rock can take lewis, theres no doubt. but the nod would have to go to a fully focused lewis to take a points decision.
He proved himself against the best of his era,of that there is no argument. The questions are, how good were the best of his era? And how would he do against the super heavies we have today? The mythology I refer to, is the premise that Marciano can uniquely deny physics. That he was defensively skilled That he was an all time one punch ko artist. That he did not benefit from being around in the right era. None of these are knocks against him, he did what he was supposed to do, he fought and beat what was around, in that sense ,[and what can be more crucial] he was a great champ.
This is kind of what I see here in this. The big big factor is Rocky having the unique ability to punch coming out of that crouch. And it does not have to be left foot forward only, like say a Tyson who has to get low and spring up. Lots of guys can dip but it's almost always a 1 step manouver. I don't think that would ever work against Lennox. It'd have to be a stay down there type guy like Rocky or early Smokin Joe. Guys that can take 2 or 3 steps down that low and fire up. If Lennox throws a right hand and those guys and misses or just catches the top of the head, he is right there to be hit clean. It is a window. And with Rocky, there would be some follow ups and Lennox could not backpedal fast enough to re-set himself to throw again. But I don't think Lennox would fight a going forward fight either. I think he would back up and give ground intentionally. Fight at 11 or 1 o'clock. That would likely turn into a decision win type safety first fight. I'd really like the Lewis chances for a ko if it was the lighter guy back in the Davenport days that had and used a real nice left hook. that punch left when Correa got involved and when the weight went up, that punch went away. It'd help a lot Against Rocky. Good fight though & I sure don't see Rocky playing the possum game like Tua did. He'd go out on his shield but would be trying every minute to win the fight.
It's pretty obvious that Lewis should be heavily favoured. Rocky was a great fighter but he's giving up 60lbs. That's silly. And 16" in reach
But don't you think Rocky fights low? I don't mean the bad back guy that fought Archie and stood straight up far too much--that version has no chance. Even that version fights smarter than a Tua. And Mercer was a don't bend at the knees guy. Probably the best guy Lewis fought at fighting low was Billups. And that guy never had the firing power to do much. But he's a hard guy to look good against and Lennox looked okay but not terrific in more of a learning experience type fight. The kind of fight Angie Dundee would have had his guy in there against, is what I thought. But all Lennox has to do is not throw like a lead right uppercut from the outside trying to catch Rocky coming in. Or anything other than that straight right hand right down the pipe. Control hm with footwork and a jab & of course, be in top shape to pull it off. I think Lennox pulls it off, but I sure don't see any kind of slaughter here. More of a thinking man's fight by Lennox. No risks. You know, the kind that get heavily criticized by most boxing fans. But a strategy that se's him win.
I think Tua had a better chin than Rocky and at least equal power,add 60lbs in weight. How many rounds did he win against Lewis?
Maybe, where I think he gets jabbed to death on outside and fouled to death on the inside. Rocky was great, but no way does he make the distance here. He's too wee. Pound for pound, Rocky was greater, better, everything, but in the real? No way. Not for me, anyway. I'd be betting big on the big guy. This idea that Rocky is going to negate a reach disadvantage of a foot - one foot - plus, is dip low, then, "come up" and close that distance without getting beheaded by any one of a number of punches is ridiculous IMO. Like, silly. Rocky could definitelyi beat big guys but not ATG big guys. Not best-of-their generation type big guys.
The big thing with him being so low is that he is not in that sweet spot for the big hitters. And, it is crucial to continue to fight out of that low position. to not rise up. 2 or 3 or 4 steps down low with the ability to punch out of that low profile. And the terrific conditioning necessary to pull that kind of thing off. That's an awful lot of work. Far mor than punch stat numbers. The big guys need a target a little bit higher. Or they have to dip a ton themselves to bring themselves low. Or I guess the Buster Douglas types that would wind up and telegraph a lead uppercut from way on the outside. That's the kind of result Rocky would get...by somebody doing something dumb. I just see the big guys swinging and missing at a low target. They need a target like a heavy bag. And they do not have experience against the low fighters out of a constant crouch because there aren't any. I don't see the accuracy being there at all and tending to look sloppy instead of precise. Precison and accuracy would be crucial against Rocky. And top conditioning. Flat footed and inaccurate would leave a window open for Rocky to have a lot of success in. And being such a big target of course. But Marciano has to work so hard to get in position to punch and land. So hard. I still think the best strategy is a shover like Foreman. What a tough thing to deal with---shoving and punches and still trying to get inside.
there could be comparisons to the Tua fight as far as size (Tua shorter than Rocky but heavier) but Tua was not great Rocky was. We have some great Super-Heavyweight today and I will go along with the notion that there were 3 great ones, Lewis,Vitali and Vlad so the size edge would be large. The question I ask was where were all these great Super heavyweights in the Dempsey-Louis-Marciano era just as where are the smaller dominant champs these days. One thing is certain, we have not seen too many Super-heavyweight chins just bodies
Why? They all hit to the body. Tyson was persistently available for Lewis's punches. Where does this idea that men can't punch low come from? http://www.cyberboxingzone.com/boxingchronicle/images2_lewistysonupcut.jpg http://www.ajdugger.com/uploads/7/5/5/9/7559732/4186785.jpg?423 http://a-j-s-boom-boom-room.2299399.n4.nabble.com/file/n4657389/0.lennox-lewis.iacono.jpg I think this low down Rocky (what is he punching at by the way - because assuming the referee lets him away with it, he's breaking the rule about being below Lewis's waist if he "doesn't come up") is very much there for Lennox Lewis punches while he will struggle very badly to land his own, and assuming the referee lets him away with it, he'll be fouling Marciano to death with leaning and holding whenever he pumps up. I see a quick stoppage, KO6 type deal.