Steward also said that he could get caught with something ... Steward and Lewis both knew that Tyson was still dangerous even at this point of his career
I haven’t watched it, in a while I think I had it 7-5 Lewis but if it had been a draw I would been ok with it had the first fight not been a robbery
I actually had it closer than some here. I had it 7-5 for Lewis. Not a bad fight. I might be able to see a draw I suppose, which says how close I felt like it was, but I still always come away thinking, Lewis won that fight.
Holyfield had a left hook that rivalled Ali and made Holmes look bad. But I don't think his right was anymore powerful than Holmes or Ali, and neither his right nor left compares to Frazier...or Norton for that matter.
Lewis won the 2nd solidly, but his lack of a consummate win against old guy Holy helps to knock him lower than Holy as ATG imo.
Lewis 7-5 in a much more competitive fight than fight 1. Definitely not a robbery though. Holyfield wasn’t a big puncher. The Tyson stoppage and the fluke Mercer knockdown doesn’t alter the fact that he went long periods in his career without scoring a stoppage. What he was was a terrific combination puncher, who threw fast shots with as much as he could muster on them (which was decent but not huge power). He’s similar to Ali and Holmes but I think both of them were more powerful if they sat down on their shots as much as Holy did. Frazier was a bigger puncher than all of these guys by a fair bit imo.
I've seen worse scoring than those 2 fights. I'll give the judges the benefit of the doubt since I wasn't at ringside. As for Holyfield's punching power, yes, I think he hit harder than Ali or Holmes...just my opinion.
Let's be honest here; Lewis beat him twice. The second showing was more respectable for Holyfield but it wasn't enough to get the nod. In terms of punching power? Frazier is definitely a bigger puncher than Holyfield. But I recall George Foreman saying that Evander Holyfield's punching power is comperable to Ali. Make of that what you will.
I didn't score it, but I thought Lewis won both fights. The second one was closer, though. However, it was not too close and I thought Lewis was the deserved winner.
Holyfield always came to fight, had some entertaining bouts and was a expert in PED abuse and head butting. But he is way over rated in accomplishments. He lost both Lewis fights, clearly, no ifs or buts but Lewis did not look too good either in both. Without the fan man and Bowe's wife collapsing Ring side he would be 0-3 against Bowe. 1-1 with glass cannon Moorer who in his next fight fight was stopped by one punch by a absolute fossil. Struggled with facking Vaughn Bean, a fighter nobody heard of and is Websters definition of a cream puff. Went life and death with Josefine Luiz three times, the same guy who lost not to one but two Middleweights. Holyfield's claim to fame is beating a shot washed up Tyson with a little more than a half dozen rounds under his belt in four years, three of those sitting inactive in the Pen. Without Tyson Holyfield is the definition of a a hot and cold fighter who lost more on the upper level than he won and was taking to the limit by ham and eggers...........never put together a string of dominant victories even against said gimme fights.
This. I had (1) 10-2 for Lewis I had (2) 8-4 for Lewis. Not as decisive as the 'draw.' but still a clear win for Lennox.
I thought Lewis won both fights, with the 2nd fight closer than the 1st. My issue is why was there a need for a 2nd fight? Lewis was in the prime of his career while Holyfield was clearly at the end by at least 4-5 years. I expected Lewis to dominate Holyfield. It leads to my question of would that version of Holyfield be that difficult for a prime Louis, Ali, Frazier, Holmes, Foreman Liston, Tyson or even Peak Bowe? I don't believe he would. So what does that imply about Lewis? Especially when considering he was knocked out twice by 2nd raters at the top of his game. Was Lewis as great as some seem to think?
All legitimate concerns imo. Had Lewis achieved a truly dominating win over Holy...to the extent there'd never been a 2nd fight deemed "necessary", I would have put him over Foreman as #5 ATG. As it is I have him under Holy, too.
