Lennox Lewis vs Ingemar Johansson

[slicksouthpaw16]

Really? Lewis was KO'd by fringe contenders in Rahman & McCall, taken to a majority decision by hot & cold Ray Mercer, hurt heavily by Shannon Briggs, & beat up early on by Frank Bruno.

Johansson is better than all them guys & punchers harder than all of them to. But yet this isn't a legit match up?

Johansson was no joke.

A fantasy match IMO is when both fighters are in vintage form (unless the person who asks the question says otherwise), and i wouldn't consider Lewis against either McCall or Rachman in prime form. The Lewis against Morrison annihilates any version of Johansson.

[BattlingNelson]

Pretty much every aspect has been covered already and I agree on the general consensus: That Lewis would likely stop Ingo.

That being said Ingo's bingo or Thor's hammer was a lethal punch and you just cannot rule out that it would connect on Lewis fragile chin. So maybe Lewis wasn't at his best when he lost, but Rahman and McCall where not as good as Johansson either. Johansson's kayos over Machen and Pattersson are 2 excellent wins and an awesome display of brutal punching.

[The_Demon]

Lewis jab was very mediocre so i dont see him jabbing any fighters head off because he has never been able to do that in any fight in his whole career... Lewis would be favorite to beat Ingo yet if Rahman & McCall could poleaxe Lewis then i see Lewis hitting the deck the first time Ingo lands one on his chin.

His jab was mediocre? I assume you are joking,you cant hate him that much too say such a ****** thing surely

[sonnyboyx2]

His jab was mediocre? I assume you are joking,you cant hate him that much too say such a ****** thing surely

By saying IMO Lewis jab was mediocre you think that is hating?.... against who did Lewis show this excellent jab?

it has been said earlier that he showed it against David Tua yet i disagree as Lewis back-peddled the entire fight and was unable to back-up Tua at any stage with his jab... a great jab is Larry Holmes, Muhammad Ali, Buster Douglas, Sonny Liston with Lewis falling way short of those guys in fact Lewis could not out-jab Frank Bruno or Ray Mercer and Hasim Rahman matched him with the jab and i would not call his jab great. so rather than call me a hater its better to call yourself the opposite.

[mickey malone]

Lewis to me was more of left lead specialist, meaning that he used it to guide and feign his big over-hand right, this as oppoosed to the more piston-like jabs of Holmes, Louis, Liston etc.. You could see the KO's coming when those guys fought, where as Lewis would produce them at unexpected moments ie boxing open mouthed, pawing & dipping with a weak jab, then Boom! and it's all over. So no, Lennox wasn't you're classical jabber and he rarely busted up opponents with it.

Johansson used to box a bit open mouthed too, and like Lewis had questionable stamina with a big right hand, but he was more predictable and didn't possess the cuteness of Lewis.

It's all well and good to harp on about Lewis getting sparked by McCall and Rahman but only the one true weakness was exposed by those defeats - the fact that Lewis had a concentration problem. I don't buy all the china chin nonsense because it simply isn't true. The free shots delivered by McCall and Rahman would have stopped most heavyweights and Lewis was no exception.

Back to the match up and it's fairly straight forward. If Lennox has his mind on other things he'll get nailed, other than that it's Lewis by brutal KO i'm afraid.

[The Surgeon]

Langford, Quarry, Lyle, Wills, Jackson, Choynski, Young, Bivins, Chuvalo, Shavers

Ibeabuchi should be there too but imo his career wasn't long enough.

Honourable mentions to McVey, Jeanette, Bonavena, Bugner, Cooney, Tua, Firpo, Baksi, Williams, Machen

Lol wrong thread i think Mickey!

Good calls tho

[Wild Blue Yonda]

Lewis to me was more of left lead specialist, meaning that he used it to guide and feign his big over-hand right, this as oppoosed to the more piston-like jabs of Holmes, Louis, Liston etc.. You could see the KO's coming when those guys fought, where as Lewis would produce them at unexpected moments ie boxing open mouthed, pawing & dipping with a weak jab, then Boom! and it's all over. So no, Lennox wasn't you're classical jabber and he rarely busted up opponents with it.

Johansson used to box a bit open mouthed too, and like Lewis had questionable stamina with a big right hand, but he was more predictable and didn't possess the cuteness of Lewis.

It's all well and good to harp on about Lewis getting sparked by McCall and Rahman but only the one true weakness was exposed by those defeats - the fact that Lewis had a concentration problem. I don't buy all the china chin nonsense because it simply isn't true. The free shots delivered by McCall and Rahman would have stopped most heavyweights and Lewis was no exception.

Back to the match up and it's fairly straight forward. If Lennox has his mind on other things he'll get nailed, other than that it's Lewis by brutal KO i'm afraid.

Regarding what was exposed when Lewis suffered his defeats to McCall & Rahman, I'd argue that recuperative ability was also shown to be something of a liability for Lewis. I don't think he recovered in ample fashion when McCall dropped him, & Rahman flat ironed him out.

The second point I want to contend is one I've heard fairly often, usually in defense of Lewis --- that the shots delivered by McCall & Rahman were massive salvos which would've levelled anybody --- both mens careers bear this out as untrue.

[mickey malone]

Regarding what was exposed when Lewis suffered his defeats to McCall & Rahman, I'd argue that recuperative ability was also shown to be something of a liability for Lewis. I don't think he recovered in ample fashion when McCall dropped him, & Rahman flat ironed him out.

The second point I want to contend is one I've heard fairly often, usually in defense of Lewis --- that the shots delivered by McCall & Rahman were massive salvos which would've levelled anybody --- both mens careers bear this out as untrue.

Rahman has ko'd or stopped nearly 70% of his opponents. McCall's ko ratio is well over 50% aswell, and he put Henry Akinwande's lights out with a single shot.
It was the only time Henry was ko'd in more than 50 fights.

[The_Demon]

By saying IMO Lewis jab was mediocre you think that is hating?.... against who did Lewis show this excellent jab?

it has been said earlier that he showed it against David Tua yet i disagree as Lewis back-peddled the entire fight and was unable to back-up Tua at any stage with his jab... a great jab is Larry Holmes, Muhammad Ali, Buster Douglas, Sonny Liston with Lewis falling way short of those guys in fact Lewis could not out-jab Frank Bruno or Ray Mercer and Hasim Rahman matched him with the jab and i would not call his jab great. so rather than call me a hater its better to call yourself the opposite.

Lol you are funny,the way you try and turn things round is very deseperate

Lewis controlled a lot of fights with his jab,whether you like it or not

When did i say he had a great jab? let me guess,you are just making things up as usual,maybe you should try something new

[young_robbed]

By saying IMO Lewis jab was mediocre you think that is hating?.... against who did Lewis show this excellent jab?

it has been said earlier that he showed it against David Tua yet i disagree as Lewis back-peddled the entire fight and was unable to back-up Tua at any stage with his jab... a great jab is Larry Holmes, Muhammad Ali, Buster Douglas, Sonny Liston with Lewis falling way short of those guys in fact Lewis could not out-jab Frank Bruno or Ray Mercer and Hasim Rahman matched him with the jab and i would not call his jab great. so rather than call me a hater its better to call yourself the opposite.

Look at the Morrison fight.. He shows an excellent jab. If he does that to Morrison he should be able to control Johannson with it too.