Lennox Lewis. Does he have some holes in his legacy?

Sure. Sure he did.

 

Quote:
After Lennox Lewis defeated Evander Holyfield for the Undisputed (i.e., WBC + IBF + WBA) World heavyweight championship in late 1999, the WBA mysteriously ordered Lewis to defend the title against obscure Don King fighter Ruiz, their #1-ranked contender, but Lewis refused. Though he had been undefeated since a loss against David Tua in 1996, the level of competition Ruiz had been facing was suspect and the only name he had beaten was a nearly 40 year old Tony Tucker.

Ruiz and his management sued, claiming that WBA rules entitled him to a title shot. A judge agreed, but rather than face Ruiz in a bout that was seen as commercially unattractive, Lewis instead fought Michael Grant, considered to be a very worthy contender at the time having knocked out a series of recognized 'name' opponents on HBO. After learning of this, the judge decreed that upon entering the ring against Grant on April 29, 2000, Lewis would automatically forfeit the WBA title.


These two posts completely contradict themselves.

When it comes to Ruiz fighting Wlad you've basically said King didn't want Ruiz to fight anyone good because he'd lose, then you go on to criticise Lewis for not fighting Ruiz, after essentially admitting that the comp Ruiz had been fighting was substandard.

THIS IS A COMPLETE 100% DOUBLE STANDARD.

This post also supports my contention that near the end of his career Lewis was concerned more about fighting for big paydays then keeping or collecting belts, which is pretty common in the twilight of a fighters career.

 

Do you know for sure that Grant would be a bigger draw than Ruiz?

He could have easily fought Ruiz then Grant. LL didn't have that many professional fights as a fighter.

 

I think Michael Grant certainly looked like the more formidable fighter at the time. He had beaten a streak of tough notables including Andrew Golata, Ross purity, Jorge Gonzalez and a few others. He was undefeated 30-0 and at 6'7", 250 lbs was a rather menacing specimen. Ruiz was coming off a so so streak over mediocrities in underachieving performances and had that 19 second KO loss to Tua hanging over his head.

 

I bet Lennox Lewis had nightmares about facing the ferocious Ruiz....

 

So now wins over Byrd and Ruiz would make a difference to Lewis's legacy? This is just beyond silly.

A win over Bowe in 1993 would have made a difference. Especially if Bowe had turned up in good shape. In that case it would be his best win together with the one over Vitaly. Wins over younger versions of Holy and Tyson would also be a plus. As would a win over Wlad, even though Wlad's subsequent KO losses to average opposition would take a lot of the gloss from it. A return win over Vitaly would have been more impressive given what we know today.

But with these wins he'd have an argument to be up there with Ali and Louis.

 

So for 5 CONSECUTIVE YEARS whilst Ruiz was ranked, there was no window of opportunity for either Klit Brother to face him should they have wished to, even though both of them were ranked during this period?

ps Who are these SINGED GUYS King concentrated on?
They must have been hot stuff!
:firedevi::firedevi::firedevi:
NB Your post is in the wrong thread by the way Rainman . :yep

 

He didn't have any professional fights as a non fighter!

 

It's MENDOZA SPEAK look out for SINGED FIGHTERS!:fire

 

I personally don't, but the people who are prepared to pay Lewis for fighting either fighter most certainly do.

My educated guess is that Lewis was offered a lot more money to step in the ring with Grant, than he was to step in the ring with Ruiz.

 

I watched Grant's fight Golata which incidentally was an action packed contest. Grant hung in there and took some punishment while giving plenty back in return. It was more exciting than anything I had seen from Ruiz, so I for one was glad to see Grant get a shot.

 

Nonsense.
Holyfield was lined up in 1994 to fight Lewis, but lost to Moorer (his mandatory challenger).
Bowe was going to challenge Lewis in 1995, but Lewis lost to McCall.

To accuse Holyfield, especially, of running to the hills, is ridiculous.

I guess you buy anything Lewis tells you.