Larry Merchant: Lennox Lewis Is The Best Heavyweight To Emerge Since His Reign Began

[FlatLine]

Merchant spoke to a boxing show earlier this week. He said that if Lennox Lewis was in his prime he would have beaten any heavyweight that has emerged since he retired. Fury, Haye, Wladimir, Wilder, Stiverne, Joshua, Jennings would have all been defeated by a prime Lewis. Incidentally, Al Bernstein said last year that Lewis may well be the best heavyweight of all time.

Catch up with the most recent boxing talk from Larry Merchant here:

http://*******.com/merchantHW

[mann187]

Id arguably put him as THE best HW ever, head to head at least i think he beats most if not all prior or present HW in his prime.

[Elroy1]

Yes Lennox Lewis may very well be able to beat all the guys listed and could very well be the greatest HW who ever lived.

The whole concept is total spin though however.

Another way to look at it though is that the guys listed are, outside of the ones that did or theoretically could have in his own career, the only ones likely to have ever been able to beat Lennox too!

Certainly anybody prior to Lennox Lewis except maybe a primer Tyson would have been completely blasted out into space.

[Kagami Taiga]

Hahahaha the old ccot still at it. But he's right on this one. There were 1 or 2 guys more talented maybe. But he's definitely the greatest.

[ramplamp]

He could be right, but Merchant is always one of those "the grass was greener back then" kind of guys. Grumpy old guy who never gives due credit to current fighters. I don't like that, and always found him insufferable to listen to on HBO.

[yoz]

Well, of course.

[gmc_rfc_06]

Unquestionably.

As far as I'm concerned he's the best HW of all time, especially if you're talking about head-to-head.

[soul_survivor]

Merchant spoke to a boxing show earlier this week. He said that if Lennox Lewis was in his prime he would have beaten any heavyweight that has emerged since he retired. Fury, Haye, Wladimir, Wilder, Stiverne, Joshua, Jennings would have all been defeated by a prime Lewis. Incidentally, Al Bernstein said last year that Lewis may well be the best heavyweight of all time.

Catch up with the most recent boxing talk from Larry Merchant here:

http://*******.com/merchantHW

Not the best heavy ever, he lacked the dynamism and fluidity to match prime Ali, Holy, Holmes, Frazier or Foreman but he is definitely up there among the best.

As for now, of course he'd beat those guys, most of the names mentioned aren't even proven on the world stage lol

[KnockoutNed]

Lennox would have dominated the cotton candy era of the last decade that's for sure. Titlists like Wlad, Haye and Peters wouldn't have lasted 5 rounds.

[SalimShady1212]

Easily, I repeat EASILY.