Lennox Lewis and Wladimir Klitschko have a lot in common. They were both tall, hard-punching HWs with weak chins, they were both dominant HWs, and they were both trained by Emanuel Steward. But, who was the better fighter between them?
Lennox definitely has a better resume, but not by as much as some would like to think if look beneath the surface. a lot of those HOF(most actually) were spent by the time Lennox faced them. The only one who wasn't spent was Vitali(INB4 TKO6) and that win while legit didn't have a definitive conclusion which a rematch would have likely provided. Lennox's resume is actually very similar to Wlad's if you get right down to it - Most of it is down to consistency and beating a lot of solid but not great opposition.
I agree. Hell, both men were also Olympic gold medalists. However, there’s a clear line of demarcation in that Wlad was shockingly stopped by three men during his prime years that were unworthy of the heavyweight championship. And Wlad only avenged one of his five defeats - and that was years later against a blind Brewster that probably should not have even been licensed to fight. The distinction between Lennox and Wlad is not huge but it is clear.
Wlad Klitschko proved he wasn't better than Antony Joshua , never mind Lennox Lewis. Wlad fought in the weakest talent pool in boxing history , yet he still had to cheat and foul to beat absolute bums
Wlad stopped people from becoming Hall of famers But seriously, he was dominant for so long, pretty much everyone during his peak years didn’t have a chance to establish themselves. Lewis was fortunate enough that Tyson and Holyfield had the opportunity to cement their position in heavyweight history before he met them. Both were great though.
Wlad was the better athlete and the more professional and consistent fighter but I think Lewis was the better fighter. He could grind out a win in the trenches if he had too like in the Mercer and Vitali fights. Wlad in comparison just clinched his way to survive when he struggled he didn't have the instincts or the adaptability that Lewis had. Lewis could be nasty in the ring when needed, their was a spite in him when he rematched Rahman. He raised his game when needed to when he felt like he had something to prove as in the Rahman, Golota and Ruddock fights and even the first Holyfield fight. Of course on the flip side he could switch off at times which is why he lost to Rahman and McCall and why he struggled in the Holyfield rematch. When Wlad was being out boxed by Fury he simply didn't have the know how or the versatility in his arsenal to find another way to win outside of his normal tactics. Lewis on the other hand when he was out boxed by Bruno and Vitali went into the trenches, he knew he had to change something mid fight and he had the arsenal because of his inside skills to execute a different plan when needed. You can talk about Lewis' better resume but that wouldn't necessarily help him in a fight, it's the fact in a close fight he had more ways to win, was more adaptable, had better instincts and could raise his game when he needed to, that's the real reason why I'd favour Lewis over Wlad had they ever fought. But of course if Lewis wasn't 100% focused on Wlad he'd likely get KO'ed early. That's the thing about Lewis when he was switched on he could out class you with disdainful ease, but when he got too cocky and sure of himself that disdain would see him get flattened by inferior fighters.
Interesting take on the Fury fight, as I felt that if Wlad just let his hands go, he would get the job done, but he simply did not. Like you say, he didn’t go to a plan b. I can’t recall what his corner said to him though. I think in the Joshua fight he did show a lot more to his game, but youth prevailed. Was it a lifetime of never needing to do so, that when he finally did need to change it up, he was like a rabbit caught in the headlights?
Purity definitely wasn’t during his prime. Brewster and Sanders weren’t either, since he improved after.
This content is protected ATG level boxing skill right there ^ The equivalent to a Sam Peter during the 90's was a Samson Pu'ah or a Phill Jackson Peters was not even as good as David Tua who was completely shut out 12-0 by Lewis.