Lewis, overated or a true Heavyweight great?

[whdempsey]

By the way Dempsey, Langford had nearly 200 wins - mostly by ko during the "Great Jack Dempsey era", so when was he getting "beaten blind" as you put it? Just wondering...

His record read 164-35-33 (115) 48 ND's and 3 NC's. That's a kayo rate of 41%. Not that impressive. Of course, the Ring rates him as the second best puncher of the last century, and they tend to know what they're talking about. I wouldn't rank him as high as that, but I do respect their opinions.

[RussianArm]

He's up there with Joe Frazier and Louis.

[Sir_Jose]

just in case anyone is wondering yes Lewis and Tyson did spar with eachother when they were kids.


Now lets be realistic here. No way in hell Dempsey or Marciano would make it out alive against Lennox Lewis.

[SweetScience]

Was never a Lewis fan but even I would put him in the top 10...he beat everyone in his era.

[Silverfox]

It's great that we have someone on this forum, who is so close to the game. You must have seen & heard a hell of a lot behind the scenes, that never reach the ears of many.

A question, that you may be equipped to answer. I live in South Africa: ESPN shows fights that are always weeks behind. Why is this so? Except for the live satellite fights, we get crap from ESPN.

It's good to see that Buffer finally realised that he looks better with grey hair! You should tell a few of the refs to quit the hair & moustache dye as well. What actually happened to Teddy Atlas...was he involved in a car accident...or was his defense that bad?

Good luck in your career!

[FistoftheDallasStar]

Overrated in the fact that many compare him to Ali. Lewis was great in his day but to compare him to "The Greatest" is going a little overboard.

[Soundtraveler]

Apologies accepted Dempsey, and I do not mean to come off condescending, I never realized that I was being taken as such.

I do not post with the intent of sounding that way, when I type a sentence, like everyone else, it is just my train of thought at the time - nothing personal. I don't even read what I type, at least not very thoroughly, and only edit to add something. Also, I am prone to misspelling from time to time, oh well, it's just me being me. Mi wife r a genius sew I don't have to b 1. lol!

Like I said earlier, I would like to see smaller guys fighting big boys, but 60lbs is just too much. Oh, and, Dempsey would still be a Cruiserweight today!

[Soundtraveler]

It's great that we have someone on this forum, who is so close to the game. You must have seen & heard a hell of a lot behind the scenes, that never reach the ears of many.

A question, that you may be equipped to answer. I live in South Africa: ESPN shows fights that are always weeks behind. Why is this so? Except for the live satellite fights, we get crap from ESPN.

It's good to see that Buffer finally realised that he looks better with grey hair! You should tell a few of the refs to quit the hair & moustache dye as well. What actually happened to Teddy Atlas...was he involved in a car accident...or was his defense that bad?

Good luck in your career!

Thanks my friend, and to try to answer for ESPN would be hard for me to do, but the next time I work an event for them I will ask the producer if he knows why they would be weeks behind. I had no idea that was the case.

That said, I do have to add the fact is, alot of my fight cards are "tape delays" as they call it, but usually it is only for a day or two, maybe a week at most.

Perhaps ESPN wants to make sure they have a show every week where you live, to do that would require some tape delays because they don't have a Friday Night Fight to film EVERY Friday, they may go a week or two without seeing a card worth their while in their estimation.

As for the gray hair, well, I think I'll stay clear of that one with Mr Buffer - as he can be a bit of a "prima donna" I have been told. (by more than a few people) He was a former male model when he was a bit younger. Did you know he was also a used car salesman in Germany?! It's true!

He was nice enough to me though, and people had told me that he wouldn't be. Perhaps it was because I had also worked with his brother Bruce years ago, but he was polite to me, so I give him props...[IMG][/IMG]

[Soundtraveler]

Just a couple more things, first, thank you Jose for the great pic of the young Mr. Lewis and the Tyson camp - you solidified a point for me!

Second, I agree with you that neither Marciano or Dempsey could take a Lewis if all were in their primes - no way. Both of the fighters of the past were tough, but damn, they were my size.

Third, WHDempsey, I did not know that Langford actually went blind - thank you, I learn something everyday.

Fourth, when I stood next to Lewis in Memphis, I said to myself "Jesus, this guy is huge, how is Tyson going to whip him?"!!

Shortly thereafter we all found out the answer and I lost my money....

[dempseyfire]

Jack Dempsey was 6'1, 190 lbs of pure muscle. Tyson didn't lose to Lewis b/c he was smaller-he lost b/c he was an old, shot pressure fighter who had lost the skills and reflexes of his youth-he just sat there and walked into jabs all night. If you aren't using foot movement or moving your upperbody, I don't care if you're 7 ft or 5'8, you aren't going to beat a top HW, esp. a jabber like Lennox Lewis. Dempsey knocked out men, top HWs (Carl Morris, Fred Fulton, Jess Williard etc.) who were as big or bigger then Lewis. The size thing is an issue to a certain extent but only to a certain degree. Dempsey was a big man with broad shoulders and large hands. He was not a 'blown up' middle or a Chris Byrd sized fighter. Here's a good article:
http://www.15rounds.com/Columns/apal...xtbigthing.htm

and here's another http://coxscorner.tripod.com/jdempsey.html