For me, Lewis is a H2H monster and on that basis would be number 1 for me but, on achievement, opposition, impact on the sport and overall legacy, I put him at number 3 behind Ali and Louis.
He's top 4 for sure. The only ones who you could argue are above him are Ali, Louis and Holmes but you could make a case for Lennox being the top dog alongside Ali.
If that's the case lets hear your 7. Just to clarify, the D could mean 7 to 11 different heavyweights are better than LL. When making the numbers system I thought of it as a tier thing. So for example, being ranked 3 means that you are either the 3rd ranked A tier or the 1st ranked in tier B. That all depends on how you view that fighters position in your rankings.
For what it's worth, I am not sure where I would place him. It could be in section B, but I wouldn't put him in A. I have to say that I think these can never be remotely objective because it is a mug's game to to compare the abilities of boxers from different eras. It totally depends on the criteria used and everyone will have their own. I could see how any 7 of Ali, Foreman, Frazier, Louis, Marciano, Holmes, Dempsey or Johnson could be on a list above Lewis. I'm not saying that it would be my list, but as I said, there is an argument to be made. There are probably more that i am missing out on. The heralded John L. Sullivan, for instance, would have probably knocked Lewis clean out.
The post asked where Lennox Lewis rated, not Lummox! Seriously though, to add my 2p, Lewis is a top 10 heavyweight, and very strong argument for top 5 among the big men.
Im in the same boat that it is not outrageous to rank 7 HWs over him. Hey on a random day like today I almost feel like it. Whats wrong with ranking Marciano, Holmes, Johnson, Jeffries, Foreman, Frazier, Dempsey over him? Clearly all legends. The HW ranking argument is a relative jumble as only Ali and Louis stand above.
Lewis is easily top five of all time, but doesn’t quite make the top ten. Somewhere between 6 and 4, but no worse than 3. OP has the rankings spot on.
I had him 2 spots below Dave Allen, just ahead of Serena Williams and well below legend Prince Patel.
10-15 Getting sparked out by bums like Rahman and Mccall costs him a place up there with the very best imo
