Lennox Lewis: A Reappraisal

[StarshipTrooper]

A very fair and balanced assesment. I like how you didn't attempt to minimize Tua and Ruddock's skills when he fought them like others have.

If it's any comfort to you, if the hater/hugger stuff starts up I'm going to block the responsible parties from the thread :hah9:

Poet

[GJC]

I had a originally considered making this thread last year but I held off thanks to the Lennox hater-hugger war going on. Now that THAT has thankfully receeded into the rearview mirrors I thought I would resurrect the idea.

So what is the case for or against Lewis' ATG status? As I see it,


For (in no particular order):

1. Loads of natural talent. His reach alone made him trouble for anyone.
2. Eventually developed a great jab and over-all skill set.
3. Great power, could KO all but the most granite chins.
4. Defeated every man he ever faced. Speaks for itself.
5. Fought in a tough era and faced the vast majority of top names.
6. Won by TKO while past-prime against the best Heavy of the next era.
7. Beat in-prime versions of Rudduck, Mercer, and Tua. Certainly better fighters then the "top" challengers of the next era.


Against (again in no particular order):

1. Chin, was wobbled by some opponents that couldn't be called big punchers.
2. Lost by KO to two jouneymen opponents.
3. His two biggest name opponents where either past-it (Holyfield) or completely washed-up (Tyson).
4. By the time someone taught him how to fight his physical prime was almost gone, leaving a short "boxing prime".
5. Lacked a killer instict when faced with his best opponents.


So. Can anyone add anything to either column? Do his positives outweigh his negatives or visa-versa? ATG or Near Great? How do YOU put Lewis into perspective of the Heavyweight greats?

Be aware, I don't want this to turn into another hater/hugger thread. Some rational analysis is desired here!

Poet

On the weakness side he did seem to go to sleep/cruise through a few fights, as an example the 2nd Holy fight comes to mind. I think Lewis made that a closer fight than it should have been rather than Holy's better performance.
Top 12 HW but the longer Vitali keeps going the stronger Lewis seems if you know what I mean?

[bojangles1987]

I disagree about the chin. Lennox got caught twice, came back, and beat those two guys. He fought huge punchers and thrived. I account those two KO losses to mental lapses rather than the weak chin.

Lennox was a great heavyweight. Definitely top 15 at least.

[Mugwump]

I'm in agreement with Manny Steward - a fit and focussed Lewis is a threat to any heavyweight that ever laced up a pair of gloves. Tremendous natural athleticism coupled with bucketloads of ability. Could hit (hard) with either hand. A jaw-crunching overhand right and a brute of an uppercut.

Lewis was at his best when he relaxed the caution and flat out went for his opponent. Grant, Briggs and Golota hardly managed to work up a sweat before they were taking bombs.

I'm not convinced that Lennox's whiskers were shaky. Yes, he was wobbled occasionally. But I can't think of too many great heavies that never looked like they were hurt. On the other hand, he did take some thunderous shots from Tyson, Bruno, Briggs, Mercer, Tua and Vitali without exhibiting worrying distress. His biggest problem was complacency. He knew he could beat Rahman and McCall, but in a division where every punch has 200lbs+ behind it you can't afford to take liberties. Lennox did and paid the price.

With respect to the guys he fought. It wasn't as good an era as the Ali, Foreman, Frazier one. But it was tough, nonetheless. Lennox was the favourite in almost all the bouts he fought in. But I can't think of too many in which there wasn't a very potent danger if he let things slipped. Consider the Tua bout. Lennox had him beat all ends up. But one lapse in concentration could have been terminal. Compare this with the Wlad/Vitali bum-of-the-month farce that we see in the HW division today.

The big question is did he have the heart of a champion? That's something unquantifiable which only becomes apparent when a fighter is under real pressure. I think he deserves credit for firmly erasing the McCall and Rahman embarrassments. I think everyone - including Rahman - knew a fully motivated Lewis would win. But it was the WAY he won. You just can't script Rahman lying poleaxed - arms and legs akimbo - under the "DON" graphic - not to mention Lewis' furious gesticulation to the crowd, critics and media (**** you doubters!) when the count reached ten. Likewise, when Lennox had to dig deep in fights against Mercer, Briggs (when he was clearly hurt) and Vitali he rose to the challenge. That - to me, anyway - is a champion mentality.

Where to rank him? Lennox, fully motivated and fighting his A-game is touching the number 6 spot. Perhaps some will think this placement is a bit high and I can understand their reasons. But I'm with Manny on Lewis' position within the pantheon of greats. The kid was special and like Holmes it was a pity he didn't fight in a special era. I think both would have performed well.

[nomadman]

I'm in agreement with Manny Steward - a fit and focussed Lewis is a threat to any heavyweight that ever laced up a pair of gloves. Tremendous natural athleticism coupled with bucketloads of ability. Could hit (hard) with either hand. A jaw-crunching overhand right and a brute of an uppercut.

Lewis was at his best when he relaxed the caution and flat out went for his opponent. Grant, Briggs and Golota hardly managed to work up a sweat before they were taking bombs.

I'm not convinced that Lennox's whiskers were shaky. Yes, he was wobbled occasionally. But I can't think of too many great heavies that never looked like they were hurt. On the other hand, he did take some thunderous shots from Tyson, Bruno, Briggs, Mercer, Tua and Vitali without exhibiting worrying distress. His biggest problem was complacency. He knew he could beat Rahman and McCall, but in a division where every punch has 200lbs+ behind it you can't afford to take liberties. Lennox did and paid the price.

With respect to the guys he fought. It wasn't as good an era as the Ali, Foreman, Frazier one. But it was tough, nonetheless. Lennox was the favourite in almost all the bouts he fought in. But I can't think of too many in which there wasn't a very potent danger if he let things slipped. Consider the Tua bout. Lennox had him beat all ends up. But one lapse in concentration could have been terminal. Compare this with the Wlad/Vitali bum-of-the-month farce that we see in the HW division today.

The big question is did he have the heart of a champion? That's something unquantifiable which only becomes apparent when a fighter is under real pressure. I think he deserves credit for firmly erasing the McCall and Rahman embarrassments. I think everyone - including Rahman - knew a fully motivated Lewis would win. But it was the WAY he won. You just can't script Rahman lying poleaxed - arms and legs akimbo - under the "DON" graphic - not to mention Lewis' furious gesticulation to the crowd, critics and media (**** you doubters!) when the count reached ten. Likewise, when Lennox had to dig deep in fights against Mercer, Briggs (when he was clearly hurt) and Vitali he rose to the challenge. That - to me, anyway - is a champion mentality.

Where to rank him? Lennox, fully motivated and fighting his A-game is touching the number 6 spot. Perhaps some will think this placement is a bit high and I can understand their reasons. But I'm with Manny on Lewis' position within the pantheon of greats. The kid was special and like Holmes it was a pity he didn't fight in a special era. I think both would have performed well.

This is a superb post, and basically sums up everything I had to say about the matter. Where anyone wants to rank Lennox on their ATG list obviously depends on what their definition of "great" is, as well as a few other factors, but H2H I think it's clear to any reasonably objective fan he'd be a match for most any heavyweight in history. His sheer physical attributes alone would stand him in good stead with a number of great fighters, but couple that with his excellent style and general ring intelligence and it lifts him up a good few notches to a very rarified level IMO.

Of his weaknesses, I'd also say the biggest one was complaceny and lack of concentration at times. His chin was actually not that bad, considering some of the punchers who managed to hit it. The only times he was stopped, his opponents caught him right on the button, and in the McCall fight he was prematurely waved off by the ref IMO, despite being fit to continue. With Rahman (an underrated and heavy puncher) he was getting caught with the right a few times before the KO. Both guys beat him fair and square of course, but I think it's clear from his performances and the subsequent performances he put up in the rematches, that they were not typical of what would have happened were a fully fit and motivated Lennox to show up in the ring. That he was wobbled occasionally shouldn't really be held against him. He fought a ton of very heavy punchers and in the heavyweight division it's bound to happen sometime. Look at Ali.

His killer instinct was underrated as well. Sure, he was cautious compared to some, but he knew when to ramp it up, and tended to respond very well to aggressive attacks, by aggressively counter-attaking the very next moment. He was a natural born fighter, with a fighter's instincts, tempered by a clinical style that taught him never to become reckless.

I rank Lennox Lewis in my top five. Whereabouts in my top five isn't really important. Suffice to say, he deserves to jostle shoulders with the best.