Better performance ? Lewis against tua or aj v Ruiz jr ??

Tua went in against Lennox about 20lbs heavier than his best performance with Ike.
Ruiz went in against AJ II about 18lbs heavier than his last performance.
Both Ruiz & Tua weighed their heaviest to date in their losses.

Compubox credited
Lennox 300 out of 674
AJ 107 out of 370

Tua's 110 out of 413.
Ruiz 60 out of 261

Ruiz was cut under his eye
Tua was cut under his eye, swelled jaw & reddened face

Tua's promoter gave the alibi; Tua's ribs got hurt in sparring.
Ruiz himself blamed his non-stop partying at-buffet tables.

Both Lennox & AJ fought guys who went in heavier than their best which equates to :lack of discipline.
Both used their jab as the main weapon.
Both used distance & height to control the pace of fight.

Lennox threw way more than AJ, landed more in the Tua fight than AJ averages out of 3 fights.
Both Tua & Ruiz kinda stole some thunder from the victories because they both can lay a legitimate claim they came in overweight. So neither Lewis or Joshua beat an in shape opponent(s) rather they beat undisciplined opponents.
Tua was riding a 10 streak win w/9KOs making him the more feared fighter of the 2.

Lennox win was better as a result.

 

Lewis had it a little easier for me, he only had to avoid the one shot and could control Tua easily in close when clinching.

Ruiz although a fat slob at least never gave up and was letting his fast hands go whenever AJ tried to clinch him.

 

All defence is ultimately about creating opportunities to attack - after all you have to land punches to win fights. The head movement meant he avoided punches - ie: defence - and when people punch and miss it creates openings, which he exploited in attack.

It's interesting you define defence solely from intent (which is rarely singular with any boxer) rather than consequence. At his physical peak he avoided being hit. That's defence. Period.

 

Also, his way of "defending" must have been very taxing mentally on his opponents. Hitting air when a guy is so obviously in your face, is probably very disheartening.

 

Tua won 3 or 4 of the first 6.

 

weird that they weighed in so heavy for the biggest fight of their lives, some strange from of self sabotage maybe. I felt Tua seemed a bit spooked at the time, then in the fight he was very hesitant after tasting that Lewis right hand. People blamed Lewis for it being boring but Tua was very lacklustre.

 

Lennox shutting down Tua completely was a far better performance.

 

It's not a defense if it puts you at sake of being KOed. Going inside the full firework of your opponent is taking a risk. Doing it relying only on landing power shots is even more so. I suspect no coach will ever teach his students about Tyson system as a good defense.

Tua was much more complete defensively, he could block, catch, move his head, take a step back when necessary and evaluate the distance and opportunity. Tyson was going inside no matter what. He absolutely needed his attack to be successful or he was in for a long night.

 

I rate Joshua's slightly higher as his guy had blasted him out six months earlier. Lewis knew he was going to give Tua no chance, Joshua didn't have that certainty. Although when he came in at 290lbs it was as good as sealed.

 

Tyson was 19 years old when he fought Tillis.

 

Lewis

 

I don't think you really understand the connection between attack and defence. You see them as separate entities. They are not. Mayweather's style of defence, for example, would not suit Tyson's style of attack. Yes, he took risks but that's not the same thing as having a poor defence. Often being the shorter fighter, dictated he spent more time inside the range of his opponents than a rangier fighter would need to. In that context and in the context of his overall fighting style, his defence - in his prime - was good.

 

How I saw it. Tua's output was shrouded by hesitation.

 

But this is when many of his fans consider he was at his peak. 1986–1989. He has accomplished the best of himself at a young age.

Head movement alone is not a good defense. Most of his opponents were bad at throwing accurate punches despite having a moving target within their range. They also feared Tyson power. Against accurate fearless fighters Tyson had only but problems.

I agree he was flashy and athletic. Whatever he did looked glorious especially against guys you wonder if they came to fight or be a punching bag. Douglas was not the best - was he even very good? - and he came to beat Tyson as if he already knew he had him beaten before the first ring bell.