could argue he wanted to destroy Tyson, by the way he punished him in that fight. But it wasn't that same level of ferocity. Or perhaps Mike just took it much better than Hasim did. I know he took some pretty nasty shots from Lennox in that one.

Ironically, that fight is one of the fights that made me respect Tyson more as a fighter. He showed tremendous heart in taking that beating.

[StarshipTrooper]

Ironically, that fight is one of the fights that made me respect Tyson more as a fighter. He showed tremendous heart in taking that beating.

Yeah, I agree. Even in the Douglas and Holyfield fights Tyson took his beatings like a man. Whatever one thinks of Tyson I think you have to respect him for that at least.

Poet

[ßringer]

Yeah, I agree. Even in the Douglas and Holyfield fights Tyson took his beatings like a man. Whatever one thinks of Tyson I think you have to respect him for that at least.

Poet

Completely agree.

For me, Tyson falls into that "near-great" category, though somewhere in the upper echelon. He never gave up in there until he was severely past any point in his career where he could've been competitive.

I also don't believe he gets as much credit for being the smart person he really is. Most people know him as the insane sound byte producing king, and tabloid headline fodder. But on the whole, from all I've seen and read, he has one of the most profound minds in the boxing game.

[StarshipTrooper]

Completely agree.

For me, Tyson falls into that "near-great" category, though somewhere in the upper echelon. He never gave up in there until he was severely past any point in his career where he could've been competitive.

I also don't believe he gets as much credit for being the smart person he really is. Most people know him as the insane sound byte producing king, and tabloid headline fodder. But on the whole, from all I've seen and read, he has one of the most profound minds in the boxing game.

I've said many times that Tyson was the one fighter I would like to sit down with a cup of coffee and analyse old fight films. No other fighter in recent memory has had the kind of respect and appreciation for the old time greats as Tyson. He is also a first-rate analyst: Is saw him sit in with the broadcast team during a Frank Bruno fight and he was terrific. He was better then the color guy the network was using. It was pretty clear that few could breakdown a fight better than Mike.

Poet

[warp1432]

That's interesting because Mike Tyson commentated on Bernard Hopkins-Segundo Mercado 2 and I think it's one of the worst commentary jobs I've ever heard.

[ßringer]

That's interesting because Mike Tyson commentated on Bernard Hopkins-Segundo Mercado 2 and I think it's one of the worst commentary jobs I've ever heard.

I don't know what was up with him that night, either he just wasn't "on" or he simply didn't care.

Mike normally does great blow by blow commentary.