Tough one. Both of them were in the 116-112 region to Fenech and Lewis respectively, in my opinion. I guess I'd say that Lewis might have won slightly more rounds against Holyfield than Fenech did against Nelson at a push...But in terms of what each man did in the rounds they won, you'd probably have to edge towards Fenech. Lewis was a little dozy in a couple of rounds and seemed to box within himself a little, whereas Fenech left everything in the ring and almost had Nelson stopped a couple of times. While the scores on paper, had justice been served, might have been a slither wider in Lewis-Holyfield, Fenech really looked like Nelson's boss in the nastiest way possible. It's a coin toss really, but today I'll edge ever so slightly towards Fenech-Nelson. Ask me tomorrow and I might say Lewis-Holyfield.
True, Nelson claimed he'd been suffering from malaria in the weeks / months leading up to the bout, which had hindered his training and preparations. The fact that he trounced Fenech so dominantly in the return match definitely lends credence to this. Nevertheless, it's a great shame that Fenech didn't get that career-defining 'W' against a proper all-time great. He deserved it in that first fight, regardless of what happened in the rematch. Had he been given the nod against Zoomy, he'd have become the first man ever to become a four-weight world champion without ever tasting a single defeat. I underrated Fenech for many years, but what a cracking fighter he was. His decline so quickly after being jobbed against Nelson was alarming, though. I guess a combination of factors (his chronic and recurring hand injuries, the toll on his body of his all-action, high-pressure style and the emotional / mental baggage of the injustice of the first Nelson fight) all caught up with him at the same time, leaving him pretty much washed up at twenty-eight. Incredible that a guy who could withstand such hellish action from the likes of Villasana (that fight was absolute carnage) and Callejas could then find himself losing inside-schedule to someone as feather-fisted as Calvin Grove. Still a very fine career even without the win on his record which he deserved against Nelson (I'm ignoring their utterly pointless third instalment in 2008, of course), but had justice been done that day I'm convinced he'd be a lot more highly thought of today than he is.
