Why did some people pick Tyson to beat Lewis.....

[ChrisPontius]

Originally Posted by HomicideHenry

I think, in my case, it was a matter of my heart was bypassing my mind. I believed Lewis to be nothing but a glass jawed cocky son of a bitch, and all it would take for Tyson was one solid shot to put the Brit away. I remember the first round being ALL Tyson, and Lewis appeared to have glazed eyes at the end of that round. I was laughing my ass off and started saying "Lewis, its tea time!", but then...the inevitable happened, from rounds two through seven, it was apparent Mike had nothing left to offer, and in round eight it was all over. I remember crying in disbelief.

Had the Tyson of the Berbick/Bruno/Tubbs/Holmes fights had been in that ring against Lewis that night, there's no question in my mind, Lewis would have been taken out in that first round or in the second. But, of course, we'll never know that for sure.

The old guys have Louis getting decked by Marciano, I have Tyson getting demolished by Lewis. Both those losses came in the 8th round. Ironic, isnt it? Both arguably, were ends of an era.

I commend you for your honesty: almost every poster here says they were 100% sure Lewis would beat Tyson, same with Holyfield despite him being a 22:1 underdog, etc.

I think the fact that Lewis just got knocked out by Rahman and was 36 years of age (one year older than Tyson) made Tyson by KO a viable option.


By the way, how long has it been since you saw the fight? I suggest you rewatch the first round (it's probably on YouTube). You remember it was ALL Tyson with Lewis glassy eyed, i watched it less than half a year ago and thought it was a pretty even round, with Lewis coming out stronger.. confirmed by the second round and the rest of the fight.

[AnthonyJ74]

Originally Posted by ChrisPontius

I commend you for your honesty: almost every poster here says they were 100% sure Lewis would beat Tyson, same with Holyfield despite him being a 22:1 underdog, etc.

I think the fact that Lewis just got knocked out by Rahman and was 36 years of age (one year older than Tyson) made Tyson by KO a viable option.


By the way, how long has it been since you saw the fight? I suggest you rewatch the first round (it's probably on YouTube). You remember it was ALL Tyson with Lewis glassy eyed, i watched it less than half a year ago and thought it was a pretty even round, with Lewis coming out stronger.. confirmed by the second round and the rest of the fight.

I just watched the first round of Lewis/Tyson last night, and while I agree that it was a fast-paced round, there really wasn't much damage done to either fighter. Tyson came out fast and with a lot of momentum, and he forced Lewis back several times, even causing him to stumble at one point, but I don't think either fighter really dominated the other. But I think that a prime Tyson would have tore Lewis up. Tyson was nowhere near the fighter he once was. His speed of hand and foot, his quickness, his timing - everything was way off. I'm not an unabashed Tyson nuthugger, but I give Tyson his props.........

[Hatesrats]

Tho Tyson didn't look like half the fighter he was...
I still picked Mike to K.O. Lewis.

Lennox has that low left hand that was screamin' hook.
I expected Tyson to swarm him into the ropes and unload.
Didn't think Lewis could take it to the jaw.

He proved me wrong, not about the chin.
But he knocked out my guy.

[Thread Stealer]

Some of it was wishful thinking, but Lewis's KO loss to Rahman, the 2nd time Lewis lost from a single right hand, was still fresh in the mind. In retrospect I think Lewis's chin was better than often given credit for, but when you've just been KO'd by a single punch a year ago, and you're facing one of the hardest punchers in boxing history, naturally some people are going to pick you to lose.

Holyfield picked Tyson, I wonder how much of that was wishful thinking. He knew he had a better chance at landing a 3rd fight with Tyson than Lewis, not to mention his much greater success against Tyson than Lewis.

Atlas picked Lewis (he actually got it right), but he seemed like he really thought Tyson would win. He was on this preview show talking about how dangerous the fight would be for Lewis, scenarios in which Tyson would win, and then when it comes to making a pick, he goes "I believe in some good things happening, like good things for the sport so I pick Lewis". Nothing about Lewis's size advantage, boxing skills, monster right hand, closer to peak form, etc...

Bad picks will always be made though, no matter how obvious it appears to most of us who will win. I won a sig bet against someone who thought MAB would beat Pac in the rematch. He wasn't the only guy picking MAB. Some fans, such as Nigel Collins, picked Gatti to beat Mayweather.

[HomicideHenry]

Originally Posted by ChrisPontius

I commend you for your honesty: almost every poster here says they were 100% sure Lewis would beat Tyson, same with Holyfield despite him being a 22:1 underdog, etc.

I think the fact that Lewis just got knocked out by Rahman and was 36 years of age (one year older than Tyson) made Tyson by KO a viable option.


By the way, how long has it been since you saw the fight? I suggest you rewatch the first round (it's probably on YouTube). You remember it was ALL Tyson with Lewis glassy eyed, i watched it less than half a year ago and thought it was a pretty even round, with Lewis coming out stronger.. confirmed by the second round and the rest of the fight.

Havent seen the fight since it happened, tbh.

I guess in some ways I never wanted to watch my idol get destroyed all over again. Its like the McBride fight, I knew somehow the Irishman would win, I was one of the few who picked him to win, but after all these years, I havent gotten around to watching it completely. Too much of a heart break, must have been like watching Joe Louis wrestle for the old guys.

I'll watch it again, sometime, but if I recall Tyson was unofficially given the round, and Lewis stumbled back from a Tyson right hand near the end of the round [his eyes looked glazed to me after that].

[SteveO]

I picked Tyson because at the time I knew NOTHING about boxing, didn't follow it at all, and had never heard of Lennox Lewis.

[ironchamp]

I picked Tyson.

There was too much at stake for Mike Tyson. He still had power, 1 punch power.

Although the Nielson fight should have been very telling (in retrospect) I chalked it up to a soft and stay busy opponent.

I picked Mike because I wanted him to win but also because I thought that at the very least, he has the power to end it in one punch. That would be all it took. After all Rahman pulled it off.

I remember that 3rd round towards the end he lands a pretty big left hook the crowd screamed, I thought maybe just maybe this thing can work. As the fight progressed I knew in the back of my mind that he wasnt up to task.

[Caponecartels]

Originally Posted by Hatesrats

Tho Tyson didn't look like half the fighter he was...
I still picked Mike to K.O. Lewis.

Lennox has that low left hand that was screamin' hook.
I expected Tyson to swarm him into the ropes and unload.
Didn't think Lewis could take it to the jaw.

He proved me wrong, not about the chin.
But he knocked out my guy.

This is exactly how I felt when I heard about the match up...
Lost 500 bucks

[divac]

Very few boxing pundits gave Tyson nothing more than a punchers chance against Lewis.......but the very few who were picking Tyson, almost all of them changed their mind at the weighin when Tyson scaled at 233 lbs.

The thought process of those picking Tyson was that he would have to be quick, fast, and explosive early.....and Tyson who's at his physical best at around 220 lbs give or take 2 or 3 lbs, all of that went out the window when Tyson weighed in heavy.

Tyson needed to be sharp, quick, and fast, and that just was'nt possible weighing 233 lbs.

Lewis likely may have beaten an in shape Tyson, but at 233 lbs, Tyson just did'nt give himself a chance.

To me, Tyson just showed up for a payday.

[Arka]

When Lewis was in condition- had strong legs,his centre of gravity lowered and his torso relaxed and mobile-he wasn't nearly as vulnerable to a one punch knock out. I just knew he was going to come in shape against Tyson.

Also the shutout against Tua left me pessimistic about Mike's chances to get to Lewis.

[fists of fury]

My thoughts pretty much echo what's been said so far.

I felt deep down that Lewis would win, but with a puncher like Tyson you cannot be 100% sure. You can't ever write off a puncher.

In the first round I was quite impressed with Tyson's performance, but at the end of the second I said to people watching the fight with me "It's over."
Having watched Tyson for so long, I had come to recognize the signs of hesitancy, of doubt, that plagued Tyson on occasion. I also knew he just didn't have the intensity neccesary to be effective in the middle rounds anymore.
Barring a missile out of the blue, his chance had gone, imo.

But yes, the fight was hardly a foregone conclusion going in. As has been said, Lewis had been Ko'd not too long before, and Tyson still had that aura which, even after the loss to Lewis, he didn't lose.

[HomicideHenry]

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As I watch that first round, for the first time since that night...I still think Tyson won the round, and still think Lewis got glazed eyes after Tyson landed that right that stumbled him back...still doesnt change the fact, though, of what occured in rounds two through eight. If titles could be determined in one round, Tyson would have been king of them all. Btw, I still think it was bizarre then, and still think its bizarre now, that Lewis used Reggae music as his entrance. Fuck that culture/ancestry bullshit, he's English ffs!

[ChrisPontius]

For me, the key moment of the first round, and in fact the entire fight, was 2:40 when Tyson rushed forward, Lewis caught him with a glancing uppercut, then Tyson thought he had him in a clinch, but Lewis throws three hard looping right hands. From there on, Tyson must have known he was in for a long night, even if he won the round. It also resulted in this beautiful photo that hangs on my wall:

[HomicideHenry]

I agree, but still, I think Lewis did an excessive amount of clinching, pushing down on Tyson's head and pushing. Was hardly necessary, considering Lewis's jab and arsenal.

[Arka]

Originally Posted by ChrisPontius

I commend you for your honesty: almost every poster here says they were 100% sure Lewis would beat Tyson, same with Holyfield despite him being a 22:1 underdog, etc.

I protest.I may have gone for Tyson against Holyfield,but I strongly picked Lewis against Tyson. It was a non-brainer.

Also the Rahman KO didn't carry weight,because Lewis absolutely annihilated him in the rematch.

Lewis could have ended this in the fourth or fifth rounds if he wasn't so respectful of Mike IMO.
The fight itself I have no intention of watching again.