Decided to go for a thread to find out why ? My stance is i think he's an ATG and a good guy as well. My reasoning.? 1.Longevity 2.Clearly avenged his defeats 3 No fighter he met 'bettered him' 4 Could fight different styles/aggresive or boxer 5 Conducted himself well 6 Learned from mistakes 7 Had courage/ self belief 8 Ducked nobody 9 Was a puncher/boxer 10 Easily an ATG SO why do we get constant 'nit picking' at this guy ? The case against (i suspect would be) 1 Lack of national identity 2 Slightly detached persona 3 Some over cautious performances 4 Lacked a career defining fight,although not his fault 5 Missed Bowe/Tyson at their peak (see point 4) 6 Had to work through some style flaws Surely the top list outweighs the bottom. I think this guy gets shortchanged in the legacy stakes.... He fought everyone he could/ and in such a long career you can't be at your best every fight. Why does he attract alot of negativity ,for a man with such achievements ?
Yeh i get that McGrain... just this guy get's alot considering what he achieved. Seems that way to me anyhow..
Lennox Lewis was a devastating fighter. The best super heavyweight of them all and a top five all timer. Period.
Got beaten by McCall and Rahman.Some thinks he's a fairy. Those are two of several that people have come up with.
becuz his reign is very non descript and forgettable which I predicted back in the late 90s which is that people arent going to remember him, and they dont want to see more of him
I think he has near-universal approval. It just seems to be we argue about the degree of approval he deserves. A lot of people here are calling him a definite "top five" of all-time heavyweight. I suppose a sizeable minority of us reject that claim. That's not the same as rejecting or dismissing his entire career achievements or ability though. My belief is that some people are too quick to credit him with being the best of a decade plus era, the best of a generation, or even dominating a lengthy era, because he collected those wins over Holyfield (well-used and over-the-hill) and Tyson (a mere shell) - two guys who were champ/contender before he even turned pro - and because Bowe ducked him. Lennox's career ended up nice and tidy because of that. And he didn't hang around too long, which he deserves credit for. I see people who rate him miles ahead of Holyfield and Tyson, and I disagree. I see people rating him above Larry Holmes, and I strongly disagree. "Nit-picking" is the same as scrutinizing or ana-lysing, that we do to say where we rate these fighters. I don't think Lewis gets more. Perhaps he does get his style ana-lysed more because he wasn't the most stylish champion, so it takes some figuring. I don't know if that's a weakness or a strength though.
No fighter will ever get universal approval, not Lewis or Louis or even Ali. Every fighter has their critics, based upon personal bias. I think Lewis' standing overall has improved since his retirement mainly due to the weakness of this era and the fact Vitali a fighter he beat went on to be a dominant title holder. He still has his detractors and always will do like every champion before him, but it doesn't mean he hasn't got the recognition he has deserved from most people.
Unforgiven...yeah fair points. I think he came through an era that was full of DECENT fighters and he beat them all. Yes....Tyson/ Holyfield were not prime..totally agree.
You can only fight the men who will fight you .. Bowe was badly beaten by him as an amateur and embarrassingly ducked him as a pro .. Tyson and Holyfield also wanted no part till they pretty much had to and he defeated both ..Teddy Atlas said as Moorer's manager he made sure Michael never fought Lennox..there is zero record of Lewis ever avoiding a fight w any of those guys earlier in their careers .. they all wanted to avoid him as long as possible .. to his credit he was ready when the time came .. Evander has said multi times Lewis was the best and toughest he ever fought .. how an 1987 Tyson matches up w him is anyone's guess .. as one of those who think he was an all time top five, I stand by it .. with his size, strength, talent , power, under rated speed and intelligence I just don't see many beating him ..
Hats off to Lennox, his style was changed massively for the better when going to Steward, just shows how talented he was.
You wouldn't know a great post if you got hit in the mouth with one, which might be a good idea.:rofl:rofl
That's about the strength of it. If Lennox had been born in Murica, as opposed to East Ham, Yanks would bore the **** out of you by harping on about how brilliant he was.
