Larry Holmes vs. Lennox Lewis... Who you got?

Lewis would be eating jabs all night.
People talk about Holmes vulnerable to the right hand, but how often in a fight was his caught with a big right hand ?
Lewis might have his moments, but he's going to be eating jabs for most the fight, and Holmes has a sharp and crisp right hand too.

Holmes was just a much better boxer.

 

Still he wasnt faster or more mobile than holmes. Wtf is that?

 

Lewis had a different kind of right hand and was a better finisher than Shavers or Snipes and a long range such as the right hand that felled Rudduck

 

Honestly I've seen them both and I'll watch them both again, but I'm telling you the young Lewis was damn fast. Maybe not as fast as Holmes, I don't know of the top of my head, but I do know there wasn't a huge gap between them.

Well I just finished watching the Lewis - Ruddock fight and part of the Holmes- C o o n ey fight, and there's no huge speed disparity between the two, and Lewis was in fact more mobile than Holmes. Don't take my word for it, watch them both yourself.

 

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sorry but im never gonna buy the idea that Lewis was a better mover, or more mobile than Holmes. Or that he was faster... seriously you can't make an argument for that. Hogwash. BS.

Most people would also say that Lewis wasn't prime against Rudduck. He was still developing in that stage of his career, this is evident in his fight against Bruno where he gets outboxed for a large portion of the fight.

I don't think Lewis was more skilled, faster or mobile than holmes. these are all advantages that Holmes would have

 

People forget how good Holmes was in his prime.
Very very fast too. The hand speed was sickening, and sharp accurate punches.

One of his prime fights was the one against Ali, but it's so one-sided and sad that we don't like to watch it. Shame really, because Holmes' athletic speed and strengths were really primed for that one.
I recently made myself watch it and was impressed by Holmes' physical tools.

 

Easy to look impressive against a glorified punching bag, sick with parkinsons.

 

I agree.
But he looked good in lots of other fights too. I'm just saying the speed and accuracy is evident.
I doubt any ordinary fighter could look half as good as a punching bag. And 1980 Ali kills most men, Parkinsons or not. It's only it the last few years that normal mortals would stand a chance against the old sick man.

 

I'm just saying watch the two fights. I'm not asking you to take my word for it. I can never understand when I debate posters why they just don't take the time to watch fights? It always baffles me.

I realize most people think Lewis was some plodding old goat with a lot of power, but in his younger days the man could move. I happen to think the version of Lewis who beat Ruddock would have a very good chance of beating Holmes. I know that's a minority opinion but that's okay.

 

I'd give the edge to Holmes and for most of the same reasons this guy wrote:

 

ive seen both of those fights already.

 

Well then how can you watch both of these fights and say there was some huge difference in speed or foot work in favour of Holmes?

Tell me where this is occurring.

 

It's not about being a "better mover" or "faster" in the sense of speed in a vaccum. It's about Holmes HAVING to move because Lewis would be stalking him.. and Lewis' timing on both his left and right which was fantastic. He really shot those punches in the gaps and did so with remarkable quickness for a big man.

It's not a decathlon where all their separate attributes are compared separately. It's how the whole gets put together. Holmes would have to work a lot harder to beat Lewis than the other way around. And Holmes had to work hard against lesser fighters than Lewis.

 

Lewis eats jabs all night from Bruno and Mercer.
Mercer couldn't outjab Holmes, even though he had landed one that knocked Holmes back in round 1.
Holmes can jab and not get jabbed.
Lewis just eats them up.
Holmes cakewalks this.
Maybe Lewis gives him a couple of good scares, wins a couple of rounds.

You can count the amount of times Lewis fought a slick or skilled boxer on one hand, and still have some fingers left over.
Holmes faced plenty of heavy hitters with skills,

 

I watched both men in their primes. Holmes is the boxer while Lewis much more the puncher. What many don't know or remember was young Holmes in many ways mimicked Ali. He would move side to side and throw that jab. He was very hard to catch. As the years went by Holmes did less moving. I think he realized nobody was getting around that jab so he set himself more throwing a power jab then moving when he had to. So between the two it's Holmes that would if he chose to would be moving and boxing. Lewis would be stepping forward trying to use his own jab and looking to clock Holmes over his jab. Holmes even in his prime dropped his jab after throwing it. However few had what it took to find Holmes with their right over that low left.