WOW!!! Evander Holyfield says Bowe and Tyson were afraid of Lennox Lewis! MUST SEE!

[Furn]

The thing with Lewis was he was British and wasn't a huge draw in the US early on and wasnt Bruno like popular in the UK either so he was ducked because the money he brought to a fight wasn't worth the risk of fighting him.

Not sure these guys were literally afraid of Lewis but why fight him when you can fight the likes of Bruno for more money.

[edgarg]

Never really believed this to be the case until now. Interesting

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yH8E2pmHrbQ

I don't believe it for a second.How can Holyfield, who can barely articulate properly, know what was in the mind of either of them. Tyson didn't want to fight because he was washed up and needed easy fights to make some money. Lewis forced him to fight knowing this, threatening lawsuits etc. As for Bowe, it was a big row his manager was having with either the opposing promoters or .....something like that. Bowe wasn't afraid of anyone.

I distinctly recall Foreman on many occasions (every time the subject of his Frazier fight came up) saying that he was scared stiff of fighting Frazier. I'm sure others recall this too. And I'd bet money that he was never afraid of a short=armed comparative midget. I believe that this was his "new" humble persona, after he heard "voices" telling him to build a church and go and make a comeback to earn the money..... Pastor George....

[yoz]

In 96 Tyson paid Lewis $4million step aside Money and told Lewis he would just vacate the title if Lewis demanded the fight, which Lewis had to go to court to force the mandatory fight.

This ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

[MRBOOMER]

I don't believe it for a second.How can Holyfield, who can barely articulate properly, know what was in the mind of either of them. Tyson didn't want to fight because he was washed up and needed easy fights to make some money. Lewis forced him to fight knowing this, threatening lawsuits etc. As for Bowe, it was a big row his manager was having with either the opposing promoters or .....something like that. Bowe wasn't afraid of anyone.

I distinctly recall Foreman on many occasions (every time the subject of his Frazier fight came up) saying that he was scared stiff of fighting Frazier. I'm sure others recall this too. And I'd bet money that he was never afraid of a short=armed comparative midget. I believe that this was his "new" humble persona, after he heard "voices" telling him to build a church and go and make a comeback to earn the money..... Pastor George....

Mike Tyson was afraid before every fight he went into according to him do you think he's lying too? Why would they lie what's it gonna help them 10 and 20 years later?

[LacedUp]

So this would be the oldest news to be posted on NSB for a decade.

[Simurgh]

Lewis was a mean dude

Too shame we never saw Bowe-Lennox or Tyson-Lennox at the right time.

[LacedUp]

I don't believe it for a second.How can Holyfield, who can barely articulate properly, know what was in the mind of either of them. Tyson didn't want to fight because he was washed up and needed easy fights to make some money. Lewis forced him to fight knowing this, threatening lawsuits etc. As for Bowe, it was a big row his manager was having with either the opposing promoters or .....something like that. Bowe wasn't afraid of anyone.

I distinctly recall Foreman on many occasions (every time the subject of his Frazier fight came up) saying that he was scared stiff of fighting Frazier. I'm sure others recall this too. And I'd bet money that he was never afraid of a short=armed comparative midget. I believe that this was his "new" humble persona, after he heard "voices" telling him to build a church and go and make a comeback to earn the money..... Pastor George....

I think Holyfield used to come across as a pretty level headed, intelligent guy; exactly unlike Bowe and Tyson. And what's being said is not they were particularly frightened by Lennox Lewis, but they both did not want to fight him. Whether it was the promoters or the managers or the fighter themselves doesn't matter. The team didn't want to go up against Lennox and the proof is in the pudding. Rid**** Bowe called Lewis out, only to literally throw his belt in the bin? And then say: "Then we can call him the garbage picker" or something silly like that, as if Lewis was the one ending up looking like a clown.

Tyson, yes, he pretty much fought for money at the time, and the Holyfield fight was much more lucrative at the time, however, even after that, people still craved a fight between lewis-tyson, seeing as these two were the real champs of the era. Tyson kept saying "I need to or three more fights before I'm ready" and goes on too fight something like 18 rounds in 5 years prior to the Lennox fight, which, when it came, was only a matter of money for mike, which is clearly seen in the aftermath and post interview of the fight.

Basically, both Bowe and Tyson didn't want to fight Lennox. Like Evander is trying to say, they ducked him. Whether that was for money reasons or not, is another matter entirely.

[Simurgh]

I think Holyfield used to come across as a pretty level headed, intelligent guy; exactly unlike Bowe and Tyson. And what's being said is not they were particularly frightened by Lennox Lewis, but they both did not want to fight him. Whether it was the promoters or the managers or the fighter themselves doesn't matter. The team didn't want to go up against Lennox and the proof is in the pudding. Rid**** Bowe called Lewis out, only to literally throw his belt in the bin? And then say: "Then we can call him the garbage picker" or something silly like that, as if Lewis was the one ending up looking like a clown.

Tyson, yes, he pretty much fought for money at the time, and the Holyfield fight was much more lucrative at the time, however, even after that, people still craved a fight between lewis-tyson, seeing as these two were the real champs of the era. Tyson kept saying "I need to or three more fights before I'm ready" and goes on too fight something like 18 rounds in 5 years prior to the Lennox fight, which, when it came, was only a matter of money for mike, which is clearly seen in the aftermath and post interview of the fight.

Basically, both Bowe and Tyson didn't want to fight Lennox. Like Evander is trying to say, they ducked him. Whether that was for money reasons or not, is another matter entirely.

Good post.

[edgarg]

Mike Tyson was afraid before every fight he went into according to him do you think he's lying too? Why would they lie what's it gonna help them 10 and 20 years later?

There's a difference between being afraid and being nervous. I've heard him being asked about being nervous and he always said yes, it was only natural.

I myself remember often being nervous waiting in the corner just before the bell rang. it didn't mean I was afraid, I wanted it to begin. If I was afraid I'd never have boxed at all. The only thing I might have been afraid of was not showing up well.

[Tommo1]

Well there can be no doubt Bowe was.

It was the most shameful act in HW boxing of all time the Bowe ducking of Lewis, followed distantly by Vitali quitting against Byrd!

I believe Tyson was also. By the time Tyson had made his comeback and got dispatched by Holyfield, Lewis was already established and he couldn't help but have noticed the writing on the wall for him.