Lennox Lewis never stayed down

[Guest]

Please dont get me started on Lennox, we can talk about how great his right hands was, we can talk about his telelphone pole jab, we can talk about his ring smarts etc. but please lets not start getting crazy and say things like LL wasnt gunshy in the ring-there is a reason why it took 9 rounds to take out Tyson AKA as Manny Steward put it "you have a mother****ing dead man in front of you"....that reason you ask? He was gunshy!

You got NINE rounds of Lewis vs. Tyson? **** me, my TV company ripped me off a round!

In all seriousness though, I agree, though I don't know if I'd say "gunshy", just that guns blazing wasn't his style. (And when it was it could get ugly, like his last fight).

His chin though... I don't count the Rahman KO as such. He was out of shape, unfocussed and hadn't acclimatised to the high altitude. It wasn't rock solid, but his chin was certainly nowhere near as bad as its been slated.

[Guest]

i dont care how one sided his fights with ruiz and byrd would have been. if you have a mandatory, FACE HIM. keep the belts, add another name to ur list of victims, make a quick and easy buck, and THEN look for a money fight. hell, if lewis fought byrd and ruiz, he would doubtlessly have knocked them out and ended any talk of them being contenders or champions and we wouldnt have to put up with the duck and the bum today.

That's a true point, but boxing is also a business. Who'd pay to see Lewis vs. Byrd?

[Derranged]

you say Leiws never ducked anyone but do the names Chris Byrd and John Ruiz ring a bell?

Gimmie a break. They wouldnt even be worth fighting. I dont know if Lennox ever ducked anyone. But he did put Corrie Sanders on his promotional team and the RUMOR was that he did it because he was afraid that he would get KTFO by Corrie. But who knows.

[Bozo_no no]

Lennox is a great HW there is no doubt (we can argue how great later) but...

You say he was never particularly gunshy, the guy always fought overly cautious, the only way you got an aggressive Lewis is if you attacked him-ala Michael Grant.

Lewis fought scared against guys like Zelko Mavervick for christ sakes, like someone mentioned earlier he was petrified of McCall in the remtach and you also sited Tua as a fight where Lewis met fire with fire? What?

Lewis was scared to death of Tua and kept his distance, if you want to see soemone (the only one) who met fire with fire in regards to David Tua that would be Ike Ibeabuchi.

The title of your thread is true though-he was decked by McCall and probably should have been given an opportunity to continue and even though he was out against Rock the son of ***** did find a way to get up.

Please dont get me started on Lennox, we can talk about how great his right hands was, we can talk about his telelphone pole jab, we can talk about his ring smarts etc. but please lets not start getting crazy and say things like LL wasnt gunshy in the ring-there is a reason why it took 9 rounds to take out Tyson AKA as Manny Steward put it "you have a mother****ing dead man in front of you"....that reason you ask? He was gunshy!

Once again Scap doesn't like a fighter, and biased talk ensues.

The point of the thread is very valid.

After suffering stoppage losses, Lewis did not avoid big punhers. He went from the McCall loss to fighting Mercer, Morrison and McCall in consecutive fights just a year after suffering that first stoppage defeat.

Your assertion that he only fought cautious is non sense. He went toe to toe with a violent Ray Mercer and let it all hang out trading shots with Ray. He went in with Andrew Gotlota who had pummeled Rid**** Bowe in back to back fights (in the process pummeling his sac of course) and took him out in a round. He went from getting put to sleep by Rahman to fighting him 6 months later and following it up with a fight agaisnt Mike Tyson. In both cases, that goes agaisnt the norm psychologicly for a fighter who's suffered a knock out.

Your critisism (which obviously stems from dislike) about him fighting overly cautious is complete drivel.

Ike Ibeabucchi fought an exciting fight with David Tua, but he also took about 400 shots from Tua to his head. One could count the number of times Tua landed flush on Lewis with one hand. With Tua's chin, it's highly unlikely Lewis was going to stop him, and he did exactly what he should have in that fight, breaking a compubox record for jabs, and winning a near shut out.

Tyson only lasted 8 rounds with Lewis because of the incredible display of chin he showed in that fight. Someone else in this thread mentioned Lewis was 'gun shy' agaisnt Tyson. Non sense. Tyson charged after Lewis at the opening bell and it was Lewis that struck first landing 3 uppercuts that Tyson later admitted hurt him in the first 30 seconds of the fight.

Lewis fought cautious at times, and each of those times benifited him, saw him take less damage, and win those fights with his boxing ability. At other times, he had a list of hilight reel devistating KO's.

The point the thread maker makes is a noteworthy one, and you need look no further than the Rahman rematch. While the majority of fighters would come in apprehensive against a guy who just KO'd them so badly, Lewis went after Rahman from the opening bell and dominated each round. He was jabbing and head hunting, and could be seen looking for the KO shot as early as the 2nd round.

Lewis may have been many things in his career, including extremely overconfident and ****y. But like the 1st post suggests, it was that arrogance that allowed him to return from stoppage losses with the same confidence he exuded before them. His brash sense of self assuredness certainly made him a better fighter.

[Tha Greatest]

I agree with everything Scap says..

[TheEvilSaint]

That's a true point, but boxing is also a business. Who'd pay to see Lewis vs. Byrd?

well, its not like lewis had the choice of facing only one opponent. he couldve made his mandatory defense and THEN went for a payday.

his fight with byrd would not have been a draw, on any level, but money is money. theres no fighter today that fights for free.

[DiegoFuego]

I think Lewis has earned his place as one of the top 6-7 heavyweights of all time.

[gattifan24]

If you think that Lennox Lewis, the guy who beat up Holyfield and Mike Tyson, was afraid of Chris friggin Byrd, you are insane. Lewis would have destroyed either fighter tactically. Why is it said on this board that every fighter is a ducker. Its really silly

[TheEvilSaint]

I think Lewis has earned his place as one of the top 6-7 heavyweights of all time.

top 6-7? no, no and no.

[77Ritchie77]

little off topic, but has valuev ever been knocked down? cuz if not then he and klitschko are theonly heavyweight champs ever to not be knocked down