Why doesn't Lennox Lewis get much respect?

[PBDS]

I have been watching LL for as long as I can remember and he is one of my most hated fighters...why-I was young and impressionable but here are some of the things that stick out.

When LL was young and weighed 220's ish he was very amatuerish...he was always overly cautious...it was frustrating to watch him at times and far before I ever saw him get hit on the chin you knew his beard was not that good because of the way he was not willing to mix it up at all.

As my disgust for LL grew he continue to win...I loved to tune in and hope to see LL get flattened but time and time again he just kept winning. I remember watching Frank Bruno dominate LL repeatedly hurting him and winning every round on my card...LL got stunned in like the 7th and Bruno got overconfident comming in and got caught with the left and a few seconds later Bruno was ****ed. (another disappointment)

LL loves to talk in the third person and although my wife finds it to be a turn on it just pisses me off and I find myself constantly mimicking him.

As I have grown up I have realized that LL has grown up too, he is not the same fighter he was pre-MCCall knockout loss...he used his brain and he gained the perfect amount of weight to make himslef affective. So I give him alot of props-without this body changed he never would have amounted to ****-his brain is so much bigger than bowes it is amazing and I love Rid****(I wish Rid**** had LL's desire and brains).

LL has also provided me with as much entertainment as any HW ever...his two losses gave me a rush that if bottled would eaily take over for ******* or crack.

But I still love too hate the brit, it started when I was young and just continued, cant really help it plus hating a fighter is just as fun as loving a fighter, I hate Tito yet I love him for my sport, LL is the same. Tuning in to watch a guy you hate is exciting, 9 times out of 10 he will **** you and you will eat crow but you know your time is comming when the fighter you despise is going to get his...watching a guy you hate get ****ed up is better than watching a guy you love kick ass...

LL is certainly not a guy I root for but I cant imagine the sport without him the last couple decades!

...Man your comments are so true for sports in general. It's great to have a team you hate in the finals of any sport if your team didn't make it. This years NBA finals just couldn't get me really hyped because I kind of liked both of those teams and definitely didn't hate either one. It was so much easier when the Lakers were in the finals. Rooting against the Steelers in the 70's was an obsession for sure. Rooting against the Eagles is great now and it has paid off with three straight NFC championship losses followed by a superbowl loss. Doesn't get much better than that.

[scap]

...Man your comments are so true for sports in general. It's great to have a team you hate in the finals of any sport if your team didn't make it. This years NBA finals just couldn't get me really hyped because I kind of liked both of those teams and definitely didn't hate either one. It was so much easier when the Lakers were in the finals. Rooting against the Steelers in the 70's was an obsession for sure. Rooting against the Eagles is great now and it has paid off with three straight NFC championship losses followed by a superbowl loss. Doesn't get much better than that.

Exactly right! You need vilians and in teams sports it is fun too watch teams that you dislike lose but in boxing where guys you hate actually get physically beaten up it is all the more special!

Watching Hamed dget puncked by Barerra was awesome, when tito got smoked by Nard it was priceless, LL two ko losses were the best...but these guys also kicked a lot fo ass and it just added fuel to your fire...again hating is just as good as loving in sports, sometimes its better!

[-Spectre-]

Lewis was way overrated and the lil respect I had for him I lost him when he didnt give a rematch to Vitali and decided to retire.

[The Troll]

Lennox Lewis did actually say one funny thing once though that somebody on this website used to have in their sig.

"If John Ruiz was fighting in my backyard I would pull the curtains."

[paul750]

Ray Mercer beat Lewis if you watch the fight, that ******.

We in Britain never rated Lewis all that highly, at the end of his career he beat a 'shot-it' Holyfield and a 'totally shot-it' Tyson. So what? Beating up a couple of over-the-hill legends because your bigger than them, WTF.

come on juy, your just picking one bad fight, he blew away razor ruddock, andrew golota, grant, botha, clearly beat holyfield in the first fight, and still beat him in the second. put on a masterclass against tua, and in the second fight with rahman.

[TheEvilSaint]

come on juy, your just picking one bad fight, he blew away razor ruddock, andrew golota, grant, botha, clearly beat holyfield in the first fight, and still beat him in the second. put on a masterclass against tua, and in the second fight with rahman.

golota, grant, botha, rahman, and ruddock are bums. tua's not that hard to beat (i.e. chris byrd and ike). but yes, he did beat holyfield twice. that was just about when holyfield should have retired.

[paul750]

golota, grant, botha, rahman, and ruddock are bums. tua's not that hard to beat (i.e. chris byrd and ike). but yes, he did beat holyfield twice. that was just about when holyfield should have retired.

no one had ever done that to ruddock before, ruddock had went 21 rounds in total with mike tyson, and that was when tyson was still a good fighter.

[scap]

Playing devils advocate against my arch rival LL...

What is LL's best victory?

The Ruddock victory was at the time impressive, no doubt? Most thought Ruddock was going to beat LL.

H showed alot of heart in the MErcer fight, that one could have gone either way.

A win against Holyfield is nice but it was not a prime Holy and it was still not the most impressive win you have ever seen, look how Bowe battered Holy in the first fight and that was arguabley a priome holy...

Tyson should not count as ****...

The remtach agaisnt Rock was nice, one of the best right hands you will ever see.

What victory was his shining moment?

[paul750]

no one had ever done that to ruddock before, ruddock had went 21 rounds in total with mike tyson, and that was when tyson was still a good fighter.

i think larry merchant also said something like''it wasn't the fact that he beat ruddock that was so impressive, it was the way he beat him.''

[paul750]

What victory was his shining moment?

his win against rahman has to be his beat. it was the sharpest he ever was IMO.