Holmes vs Lewis

Holmes via SD.

 

Lennox Lewis excelled at taking apart big men who were punchers. We saw more than enough examples of this. But what I struggle to remember is when he ever took on a slick boxer who used the ring, had a great left jab, with a solid chin and long term stamina. I’m just not sure he ever faced someone of that complete description. Reversely Larry Holmes never fought anyone of Lewis’ all around description of height, reach, power, skill and other attributes. It would be a tough match for both men. I’m inclined to pick Holmes by a close decision simply because I don’t know how Lewis would react to an opponent who was so dissimilar to any of the others he faced. Not something I’d bet money on however.

 

I think Lewis would have won ... he was a good boxer particularly towards the end of his career, but he also had the nuclear option of turnign it into a war, and Holmes did not. That said, I would not write off Holmes against any boxer in history.

 

Holmes and quite easier then you think.
Lewis simply doesn't have the chin to get by a Holmes.
Holmes gets into trouble vs Lewis you know Holmes can withstand it. Lewis cannot.
And Lewis is not going to outbox a person who has a jab like Holmes.

 

I disagree with this slightly, Larry Holmes turned plenty of fights into wars when he was in trouble. Witherspoon, Norton, Weaver, Shavers 2, Snipes.

I don't really remember Lewis turning many fights into "wars" he had two grueling fights vs Mercer and Klitschko and that's about it.

Unless I'm misunderstanding what you said.

As for the topic I think Holmes wins on points, but I wouldn't be confident with that pick. Holmes could be vulnerable to right hands, and Lewis had a dangerous one.

 

Holmes was hurt by Renaldo Snipes a guy who wasn't known for being a big puncher. Lennox got hit with big punches by guys like Frank Bruno, David Tua, and Vitali Klitschko and didn't seem that bothered. Larry Holmes doesn't punch nearly as hard as they do.

In any case I think this is a 50-50 fight. Both men could win if they fought their best fights.

 

Lewis Dec. Holmes was vulnerable to the right hand and Lewis was a better infighter.

 

Holmes would knock Lewis out in the later rounds. He had more more durability, skill, ring craft and iq. Holmes would beat Lewis in a boxing match and beat him in a brawl. Lewis is so overrated imo.. competitive against an old Holyfield, didn't actually beat McCall and struggled with an overweight Mercer.

The only thing Lewis has over Holmes is just power and that's probably the last factor that would help him. Holmes would grind him down like he did to all of his opponents and would simply knock him out.

Holmes via highlight reel KO in the 11th round

 

Lennox Lewis TKO or KO.

Lewis is bigger, a thousand times stronger, has a longer reach, has an equally good jab, one of the hardest right hands in boxing history and ring intelligence rivaled only by Muhammad Ali. Holmes does not have enough strength or power to stand head to head with Lewis and trade blows.
He'd give Lewis some trouble and win a bunch of rounds before being brutally stopped.

This guy really thinks Lewis is overrated

 

Well if Ali ring IQ was so high he would of figured out how to beat Ken Norton. Ali had stated numerous times that Ken Norton beat him all three times.

Lewis is bigger but so were guys like Leroy Jones, Roy Williams and Gerry Cooney. I am not saying these guys were as good as Lewis but there size didn't help them. Also Larry Holmes did get hit with hard punches by Shavers and got up. Lennox Lewis never got knocked down and got up and won a fight. Each time he got knocked down he lost.

You can also play it this way. A faded Larry Holmes beat Ray Mercer easier than Lennox Lewis did. A faded Larry Holmes could handle Oliver McCall punches better than Lennox could.

So if Lewis won it wouldn't be because of his height and I doubt he would brutally knock out Holmes. If anything I could see Holmes TKO'ing Lewis.

 

Holmes gets rocked bad in the early rounds, struggles some through the middle but rallies hard in the last rounds, actually staggering Lewis several times. SD 12 for Holmes.

 

Ali did do better in the rematches though.

You could argue with Holmes having the better chin but in this fight, Holmes will pay heavily for any mistake he makes since he was vulnerable to the right hand. Shavers was a poor finisher but Lewis was murderous.

The A beats B so A will automatically beat C logic doesn't apply in boxing.

Holmes isn't TKOing Lewis, he might probably win an SD or UD but he doesn't have the power to really KO Lewis and also the fact that Lewis was a very shrewd fighter in his own right.

 

Lets be honest. Bruno staggered Lewis greatly and MCCALL and Rahman both plain knocked him out.
Holmes got hit with a BOMB by Shavers and got up and stopped Shavers. Hit with the same punch Lewis retires.
Holmes jabbed much better then Lewis and hits plenty hard to drop Lewis.
I know Holmes has a soild chin where Lewis does not.
And lets keep it real- Mercer out jabbed Lewis ALOT in that bout and lost a decision in which it could be argued he lost.
If Mercer out jabs you Holmes is going to massacre you if you attempt to have a jabbing duel with him.