And take out Joe Frazier in Two round s.TBH ,I don't see many heavyweight s ever doing that but what about prime Lennox Lewis ??
No, Foreman and Lewis fought completely differently. Prime Foreman was probably the strongest world class heavyweight in history as far as pure brute strength is concerned, and boy did he use it to his maximum advantage. Lewis never showed the aggression of prime Foreman. Foreman manhandled Frazier. Pushing him off balance, never allowed Frazier to set his feet completely neutralized Frazier's come forward style . Lewis could defeat Frazier, but it wouldn't be that way.
No, I don't see him doing it unless he sees the shape Joe was in and goes hell for leather. He was capable of it power-wise but his style was better suited to blowing away taller, stand up guys with his straight right than the crouchers who were perfect for George's push and uppercut style. On the plus side, that caution which would stop him going for broke against Jor and matching whar George did also stops him replicating Foreman's showing vs Ali, too. No way would Lennox waste all that energy when he could just jab out a win on points. Lennox was in some right barnburners but he didn't mind being in a stinker if it got the job done.
Edd ,ill say you nailed it . The only thing I'll say which is to slightly disagree ,is Lennox sometimes came out guns blazing IF he thought his opponent would give him trouble , If we put our self s in Lewis s shoes , facing off against a unbeaten Frazier ,who tended to get better as he went on and warmed up , BUT could be caught early and hurt , then we May see the Michael Grant type Lewis ,on the attack from the go . Of course ,he may just be safety first as he was against Tua , but would that give even a flabby Frazier a chance of winning ? Anyway , good to hear from you Edd.!
It would have been a much more difficult fight for Lewis. Level of difficulty would depend upon whether Lewis would be allowed to clinch/hold Frazier once Joe closes the distance.
The two with the best shots of taking Frazier out fast were Louis and Tyson .. bad stylistic match ups for Frazier, especially Tyson ..
Cheers Fergy. And, yes, great points about Joe starting slow and Lennox sometimes jumping on opponents. Perhaps you're right. Lennox was vulnerable to the right hand, not Joe's strength. Maybe Lewis feels he can take a risk? And this is the Frazier of 73 when he lost to Foreman not of 71, right? That Frazier might well be too much for Lennox.
Pre Steward Lewis could be mighty aggressive early if he landed a big right hand or had a guy in trouble. Steward might have Lewis go hard straight away to get the swarmers respect like he did in round 1 against Tyson. Lewis landed some BIG shots including uppercuts which would bode well vs Frazier if talking early stoppage. Odds are it would take longer.
That's the thing John , does Lennox go all out early , for respect , knowing that Frazier could be a slow starter . That's Lewis s Best chance imo .If he takes his time , working behind the jab , then that could give Joe time for to set up a pattern going .It could still work for LL , behind the jab of course , break him down but we know how Frazier came on strong as the fight progress .An early ko for Lewis could maybe be there if it's offered , look how devastating he could be in the first few rounds .
I don't see him doing so ,Lewis took his time against lots of opponents.Steward criticized his chess playing mentality. I'm of the opinion it would be like the Tua fight,but with Frazier exhibiting a lot more ambition as the fight wore on.Dec win or late tko.
