I feel like Lennox did enough. I like Moorer but once he lost the rematch with Holyfield and then the fight with Tua there really wasn't much of demand for a fight with Lewis. Same with Sanders after he lost to Rahman. The Klitschko boys were coming up as Lewis was on the way down. After the Vitaly fight, Lewis knew he was on the decline and rightfully retired. He did more than enough.
He was around for a while but I just don’t see a lot of depth in that division for him to clean out. If the guys he beat are all there were ... there wasn’t a whole lot there. I’d love to have seen how he might have done against the 175-pound class of the late 1970s.
Ingo retired in April '63, (after going the distance with Brian London!) so you can't really say Ali avoided him.
I think it depends on how “ literal “ a person wants to be about cleaning out a division. For some people it means beating all of the “ relevant contenders and or champions.” But whenever the topic comes up there are always those who will say “ what about this prospect or that obscure fringe contender?” If your criteria is the latter and not the former then my answer to the question is very few people. If your standards adhere to the former then some guys I would list who at least came close are: -Muhammad Ali - Mike Tyson -Joe Louis - Marvin Hagler - Carlos Monzon - Michael Spinks ( light heavy )
I don't know man. I like a lot of what you post on here but I think you are speculating that Lewis ducked a rematch with Klitschko. At that point he was an older guy on the decline and he knew it and admitted it. Lewis had a long amateur career aside from a pro career that saw him face stiff competition. I agree Sanders was a very good fighter but I don't believe Lewis was afraid of him. I think he was an honorable champion. We simply will have to agree to disagree on this one.
Bob got stripped of his WBA Title for not defending it against Jimmy Dupree, who lost to Vicente Rondon, for the WBA Title. Bob Foster regained the WBA version with a 2nd round kayo of Vicente in 1972. Bob retired in 1974, following his draw with Jorge Ahumada, but retired as champion. John Conyeh defeated Jorge Ahumada, for the WBC Title, by decision, on Oct 1 1974, in London. Victor Galindez stopped Len Hutchins, by TKO 13, for the WBA Title in Luna Park. Sometimes it is better to retire when you realize the end is near, rather than embarrassing yourself. Fans will only bad mouth you and long forget about you if you become just a stepping stone. But Bob did fight some good challengers, but he should have fought those two challengers.
Muhammad Ali did not face Eddie Machen in the 1960's, it would have been a good match. I was always hoping Ali would have given Eddie a title shot in 1965, but he fought Ernie Terrell instead for the WBA Title and lost on points. Eddie was beaten pretty soundly by Floyd Patterson, on July 5 1964, on points in Sweden.