The battle for greatness. Lewis vs Johnson. Comparing H2H and Greatness.

can't disagree with you.

i'm impressed with johnson's parrying, poise and power on film (notably the uppercut). however, he was still limited stylistically with a painfully slow pace, constant holding and minimal (not minimalistic) movement.

his opposition pre-title is superior to lewis' (give or take) but it's how lewis was an active champion who fought the best that takes his resume to a higher level for me

plus, h2h he's damn impressive save for the mercer "win" and some vulnerability to getting lazy and getting caught

 

I think Johnson is greater. Slightly better resume - mostly pre title work - even better longevity, overall more dominant during his reign and becoming hw champion as a black man, and the first one, is a huge achievement.

H2h, is more difficult since they fought like in different sports. Put Lewis into Johnson´s era and Johnson would beat him. Same goes the other way around. IMO that cirteria is meaningless.

 

Agreed. Easy poll.

 

Lenny is greater, he no.2 for Heavy Greatness, Johnson is NOT top 10.

Lenny is better H2H, he no.2 H2H, Johnson is NOT top 10.

Lenny destroys Johnson in a fight, cos teh Lion would **** Jack in teh clinches. :deal


Foreman Hooooooooooooooook!:smoke

 

It was our resident German, bodhi. :thumbsup

 

Lewis schools Johnson in every possible way

 

So far as Greatness goes, Jack Johnson wins this hands down. Jack is part of the elite heavyweights. There is an argument which can still see him as number one, and a quite strong argument that sees him at number 3. He has longevity as well as short term dominance. Until he retired the first time, Jack Johnson had beat the top 10 contenders in the world. After this first retirement, it is true that he started ducking the top 3 contenders (each of whom he had already beaten), he still held the title for a long time longer and only lost due to taking an absurdly long fight with a giant Jess Willard, when old and not in the best shape. Plus, even after losing this fight, and while out of shape, he still went a further 10 years or so, before losing another one.

Contrast this with Lewis, who did not ever become the world Champion until he beat an aged Holyfield (at the second attempt!). And even then, it was not really universally accepted until he beat an old and deteriorated Tyson. And his dominance is greatly overstated. Lewis never really managed to beat more than 4 or 5 top opponents before getting KOd. It was a common theme. He simply does not have the longevity or consistency to compare with Johnson, who might perform badly and struggle due to being out of shape, but would always find a way to win, when required.

Lennox Lewis, really only beg

 

That's unfair, in reality Old Holyfield only won the first 3 rounds of their first meeting, but Don King paid the judges to be corrupt.

I scored the rematch 7-5 for Lewis, but that's still a comfortable victory.

Lewis beat a lot more than 5 ranked contenders between his losses to McCall & Rahman, plus he rematched both losses.

 

It's so hard to compare such completely different eras, Lewis has so many advantages over Johnson it isn't funny. I'm talking in terms of training, trainers, nutrition, drugs, advancement of the sport and social equality

Lewis for more is greater in ability and resume. Johnson is greater in being the badder nucca that whitey loves to hate, to this day it's making Mendoza pull his hair out and for that reason he is the greater champion

 

It is my opinion that Jack Johnson has a better and deeper resume than Lennex Lewis.

I also think that a lot of people here have a great deal of difficulty apreciating the extent and significance of Johnson's resume.