Lennox good but not great!

[Nautilus]

Lewis is an all time great, and VK outboxed him.

[PBDS]

When you think of a great champion, the first thing that normally pops into mind is an image of them beating the crap out of someone. With Ali I see him standing over Liston, With holyfield I see him going to war with Bowe, with Lewis I know he put the beating on some people but I just see him flat on his back, twice.

...Joe, you make some great points!!! Lewis was as scary as he was vulnerable. Guys feared him, but he was not unbeatable at all and if you got to that glass chin it was over with one big shot. If he didn't act like such an ******* his he American fan base would have been better and he would have gotten more respect. I do have to give him credit for fighting alot of big knockout punchers with that suspect chin. He fought Ruddock, Tyson, Morrison, Holy(not a big puncher but dangerous as hell and Lewis fought him like he feared a one punch knockout), Vitali, Rahman a second time after getting his brain scrambled, and Tua. He stepped up with that fragile chin and took chances against guys who could take him out with one or two shots. He was a pompous British idiot who I couldn't stand but I would put him in the 7-10 range. He had some serious skills and IMO would have knocked out Bowe if they ever did meet. Bowe was scared of Lewis and it was not the other way around.

[AIR_KENG]

...Joe, you make some great points!!! Lewis was as scary as he was vulnerable. Guys feared him, but he was not unbeatable at all and if you got to that glass chin it was over with one big shot. If he didn't act like such an ******* his he American fan base would have been better and he would have gotten more respect. I do have to give him credit for fighting alot of big knockout punchers with that suspect chin. He fought Ruddock, Tyson, Morrison, Holy(not a big puncher but dangerous as hell and Lewis fought him like he feared a one punch knockout), Vitali, Rahman a second time after getting his brain scrambled, and Tua. He stepped up with that fragile chin and took chances against guys who could take him out with one or two shots. He was a pompous British idiot who I couldn't stand but I would put him in the 7-10 range. He had some serious skills and IMO would have knocked out Bowe if they ever did meet. Bowe was scared of Lewis and it was not the other way around.

i'd say he's still one of the greats because he did what he did and retired as a champion... prime or no prime, he beat those guys...

[jack_the_rippuh]

Lewis destroyed what was left of Holyfield..

[scap]

*rolleyes*

Yup no agenda here.

What big fight was Lewis in where his opponent was in his prime?

There is no secret I am not a big Lewis fan, however I think he is the greatest heavyweight champ past the age of 35...this appeared to be his prime...

The Lewis that fought Frank Bruno, Toney Tucker would have been beaten by a ton of guys but he had smart management and they brought him along very slowly staying away from a prime Holy, a dangerous Tyson and I don't care whose fault it was Bowe's or Lewis's the point is they never fought.

the post McCall Lewis would have killed Bowe in my mind but the skinny scared Lewis pre McCall would have been in big trouble.

My point...Lewis never fought a top guy in there prime...maybe it was not his fault, maybe it was...this is the agenda nothing more nothing less.

As for ranking Lewis he is between 11-15/16 range...he is a really good champ, but for me I reserve the word great for the top tier and Lennox is not there agenda or not-great heavyweight champions don't get one punched twice in their career by mediocre fighters!

[BrooklynBomber]

Lewis is one of the alltime greats for sure. And by the way prime for prime he beats Holyfield.

[AintGottaClue]

would u all rank vitali higher then lewis is he doesnt lose has the belts and never gets knocked out? or he is always under lewis cause he hasnt and wont fight a holyfield and tyson because he was to long?

[Warrior Spirit]

Lewis is an all time great, and VK outboxed him.

So thats why he lost.

[Warrior Spirit]

Lewis is one of the alltime greats for sure. And by the way prime for prime he beats Holyfield.

How do you figure he beats Holyfield in his prime? Holyfield hurt Lewis bad a couple of times in their rematch and that Holyfield was way past his prime.

Holyfield ****ing murders Lewis prime for prime!

[Sir_Jose]

What big fight was Lewis in where his opponent was in his prime?

There is no secret I am not a big Lewis fan, however I think he is the greatest heavyweight champ past the age of 35...this appeared to be his prime...

The Lewis that fought Frank Bruno, Toney Tucker would have been beaten by a ton of guys but he had smart management and they brought him along very slowly staying away from a prime Holy, a dangerous Tyson and I don't care whose fault it was Bowe's or Lewis's the point is they never fought.

the post McCall Lewis would have killed Bowe in my mind but the skinny scared Lewis pre McCall would have been in big trouble.

My point...Lewis never fought a top guy in there prime...maybe it was not his fault, maybe it was...this is the agenda nothing more nothing less.

As for ranking Lewis he is between 11-15/16 range...he is a really good champ, but for me I reserve the word great for the top tier and Lennox is not there agenda or not-great heavyweight champions don't get one punched twice in their career by mediocre fighters!

Please name me the last time two legit all time great heavyweight fighters were in there primes at the same time?

He fought a ton of guys who were thought to be "prime" you just flat out refuse to reconize them. Mercer, Rudock, Golota, Briggs, Tua and Grant were all thought to be at there peak.

You try and knock Holyfield, but what you fail to realize is that at the time of that fight Holyfield was the WBA and IBF Heavyweight Champion of the World and was fighting aswell as had ever fought. Was there a bigger fight in boxing at that time than Holyfield vs Lewis? the answer would be no.


You also say he was brought along slowly, but again what you dont know is that by 20 pro fights he was already fighting for World Titles, hell Miguel Cotto and Jermain Taylor haven't even fought top ten guys yet.

Also you try and say he never fought Tyson in the 90's, but AGAIN what you fail to realize is that in 1996 Lennox Lewis was the #1 contender for Tyson and Mike Tyson chose to give up his belt and pay Lennox Lewis 5 Million dollars.

What do you mean it doesn't matter who didn't want the fight with Bowe? Of course it matters. You cant knock Lewis for never fighting Bowe whwen Bowe clearly didn't want any part of Lewis.