Chris Byrd on Lennox Lewis

The Byrd fight just wasn't interesting enough. When Byrd says I don't understand why someone would give it up, well the answer to that is pretty simple. Theres bigger fights out there for Lennox, and Lennox didn't need to have the belts to be number one as He was without any doubt the number one heavyweight at the time. Byrd wouldn't of caused any problems for Lennox. He was just too small. It would of made a very boring fight where lennox dominates from the outside because theres no way Byrd would of got inside of Lennox, because he's not that kind of fighter and even if he was able to get inside, he didn't have the power to hurt Lennox.

 

Nothing to do with his legacy. That's concrete.

He ended his career by becoming a three time champ against Rahman, finally fighting Tyson and then nearly coming unstuck while semi retired, but prevailing like a champ should against Vitali.

The fact he never fought Byrd is irrelevant to Lewis or his legacy.

 

Bigger fights like losing his HBO November date to Byrd 's Holyfield because he couldn't find a suitable substitute?

And the poorly received Johnson fight he actually wanted?

F that, Byrd was a unique challenge that would have been interesting to see Lewis solve, we saw him against enough plodders

 

The key punches against southpaws are left hooks and straight rights. Lewis didn't have a great left hook, but his straight right...

 

Just because Lewis secured his legacy as an all time great, doesn't mean that is the end of the discussion and nmske him above criticism....has that been true if any great...especially on these boards?

 

Fast right leads...

Too bad we can only theorize. I find this to be an interesting match.

I think Lewis can win, but not the easy fight some are suggesting.

 

First, Lennox Lewis wasn't stripped. Don King paid Lennox Lewis a million dollars to let Chris Byrd fight for the vacant title. Lewis said, "Sure." He was the undisputed champ.

At the time, boxing experts and even his network HBO said Lewis should dump all his belts. There was a big push at the time to tell all the orgs to just go to hell.

So Lewis accepted a million dollars and Don King bought him a car, too, and Lewis gave up the belt. And he was applauded for it.


Because no one on the planet, except for Byrd and his masochistic wife who liked to watch him get beat up, wanted to see Lewis-Byrd.

As far as Byrd's comments about Lewis' style and Emanuel Steward ...

Wlad Klitschko hired Emanuel Steward to teach him to fight like Lennox Lewis, and Klitschko beat the holy hell out of Byrd and stopped him in seven.

Chris Byrd was never beating Lennox Lewis. Lewis' jab, like Wlad's jab, would've tore him apart.

Wlad's style with Steward was Lewis' style.

Chris Byrd's two big wins (Holyfield and Vitali) came in fights where both guys tore their shoulder up and had to have reconstructive surgery. He basically won both by default. Holyfield's happened in the first round, for god's sake.

Byrd was a late-sub when he fought Vitali. Byrd was fighting on the USA network and on Fox Sports. He was making $10,000 to fight Lawrence Clay-Bey (who was supposed to beat him) when he accepted the Vitali fight on short notice. He was a nobody. Ibeabuchi had wrecked him. And Vitali was beating him easily, until his shoulder got tore up.

That's Byrd signature win.

Ibeabuchi knocked Byrd out. Wlad knocked him out. Mediocre, slow, one-slow-punch-after-another Jameel McCline had Byrd down and nearly outpointed him. Andrew Golota drew with him.

And Byrd's beating Lewis? How exactly? How was Byrd going to beat Lewis? By outjabbing him? No. By outpunching him? No.

The only two guys to EVER beat Lennox Lewis knocked him out with one punch. That's it.

If you couldn't knock Lennox Lewis out with one punch ... YOU DIDN'T WIN. That's the story of Lewis career.

Byrd would never knock out Lennox Lewis, so Byrd DOESN'T WIN.

Byrd's developed this odd reputation over the years - that only he believes - that everyone was ducking him because they were terrified of him.

Once he stepped up above the USA Network level, he barely eaked out wins, fought to draws or got knocked out.

He was nothing special at all.

Throw the Chris Byrd-Shaun George fight on again -- after Byrd quit juicing - and tell us all how Byrd was going to beat Lennox Lewis.

:roll:atsch

Botha was a late sub for John Ruiz. Lennox Lewis was supposed to defend against John Ruiz in England. Both guys signed for the fight as Lewis was preparing to fight Grant. But when a judge ruled about a week before the Grant fight that Lewis had to fight Ruiz first or give up the WBA belt ... and Lewis said, "Wait, I have an agreement with Ruiz to fight him next" ... Ruiz backed out of the deal.

So Lewis had to decide whether to cancel an event that was days away, not fight, and wait to fight Ruiz in the summer. Or he could go thru with the fight and just tell Ruiz to f*ck off.

So he told Ruiz to f*ck off. And Ruiz fought Holyfield for the vacant title AND LOST. Because Ruiz sucked, too.



At that time, Byrd was preparing to fight Wlad (and lose) the first time, so he wasn't around.

 

What challenge would Byrd pose to Lennox? Chris Byrd was faster, but being so small, all he would do is move backwards, and Lennox would be happy with him to do that because Lennox would just box on the outside. It has a boring 12 round decision all over it.

 

Sanders knocking Lewis out would have been entirely possible in the first 5 rounds. Corrie was way to quick for the plodding Lewis.

 

It would be a replay of Wlad-Byrd 2, except Lewis was more aggressive than Wlad and would've stopped him quicker.

Wlad under Steward fought like Lewis under Steward.

Byrd would have no chance, no matter how big he tried to juice himself up.:good

The only guys who beat Lewis knocked him out. Byrd was never knocking out Lewis.

 

I agree but a discussion with you ends up being an endless cycle of me saying chalk and you saying cheese.

As far as Byrd goes he was a good guy who would of been something different for Lewis I agree. But he was mostly poor to watch and Lewis camp felt he was'nt worth the time. No ducking, just a business decision.

Still it hardly tarnishes Lewis' legacy does it?

 

..not the whole truth.


Lewis agreed to face mandatory Akinwande after Holyfield.

Akinwande got sick and Ruiz was made the mandatory.

Lewis refused Ruiz and chose to fight Grant next. The WBA said it was ok, if he fought Ruiz next. Lewis vs Ruiz was booked for July, but only after Lewis went back on his word to fight the WBA mandatory in April when he found out it was Ruiz.

Botha not really a late sub, he was announced that April as the July opponent.

 

A challenge Lewis had not faced before. Holyfield was the only quality technical fighter Lewis faced, and he was too old and slow, and orthodox.

Byrd was a unique challenge for all who faced him. He only lost to faster combination punchers at this stage.

He didn't just move back...thars nothing like his style at all, man. He was a pocket fighter.

 

but he didn't fight him.

end of the day, Johnson did NOT occupy any of lewis time apart from the pre-vitali preparation that was originally meant for Johnson, time of which is mutually exclusive to the benefit of your argument for that reason.

 

That's HBO wanting their hopefully world beater Grant to fight Lewis, nothing to do with Lewis. Ruiz boring like Byrd = bad for business. WBA stripped Lewis quickly, similar to how Fury just been stripped by the IBF.