Lennox Lewis when he was 'on'..

This.

It is now no secret that if Lewis considered an opponent " no threat " he would go missing from training camp sometimes for 2 or 3 days, and would spend more time playing chess with sparring partners or anyone else in camp who could play the game, rather than doing what he was supposed to do. Also Maloney,a well known lover of a tipple or 12 said that though Lewis was NOT a big drinker per se, he was too much for him when he did decide to go on a binge drinking session with brandy, and champagne being his favoured drinks.

His arrogance regarding his opponents was his downfall, but when he took the job seriously he was a fantastic fighter, who could either bomb guys out or simply out class them with comparative ease.

 

Sam Langford would knock him out in under a round

 

The scary thing about Lewis was that he was such a beast that even when ill prepared I'd still favor him over most world class opponents..Reminds me a little bit of George Foreman in a since that naturally he was just born to be a destroyer..

 

The only Langford you know about is Bonnie.:rofl:rofl

 

I don't know Bonnie Langford to be honest

What was his/her record ???

 

Yeah you do. You just don't want to admit you're a fan.:rofl: :hi:

 

Bonnie Langford aka The G.O.A.T:rofl:rofl:rofl:rofl:rofl:rofl

 

Lewis tries a right hand in follow up of a missed left hook with Ruddock out off range and tries to unsuccessfully time him with one as he bulls in. Neither were aggressive or real serious home run attempts.

You described the knockdown...which was a counter punch to an aggressor.

Lewis was fighting off the back foot, Ruddock was the aggressor, if you can't see that, I have to say you just don't understand the basic things you are seeing in the ring.

I would laugh, but blindness is a serious handicap and that would be cruel.

You see two men in the ring. One is backing up, moving side to side, jabbing and looking to counter, the other is coming forward and following him around. Yet, you will deny this reality in plain sight because it doesn't fit the script you want. ****ing sad.

 

I think Lewis actually intimidated a lot of fighters. I even think Evander was a little spooked because he showed some bizarre behaviour in their first fight, the 3 round predication thing was plain weird, it was like he trained for a 3 round fight, come on Evander this is a career defining fight, stop ****ing about!

Lewis never showed his cards and was a cold persona, people said what a great guy he was but was he really? he was a lot more brutal than a guy like Bruno, who the British rooted for more. Lennox just wasn't a manic, which means he was nice in boxing terms. Really I think he was a very arrogant guy who never showed his opponents much credibility, unlike beast labelled Tyson ironically.

I think he didn't get the killer Tyson tag because he was too inconsistent with it, if he did everyone like Ruddock and Golata he may even have eclipsed Tyson. He had the power. His biggest mistake was not destroying Holyfield in that first fight, which I personally think he could have. He respected his fellow great too much, nearly the same attitude with Tyson, who he could have gotten out of there rounds before.

edit - this might sound negative but a was a big fan in the early 90s, I liked how he came back from his first loss

 

I don't get this logic.

If anything, Evander actually took Lewis too lightly in the first fight, believing he could knock him out early. It wasn't just trash talking, he actually went out in the 3rd throwing bombs looking to take Lewis out.

In the rematch, Evander did better by attacking the body and looking to wear him down more for the long run, but it didn't pay off.

 

there no way Holyfield took Lewis lightly in my opinion. I think he was trying to get into Lewis's head by making it seem that he had such little regard for him he felt he could choose the round he would dispatch him in. It made him look pretty stupid in truth, in a career of classy moments that was a time I thought he missed the mark. I also think Holy knew he had a big task in front of him and deluded himself into thinking he could actually pull it off cause when it didn't happen he looked deflated. Didn't he try to pick Lewis up at some point as well, as if to prove his manhood, like a fighter of Holy's stature needs to do that, out of character?

I found it very strange personally and think it boils down to him being a bit spooked by Lewis, who was seen as a dangerous heavy for years. In the 2nd fight I think Evander had more confidence due to the fact Lewis took it so easy on him even when he was under performing, big mistake by Lennox.

edit - this isnt isolated either is it really, I think plenty of fighters have been spooked by each other but maybe not in a way you would say scared, more intimidated maybe as they know the fighter they face is a valid threat, and they might act out of character in order to get in their opponents head?

 

None of this really adds up logically. Your telling me Lewis intimidated Evander into self deluding he could knock him out...come on...

Either Holyfield believed he could knock out Lewis or he didn't. It seems to me, he did. Rather deluded or not.

 

It wasn't Lewis' mistake at all. He tried his best in the 1st 6 rounds. I ve watched the fight 5 or more times. Lewis came aggressive early.

Lewis wasn't cautious in the 1st fight at all, he was very aggressive, in5th round he threw all the punches he knew.

Holyfield just happens to have much better chin and recuperative abilities than Ruddock and Golota.

Lewis was cautious in 2nd Holyfield fight, he threw and landed less.
He wasn't cautious in the 1st fight till 9th or 10th round when he thought he had enough points lead not to risk in the last 3 rounds and take the decision

 

Lennox was definitely one of the best heavies ever. Good to be able to bestow that accolade upon a Brit

 

yeah its difficult to explain what I am trying to say but I do think Evander tried to prove a point by out manning Lewis because he saw him as a valid threat, and this made him do some odd thinks we had not seen, like predicting rounds. Maybe being intimidated is the wrong explanation but he definitely tried to play some mind games, which he not exactly known for.

other fighters acted strangely against Lewis as well, henry akinwande for example was so petrified he clung onto Lennox for 5 rounds until he was disqualified.