We saw a washed up Holyfield giving Lennox Lewis a ton of problems. The second fight was very close and Holyfield edged it in my opinion. I think a prime Holy would have beaten Lennox Lewis. I hate Holy more than any other fighter but I have to admit that the guy was a beast. He had some bad performances against lesser fighters but he was always at his best against top opposition. If a washed up Holyfield is almost equal to a prime Lewis, than a prime Holyfield beats Lewis imo.
The Holyfield that fought Lewis was past his prime, but not anywhere close to the shell we've seen fighting "recently". I'm not even sure people would be able to agree on when Holyfield was in his prime. Throughout his career he's won fights being an underdog. He's also struggeled and lost to opponents when he was still young and in great shape. Even if Evander was younger, Lennox still provides a pile of stylistic issues for him. (and pretty much everyone) I wouldn't count a "prime" Holyfield out of it, but based upon what we've seen i'll still go with Lewis by decision.
:: Very close fight. I'd fancy Lewis to win 6/10, but on any given night either man could win. I feel the same way about any match up combination of peak Lewis/Holyfield/Tyson.
Washed up? Give me a break. Holyfield would've never beaten Lewis. Now I'll read the rest of your post.
Wouldn't you consider Holy's first fight with Lewis a fight against top opposition? Didn't it sell PPV buys like hot-cakes? Wasn't it the fight everyone was waiting for? And Lewis completely schooled him. The only reason the second fight was close was because the public was critical of the first fight, claiming it was boring. Lewis, by engaging Holyfield more and not moving as much in the second fight, was trying to make it more exciting. I think it was also a response to the robbery of the first fight. It was as if he were saying to the judges, "ok. so you're going to rob me if I box Holy's ears off. alrighty then. I'll fight him. and I land the heavier shots. engage in more exchanges. and then maybe i'll get the win i deserve. ideally, i'll knock him out and then you stupid judges can be removed from the equation all together."
Holyfield lost 9 or 10 rounds the first time around, and still lost the rematch 7-5 or 8-4, despite fighting better that time (and Lewis fighting worse, giving more openings, perhaps being more aggressive because of the bs decision the first time). People who say prime Holyfield beats prime Lewis always bring up the 2nd fight, but what about the first fight when he got soundly beaten? A younger Holyfield was quicker and had better workrate but also wasn't as big, strong, or experienced against big guys. He was also more prone to getting into vicious exchanges when it wasn't in his best interest. Lewis would always give Holyfield all sorts of problems with his jab, power, ring generalship, strength, and size. Prime Lewis beats prime Holyfield the majority of time, especially if Holyfield is suffering from "HGH-itis".
Lennox beats Holy nine times out of ten. He's too big, too strong and too good for any version of Evander. I say that not as a Holy hater or anything like that. I have a ton of respect for him as a boxer and rate him extremely highly in fact. It's just that Lewis is all wrong for him IMHO. MTF
999 out of 1000. Lewis dominated Holyfield in the first fight. So many Holynuttlickers point to the second fight. Imagine having a goal and you exceed what you set out to do only to have someone tell you it didn't count and to do it again. Lewis could not have possibly been motivated to fight the bastard maker again. Even still, it is a myth that Lewis was close to losing the second fight. Holyfield might have won 3 or 4 rounds instead of the 2 he may have won in the first fight.
I recently rewatched the entire Lewis/Ruddock HBO broadcast... and after the fight ended, Holyfield was interviewed to hype his upcoming fight with Bowe(I). You really did get the impression that if he beat Bowe, he would have given Lewis a shot. Would have been an interesting fight at the time... but Bowe beat Holyfield and the rest is history.
I only watched fight 2 and Holy DEFINITELY won that fight IMO !!!!! All the rounds were even and Holy stole each round by rallying in the final seconds. I don't know which fight the majority here saw. Holy was robbed in that fight IMO and I am not the only one with that opinion. An old and washed up Holy beat a prime Lewis. You guys just have to accept that.
You know, I would tell you to quit talking about boxing and stick to what you know, but the fact is that you don't know anything. For years, I have waited to see one reasonably intelligent observation from you and it hasn't happened. Wether its here, general discussion, talk about anything, it doesn't matter. Your entire output is the sum total of each half-assed attempt at being relevant... what do you do??? what purpose do you serve other than to fill up space?
The first fight shows you the style Lewis would use to fight a prime Holyfield. And he'd win handily just as he did in their first actual fight. The second fight Lewis fought as a favor to the fans. We saw in the first fight that he could completely dominate and out-box Holyfield but the judges weren't having it. They wanted a punch-out. So that's what Lewis gave them. And there's no way he lost either of those fights.
This is the final 2½ rounds of Holyfield vs Lewis II. Tell me WHAT seconds exactly Lewis is beating Holyfield? In the championship rounds Lewis does nothing. He is very passive. I don't think it was a case of Lewis fighting for the fans. IMO Holyfield just figured him out.
