Lennox Lewis is one of the most underrated champions of all times. Shame shame shame.

[IMDAZED]

Dont get me wrong I'm not saying no one on earth tabbed him to win I'm just saying he wasn't the overwelming favorite like the op was making it seem. Nor was he the favorite at all.

The odds, which opened two months ago favoring Lewis, 9-5, had dropped to 6-5 on the day of the fight.

http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j...,d.dmQ&cad=rja

He should of fought tyson the first time I think it would of been an easier fight then Mercer who kicked his butt in my opinion.

I don't think Mercer "kicked his butt" at all.

EDIT


I'd also add that in spite of the odds, a lot of people picked Golota, from message boards to experts. Just a few here, if you scroll down a bit: http://www.cyberboxingzone.com/boxing/gollewis.htm

And no one thought Lewis was going to flatten him in one round. That was a fantastic performance.

[GoldSugar]

Lewis is a top 5 Heavyweight great. He even beat his heir to the throne Vitali so bad he had to retire for 3 years to recover.

Who else has done that? Ali maybe? That's about it.

[D-MiZe]

Probably the greatest Canadian boxer ever.

Oops, just remembered Langford...

*one of

[djtmal]

So it was Seldon in 1996. I remember it was $4m in step-aside money. I wonder what happened after the Seldon fight though.

it gets a little sketchy, but i followed boxing hard back then, and my take is, mike did keep lewis at bay, to fight holyfield 2x...for good reason though...holyfield seemed to be finished, but brought way more money than lewis did at the time....

[I Love Jesus!]

I don't think Mercer "kicked his butt" at all.

EDIT


I'd also add that in spite of the odds, a lot of people picked Golota, from message boards to experts. Just a few here, if you scroll down a bit: http://www.cyberboxingzone.com/boxing/gollewis.htm

And no one thought Lewis was going to flatten him in one round. That was a fantastic performance.

Did you think Mercer won the fight? I thought he did clearly. I didn't realize so many people thought Golata might pull it off but again just pointing out he wasn't the favorite. Certainly not to me.

[IMDAZED]

it gets a little sketchy, but i followed boxing hard back then, and my take is, mike did keep lewis at bay, to fight holyfield 2x...for good reason though...holyfield seemed to be finished, but brought way more money than lewis did at the time....

I'm sure. And Lennox signed to fight McCall probably. Don't recall but I was probably a bigger fan of the sport back then than I am today. Seemed like HBO was more about putting on great fights and not just attempting to create "superstars" for the money machine. Not to go off topic, but a great example of this was Angel Manfredy. Manfredy had a bit of a schtick but was also a solid, well-schooled fighter. And he was feature prominently on Boxing After Dark. And kept winning until he landed a big fight against Gatti. And schooled Gatti a bit en route to the upset (though not an upset if you had been following Manfredy). I don't see HBO doing that as much but maybe they are and I'm just seeing things through different lenses. Either way, boxing was great back then. Actually, I kinda like where it is now too.

[I Love Jesus!]

it gets a little sketchy, but i followed boxing hard back then, and my take is, mike did keep lewis at bay, to fight holyfield 2x...for good reason though...holyfield seemed to be finished, but brought way more money than lewis did at the time....

My greatest boxing pick was holyfeild over tyson. I watched it with like 12 people in high school and everyone else picked Tyson. They were literally mad and ganging up on me calling me an idiot and high fiving each other over it. Obviously you guys remember how big tyson was back then. I loved Holyfeild from the bowe fights and his weight lifting with Lee Haney. I wanted my father to put a hundred on it to win 600 but it didn't happen.

[IMDAZED]

Did you think Mercer won the fight? I thought he did clearly. I didn't realize so many people thought Golata might pull it off but again just pointing out he wasn't the favorite. Certainly not to me.

No, I thought Lewis won the fight. Could have gone either way but I say that with the belief that Lewis won close but clear, if that makes any sense. I've scored the bout trying to lean toward Mercer (because of the outcry immediately after) and have not scored a decision for him. Whatever. It was a close fight and really didn't detract from either winner or loser because both fought at a high level.

And again, while Lewis, the defending champion was the favorite. Golota was considered the darkhorse of the heavyweight division at the time and a lot of people picked him. Regardless, what no one expected was for Lennox to blast him out in 90 seconds.

[IMDAZED]

My greatest boxing pick was holyfeild over tyson. I watched it with like 12 people in high school and everyone else picked Tyson. They were literally mad and ganging up on me calling me an idiot and high fiving each other over it. Obviously you guys remember how big tyson was back then. I loved Holyfeild from the bowe fights and his weight lifting with Lee Haney. I wanted my father to put a hundred on it to win 600 but it didn't happen.

Me too . Was in a house with a bunch of Tyson fans and I was talking **** about Holyfield winning before the fight, during the fight and after the fight. I should've put some money on that fight because as soon as it was signed, I knew Holyfield was gonna get in his ass. 25-1 odds. Sigh. If only I was a little older I could've made off sweet smh.

[I Love Jesus!]

No, I thought Lewis won the fight. Could have gone either way but I say that with the belief that Lewis won close but clear, if that makes any sense. I've scored the bout trying to lean toward Mercer (because of the outcry immediately after) and have not scored a decision for him. Whatever. It was a close fight and really didn't detract from either winner or loser because both fought at a high level.

And again, while Lewis, the defending champion was the favorite. Golota was considered the darkhorse of the heavyweight division at the time and a lot of people picked him. Regardless, what no one expected was for Lennox to blast him out in 90 seconds.

See I only watched the fight once and I don't score them like a judge. I just go by what I see in the ring and what I think. I know people will say that's wrong but like one of my trainers told me a long time ago you can sit a 5 year old in front of a fight and he can tell you who won. I thought it was close but Mercer deserved the win and just fought better overall. Foe me he boxed better, did more damage and was just taking it to Lewis who was lackadaisical all night.

.