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The only guy to really stop Wlad on punches is Corrie Sanders. Purrity and Brewster it was exhaustion that beat him. Lewis has been stopped twice on punches and isn't as fast or as elusive as David Haye. Wlad would land and as Steward has said, he's got the hardest single shot punch he's seen, Lewis included.
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The only guy to really stop Wlad on punches is Corrie Sanders. Purrity and Brewster it was exhaustion that beat him. Lewis has been stopped twice on punches and isn't as fast or as elusive as David Haye. Wlad would land and as Steward has said, he's got the hardest single shot punch he's seen, Lewis included. -
steward also keeps saying lewis is the best heavyweight hes ever hadComment
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Lennox and I'm not even thinking twice. He's not getting outjabbed, he's not getting outmuscled. Wlad isn't Vitali, Lennox in his prime would definitely beat Wlad.Comment
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Prime Lewis is a handful for any outside fighters past or present, he goes down as one of the best jabbers in the HW div.
The gassed out Lewis that beat Vitali was inferior to the younger, rawer version (circa 92-93 around Ruddock time)Comment
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Lewis's weight in that fight with Vitali is what saved him. also anyone with even rudimentary knowledge of boxing knows that Vitali beat and retired Lewis. Not Vitali's fault an incompetent ref allowed Lewis to throw an illegal punch that caused a cut that got the fight stopped and not Vitali's fault that Lewis fled the sport after trying for months to find a way NOT to face Vitali.Comment
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I'm not going to undermine your valid, widely shared point that Vitali had Lewis beat on the cards in that fight, and my original post is carefully worded to state the fact that Lewis got the nod (due to that horrible cut). You could see the signs suggesting the end of Lewis in his first defeat against Rahman.
I wouldn't consider Lewis fleeing the sport of boxing, especially since he had avenged his losses and had little more to prove in the sport. He knew he was on the way out.
When would you objectively say Lewis was in his prime?Comment
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I dont believe that fighters have primes in all honesty, maybe at the smaller weights, but I view heavyweights as a different animal. For example, Ali, a lot of people say he was prime when he faced Cleveland Williams, now I think the Ali who faced Williams would have been crushed by Foreman. Ali with age and wisdom and muscle was able to outsmart and outlast a Foreman that would have knocked young Ali's head off. I also think the Ali who beat Foreman probably would have struggled and lost to Liston or young Joe Frazier.
Same thing for Lennox. Lennox in his theoretical prime weighed 30 lbs less than when he fought Vitali. If he would have shown up at 227, I think Vitali would have ate him alive, Lewis wouldnt have been clinching, wouldnt have been hitting while holding and rabbit punching and if he had clinched his legs would have gotten even weaker holding big vit up. I think Vit wouldnt have just wobbled him, but would have knocked him out early as well. The weight, similar to ali, or briggs, or the countless other fighters who in their 30's gained weight and grew a tougher beard, allowed Lewis to survive those early rounds where a guy like McCall destroyed a young lewis. The weight is the only thing to me that kept Lewis alive against Vitali...that and the numerous, numerous clinches, and illegal punches he threw.
Same thing goes for the Klitschko's too. When was either of there primes? I dont know. Vitali to me looked pretty damn good against Arreola, but is that his prime? Wlad especially was more aggressive when young, an aggressive forward pushing confident Wlad could be a nightmare for Lewis. While the experienced Wlad might actually be too passive and too jab reliant. So yeah, I dont buy the whole prime thing, boxers careers tend not to look like /\. They have many ups and downs, while their physical tools go down, usually there knowledge and strength go up. Also, boxers only fight 2-3 times a year now, guys can have bad nights, especially heavyweights, you can walk into the wrong punch, fight a guy who wont fight back and just runs, or just simply not feel 100% that night, but does that mean youre not prime? Hell, Vitali gets his a handful of times in a round and KO's his opponent within 1 and people are on here saying he's old and should retire. If he doesnt KO Solis in 1 but has a round 2 similar to the Hide fight is he just coming into his own? I dont know.Comment
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Prime Lewis vs Current Wlad, I will slightly favor Lennox in a boring as **** 12 round Split Decision.
Current Wlad would not have allowed even a 6'5-6'6 245 Pound SHW like Lewis to engage. He would use his great boxing skills and chess match Lewis for 12 boring tactical rounds.
Lewis would probably have landed a few more uppercuts and scored a few more points with the inside fighting.
Now a REAL match would be early 90's PRE MANNY STEWARD Lennox Lewis of the Razer Ruddock fight against the EARLY 2000'S Pre-Manny STEWARD Wladimir. Young Lewis and Young Wlad were both ultra reckless and threw non stop bombs. They had surreal one punch power and it would have been a great slug fest.Comment
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Vitali's style was much more suited to give Lewis trouble than Wladimirs.
Manny Steward has been using his tall-man formula on Wlad since he joined team Klitschko to great success, but I think Lennox was a little more ferocious and mixed his punches up more in the early rounds.
Damn good fight, but I got to go with Lennox.Comment
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