is Lennox Lewis overrated on boxing forums

[Weltschmerz]

Lewis isn't generally overrated. Vlad surpasses him resume wise soon though, if he hasn't already. Lewis made an early decision to retire, puts him down a bit atg wise.

[LacedUp]

Lewis isn't generally overrated. Vlad surpasses him resume wise soon though, if he hasn't already. Lewis made an early decision to retire, puts him down a bit atg wise.

How does Wlad overtake Lewis' resume?

[LacedUp]

Yeah he is overrated quite a lot.

I would argue that Wlad is ranked above him Infact i probably would rank him above him if I did an updated list.

I honestly can't see that.

Going through Wlad's resume there's not 3 fighters I would say were genuinely impressive before Wlad fought them.

[IronDanHamza]

I honestly can't see that.

Going through Wlad's resume there's not 3 fighters I would say were genuinely impressive before Wlad fought them.

Lewis doesn't have that many either.

[soul_survivor]

i ask this question because i often see Lennox rated as high as No1 All time. Lennox seems to be universally recognized in most posters ATG Top 3.. which i find bazaar. many posters do not rate Mike Tyson or Evander Holyfield as Top 10 ATG fighters. They also don't rate Wlad Klitschko as Top 10...Here is a few questions. please answer all 6 questions or none at all.

1/. Was Lennox resume better than Holyfield, Tyson & Wlad's ?

2/. Was his longevity and ability better than Holyfield, Tyson & Wlad?

3/. Was Lennox competition greater than those three's competition?

4/. prime for prime would Lennox beat those three fighters?

5/. Why do you think Lennox is rated so highly?

6/. What is your opinion of someone rating Lennox as No1 ATG ?

You're asking some very good questions and I used to rate Lewis in top 3 or 4 but after reevaluating a number of fighters, I remade my greatest heavyweights ever list: http://www.boxingscene.com/forums/sh...d.php?t=659057

Now he is at 7, which isn't bad at all. He deserves to be a top atg heavyweight based on his skill level and physical gifts (immense power and good hand speed). I can't imagine him being higher than Holyfield who is the best heavyweight of his generation and Lewis' to best wins are Holyfield and Tyson, both guys at the end of their respective careers when Lewis got to them.

Maybe add a poll and see how many here thing LL is top 3 ATG heavyweight?

[soul_survivor]

Lewis isn't generally overrated. Vlad surpasses him resume wise soon though, if he hasn't already. Lewis made an early decision to retire, puts him down a bit atg wise.

Ok, list me Wlads top 10 best opponents win or lose and then list me Lewis'. Explain to me why Wlad's top 10 are better than Lewis', cos right now you are either trolling or sitting under a tree with Wlad.

[LacedUp]

Lewis doesn't have that many either.

I think he does.

He has a lot of fighters who competed at world level i.e. top 5 & top 10 before they faced him. He didn't pick many out of a hat because they were undefeated having fought the 3rd tier heavyweights.

Lewis fought pretty good opposition all the way through his career. Before 25 fights he already had Weaver, Ruddock, Tucker, Biggs, Bruno & Jackson on his resume. All of these guys had either just fought top contenders/champions or had been in the mix previously. After that he lost to McCall and came back and beat that massive guy Butler who was fat, but also on a KO streak. He then goes on to fight exclusive top contenders and #1s with the exception of Mavrovic as well as unifies with an ATG Holyfield and beats Tyson and Vitali Klitschko. Beats Tua, Golota, McCall, Mercer, Morrison etc in the process.

Simply on a completely different level to the guys like Wach and Pianeta and Jennings who never fought at world level before and who quite honestly, just aren't very good.

I just struggle to see how Wlad's resume could be considered on par with Lewis' at all.

[Ray Corso]

Holyfield easily has the best record with the most notable men, Tyson second and then Lewis and Wlad!
Wlad's era is easily the weakest since the Marciano era but Wlad hasn't helped his status with some awfull performances against ordinary talents.
To me the greatest fighter out of these men is Holyfield his overall talent exceeds any of them. Tyson is easily the most exciting fighter and Lenox is the best of the oversized boxers.

Because Lewis could overwhelm a fighter like Ezzard Charles because of his
overall size advantage doesn't mean he's more talented.
I don't think of Lewis as a great fighter because he soimply isn't that highly skilled compared to a Charles. Size isn't a skill acquired it's a genetic advantage that not all tall men can take advantage of but it isn't a skill in itself.

Size does dictate styling and form and physcical ability is needed to perform
but a 6'6" man isn't going to be fighting in a crouch just as a shorter man won't be standing straight up woking in & out!

I think Evander is the greater fighter of the lot. At 6' 2" competing from 175 up to 225lbs he fought the best avalible men and fared extremely well and worked very hard to improve his skills throughout the years.
Tyson fought in great fights and for a time was a great fighter!
Same for Lennox yet I wouldn't consider his skill set to be as great.
To me Wlad is the lesser skilled individual however I give him credit for succeeding with his physcial attributes when his skill set isn't as high.

Ray.

[IronDanHamza]

I think he does.

He has a lot of fighters who competed at world level i.e. top 5 & top 10 before they faced him. He didn't pick many out of a hat because they were undefeated having fought the 3rd tier heavyweights.

Lewis fought pretty good opposition all the way through his career. Before 25 fights he already had Weaver, Ruddock, Tucker, Biggs, Bruno & Jackson on his resume. All of these guys had either just fought top contenders/champions or had been in the mix previously. After that he lost to McCall and came back and beat that massive guy Butler who was fat, but also on a KO streak. He then goes on to fight exclusive top contenders and #1s with the exception of Mavrovic as well as unifies with an ATG Holyfield and beats Tyson and Vitali Klitschko. Beats Tua, Golota, McCall, Mercer, Morrison etc in the process.

Simply on a completely different level to the guys like Wach and Pianeta and Jennings who never fought at world level before and who quite honestly, just aren't very good.

I just struggle to see how Wlad's resume could be considered on par with Lewis' at all.

Well you're naming Wlad's worst wins.

Wlad has plenty of wins over Top 5 guys.

I'm not going to say Wlad defintely has a better resume because he doesn't but it's hardly clear who's is better.

Neither really have impressive resumes.

A lot of wins over decent-good fighters and a few embarrassing KO loss's.

[Weltschmerz]

Lennox has some more memorable names on his list, but he was nowhere near as dominant as Vlad who beat a lot of young, prime hungry guys with no or few defeats prior to facing Vlad. Lennox' signature wins in Holyfield and Tyson were past prime.

Also, let us consider the fact that Vlad is still stopping these young guns when pushing 40.