Did Lennox Lewis kill boxing as a majority interest?

[jedihillis]

Yeah, I do think the fall of boxing hype has sorta revolved around Lewis. I mean, i was wondering this myself. It was always so widley talked about when the heavywieght championship was up for grabs. Now, no one seems to care at all. It's kinda sad that the heavyweight devision has fallen so badly. We need to see some spark there.

[Slipx]

the bouts between Chris Eubank/Nigel Benn would be shown on TV in bars, something that would never happen nowadays.

There's plenty of bars that televise the PPV fights- you just gotta goto the bars that charge 6.50 for a drink, ;-(

[dempseyfire]

Boxing in general has vastly declined in the upper weight divisions. Lewis wasn´t always a boring fighter but his fights were b'c the guys he was defending the title against were not true championship calibre fighters (save a couple) . . .the division became truly horrible in the 90s and Lewis was the last guy who managed to rise above the garbage . .

[Kid Achilles]

Lewis was a "hot or cold" fighter. Against an opponent with a vulnerable chin or psyche (Grant, Golota, Rahman in the second fight, etc) he would come out like an animal, throwing big punches with impressive quickness (for his size). Against dangerous and durable opponents like Tyson and Tua however, he played it extremely safe. His "rumble" against Tua was probably the dullest heavyweight title fight I've personally watched.

Overall, taking into account the good and the bad, he was more exciting than a lot of heavyweights. The fact that he was one of a handful of men over 6'4" who had the right mix of championship qualities, and therefore was one of the few "superheavyweights" that actually delivered what was promised by promoters (Grant and Whittaker come to mind as examples of those who didnt) he has my respect.

As far as his personality is concerned, as well as his court room antics (suing Mike Tyson because Mike didn't want to get his ass kicked in an immediate rematch) he's probably my least favorite contemporary heavyweight.

Anyone who believes that a fighters attitude and personality don't have an effect on boxing fans' perception of said fighter are only kidding themselves.

[england4ever]

i think lennox was a good fighter and a true champ. He did not kill boxing he ruled it. Dont blame lennox for dull fights as you can only fight whats in front of you. Which at his time was nothing more than amatures.

[Enayze]

Boxing in general has vastly declined in the upper weight divisions. Lewis wasn´t always a boring fighter but his fights were b'c the guys he was defending the title against were not true championship calibre fighters (save a couple) . . .the division became truly horrible in the 90s and Lewis was the last guy who managed to rise above the garbage . .

The division became garbage in the 90's? Are you kidding me, it's the only division compared to the 70's and one of the most exciting at that.

Lewis
Tyson
Holyfield
Bowe
Morrison
Foreman
Holmes
Golota
Bruno
Ruddock
Moorer
Botha
Briggs
Tucker


All these fighters were top calibre at the time, and very exciting to watch.

[Warrior Spirit]

the division became truly horrible in the 90s and Lewis was the last guy who managed to rise above the garbage . .

WTF are you talking about?

[dempseyfire]

The division became garbage in the 90's? Are you kidding me, it's the only division compared to the 70's and one of the most exciting at that.

Lewis
Tyson
Holyfield
Bowe
Morrison
Foreman
Holmes
Golota
Bruno
Ruddock
Moorer
Botha
Briggs
Tucker


All these fighters were top calibre at the time, and very exciting to watch.

Tucker? He was a washed up coke fiend in the 90s.

I actually think the division was fairly strong from 1990-1998. Lewis ruled from 1998-2002, which we got contenders like

Shannon Briggs
Frans Botha
Hasim Rahman
Michael Grant
a shot Mike Tyson
an obese puncher named David Tua

Yes, in the late 90s through today, the division became truly awful into what it is today. Lewis ´reigned´ over a trule weak division.

[DiegoFuego]

Lewis is one of the best 4 heavyweights of all time. By leaving the sport, he killed the heavyweight division; he did, however, leave it open for my boys Rahman and Toney to take over.

[MlLkMan]

How can 1 guy kill boxing?