What is the "truth" about Lennox Lewis?

Ok, once again a point I have repeated annoyingly often. About how we view a fighter after his career.

This thread is not as much about Lennox Lewis as a universal tendency, but I use him as an example since he was perhaps the biggest favorite of mine ever (back in his day I took matters more seriously than with the Klitshkos) and because he is known as one of the most reliable ATG heavyweights.

Now, when we make picks of "Lewis vs ___", we often hear how the opponent would get "The Golota treatment". But was that Lennox? How many of his opponents actually got "the Golota treatment"

I have ranked Lewis' performances from the Morrison fight forwards (most agree that is when he entered his prime) on a scale of "how much did he look like an all-time great heavyweight". Feel free to question these ratings

Morrison TKO 6 - A. Bit careful but totally dominating and easy win over a legit, if vulnerable, top-10 guy.

Mercer MD10 - C+ Perhaps a bit underrated performance of guts and variety, but considering that several people thought Lennox deserved to lose a bout he was supposed to win in style, it isn't among his best work.

McCall TKO5 - B Lewis did little wrong but the performance was not, for the reasons well-known, too spectacular.

Akinwande DQ5 - B- Same as above. A mid-round stoppage of a legit contender is good but the fact that Lewis should have received a count in the dreary waltz wouldn't look good as a single result.

Golota KO1 - A+ Near 50:50 fight beforehand, Lewis absolutely destroyed his man

Briggs TKO5 - B- From the 3rd round on Lewis fought masterfully, but until then he was in too much of danger.

Mavrovic UD12 - C 9-3 victory isn't bad for an off-day, but it was a surprising struggle against totally unknown and small contender

Holyfield I D12 - B+ - The result should have been a clear UD, but Lewis didn't close the show in a great champion style (if there is such)

Holyfield II UD12 B+ - Underrated fight and a clear win against an opponent who had a good record from rematches but went on to struggle against John Ruiz shortly after.

Grant KO2 A - Later times showed that Grant didn't deserve his 3rd ranking in the world, but nevertheless Lewis took the trash out in style after a bit uncomfortable first seconds.

Botha KO2 B+ - Botha was clearly a soft touch, but nevertheless, Lewis won with greatest of ease.

Tua UD12 - B Lewis fought smart and took advantage of the stylistic mismatch. Few remember though that after five rounds the bout was all-even on cards.

Rahman I KOby5 F - An accident

Rahman II KO4 A - Perhaps Lewis' most complete performance, but Rahman wasn't the most credible of contenders (and he was the champ because of circular logic).

Tyson TKO 8 B - Tyson had nothing left, Lewis gave him no chance at all

Klitshko TKO6 B+ - Bit lucky with the laces but a stoppage over a guy who would later be nearlyuniversally recognized #1 was impressive,



So that.s 16 fights, four of which I would rank as A-level performances, against credible opposition. Perhaps this ranking isn't completely fair: maybe had Akinwande and McCall fought properly, Lewis could have been even more impressive against them.

If we were to ponder a fight between Lennox and Chisora or Whyte for example, it is obvious Lewis would win and it wouldn't be very close. But would it be a complete, total blowout, as I assume most would predict?

Maybe, Lewis had at least four dominating performances against similar level guys (Morrison, Grant, Golota, Rahman II). But in his prime he also had four performances on similar level that were not complete blowouts ( Mercer, Briggs, Mavrovic, Rahman I).

Thus, Rahman I isn't the TRUTH about Lennox, but NEITHER is the "Golota-treatment"

 

The truth about Lewis is that he would have defeated all these current guys, and he would have wiped his ass with all of them save for Fury.

Fury's size and awkwardness would make for a difficult fight for Lewis, but ultimately Fury would not win.

Lewis would brutalize AJ and Wilder.

Chisora and Whyte? I'm not even gonna entertain those two. Frank Bruno would kill Chisora and Whyte, let alone Lewis.

 

Then why didn't he kill Mercer, Mavrovic, Briggs, Tua or Akinwande?

 

He stopped Briggs in 5, and Briggs was better than Whyte and Chisora.

Mercer, Tua and Mavoric were incredibly durable, and Akinwande held for fear life.

Wilder and AJ are both fragile and hittable as all fuck.

Both easy work for Lewis.

 

Briggs isn't better than anybody

 

Wilder’s chin is gonna be worse now, I think.

Lewis would have loved facing him.

Same goes for AJ. Lewis straight right hand would do serious damage to him.

 

You just contradicted yourself from an earlier post when I said that all Fury has is size, which is true, and you disagreed with it . And he is also awkward as hell.

 

Nice Breakdown...

Splitting Hairs, But REED Would Rate Botha an A/A- @ Worst...Excellent KO...

It Doesn't Fall Into Your Timeframe, But Honorable Mention to the Ruddock KO Also...Coming In, REED Figured Lennox was ALL Hype, Gold Medal Be Damned, and Fully EXPECTED Ruddock to Waste Him...






REED

 

Bowe was scared to death of him

 

Agreed with Reed. The Botha fight was one of the most impressive showing in LL career. No way it only deserves a B+. I'd personally rate it as an A+ perofrmance. LL looked like a hw tommy hearns in that one

 

He was efficient against Botha. Ramrod jab, brutal right cross, and finished him in style.

 

1 of Boxing's More SHAMEFUL Duck Jobs, Indeed...

An Undeniable Part of Bowe's Legacy...After Listing Bowe's Wins/Accomplishments the Fact Remains, "...But he DUCKED Lennox Lewis"...



REED

 

The question in this thread isn’t if or how much Lewis would dominate today’s fighters (he absolutely would) the question is how many times a day Michael Grant wishes he came out in this era.

I think a lot of the vanquished on LL’s resume would probably dominate today. You can’t compare how LL fared against “such and such” from back in the day because “such and such” was usually tougher and more skilled than these guys.

 

It wasn’t an unpopular opinion at all that Lewis was overhyped and that Ruddock would beat him. Ruddock was the betting favorite. I remember before the fight, Tuesday Night Fights took a poll, as it was two weeks before Bowe-Holyfield 1, on who would end up on top after the dust would settle. Lewis was by far at the bottom, something like 10%, while the others were in the 30% range.

I thought the Ruddock fight was by far his best performance pre-Steward, and his performances that followed it were pretty underwhelming. While he threw a perfect straight right hand over Ruddock’s jab to essentially end the fight, he had a tendency back then to throw those winging overhand rights. He was often sloppy and made too many mistakes. Manny helped McCall exploit his mistakes and then helped Lennox polish his game.

 

The point of this entire thread is Ugo attempting to push his never-ending agenda of the new generation being better than the past.

It just doesn't hold up here.

These guys are fucking garbage, and Lewis would have murdered the lot of them save for Fury (whom I think he probably stops late).

 

Faggot-Finn-HOE.

 

I thought about it too. The only reason I didn't give it an A+ was the level of Botha, meaning that you can't prove being an ATG (which was my scale) by knocking out bothas. That's why I don't mention it in the conclusion either

As a performance it was superb

 

Do you really believe Briggs, Mavrovic and Rahman would be dominant today?

 

First, I have never said new generation is better than the past. I say it again: it ain't.

What I have said is we rate the eras differently, which is unfair. But I say it again: even if we are fair, Lewis is better than anyone now.

The thing is, when we think about Lewis, we remember the reliable, dominant ATG. Yet when we break his career down, we find out that as often he was a routine worker.

 

Yes.

 

No... especially Magnavox who was nothing but a chin

The other two would be contenders but dominant??? No

 

Absolutely

 

That was some knockout

 

yea who did zenith magnavox ever beat in the top 10.?

he gets too much mileage off a silly hairstyle and surviving an asswhipping vs a flat lewis.

 

And yet, at the time you would've no doubt denigrated Botha, calling him unworthy of his predecessors.

 

Hilarious that YOU Of All People Would Dare to Talk About "Agendas"...

It's Literally IMPOSSIBLE for YOU to Watch a Fucking Boxing Match These Days w/Out Running to Fightbeat Afterwards, Reminiscing Over the 70's, 80's or 90's...

Is This Just a Boxing Habit or Does it Intersect Other Facets of Your Life???...When You See a Pretty Woman Walking Down the Street, Do You Look @ the Nearest Dude and Say "She's Cute and All, but She's Not 1970's HOT"???...

When Dining w/a Lady Friend Do You Think to Yourself "This Steak Sure Would've Tasted Better in the 80's"...

UGO Has an "Agenda"?...Look in the Mirror Brother X...





REED

 

He's No Ron Stander, that's for Damn Sure...





REED

 

Botha wasn’t a particularly good fighter ... a reasonably competent professional but nothing more ... not sure how any of that is false or what it has to do with Lewis’s alarmingly decisive dismissal of him

 

Botha was better than Stander

They’re both better than that slovenly pole that Helenius harpooned

 

You guys are fucking menstrual over some fat, skilless whale being denigrated as the worthless crap he is