Lennox Lewis is overrated

First off Vitali is not an ATG especially when his best win is a 38 year old Corrie Sanders.

Lewis got beat up ? The fight only went 6 rounds and Lewis had won the last couple of rounds with Vital almost going blind in one eye needing 60+ stitches.

That's not my definition of someone getting beat up.

Lewis fought in two Olympics, had been a professional for 14 years, fought in 18 world title fights, and was 38 years old.

And you say too early ?

 

That's right, it's completely crazy if you remember his career

 

Top 4 ATG Heavyweight.

 

What the hell did Vitali achieve compared to Lennox?

 

Most great fighters, regardless of the division, don't beat all the biggest names on their record when those biggest names "were all" at their absolute best.

In fact, if you beat a guy at his absolute best, most fans will say that guy you beat was better in a fight where he "didn't lose."

Regarding 1992, one of Lennox's greatest wins in his career was his Halloween demolition of Razor Ruddock in 1992. On the other hand, Holyfield lost and retired for the first time in 1992, and I can also say (having been a fan then) he wasn't exactly considered an all-time great that year. In fact, Evander was berated for fighting Larry Holmes (another 42-year-old former champ), on the heels of fighting Foreman and Bert Cooper. His first reign, at the time it was taking place, was widely ridiculed. In 1992, Bowe was lucky not to be disqualified in his fight with Coetzer that year. And Mike Tyson was in prison.

So, I don't think it's a given any of them were better than Lennox Lewis in 1992. In fact, I believe the Lennox Lewis who stopped Ruddock that night is a likely winner against all three of them that year. That aggressive Lennox Lewis likely beats them more easily than he did when he actually fought Holyfield and Tyson.

Finally, Lennox Lewis won the Olympic Super Heavyweight Gold Medal in 1988 in his final amateur fight stopping future Hall of Famer Riddick Bowe. And Lewis won his final pro fight stopping future Hall of Famer Vitali Klitschko (who was in his prime).

In between his last amateur fight (Olympic Gold) and his last pro fight (a defense of the World Heavyweight title), he beat every man he faced in the pro ring. All of them.

And I defy you to find any heavyweight champion who beat a Hall of Famer in his last amateur fight, beat another one in his last pro fight, beat every man he faced in between and closed at his amateur and pro career on top winning Olympic Gold and successfully defending the world heavyweight championship.

Lennox Lewis IS NOT overrated. The fact that he arguably isn't considered the greatest heavyweight who ever lived means he REMAINS UNDERRATED.

Because nobody ever accomplished what he did at heavyweight. Ever.

Nobody.

His accomplishments ... Olympic Super Heavyweight Gold Medal Winner (against a Hall of Famer) ... Retiring as World Heavyweight Champion after successfully defending against a Hall of Famer ... beating every man he fought in the pro ring and being elected to the Hall of Fame on the first ballot ... are unprecedented.

If EVERYONE considered him the greatest heavyweight ever ... you could argue he was overrated ... and try to make a case.

Until he's widely viewed as the greatest heavyweight champion ever ... he will forever be UNDERRATED.

Because no heavyweight accomplished what he accomplished. None.

 

I'm not much of a list maker, would have Lewis around number five or six I guess.

I am pretty shocked at how fans react to Fighters these days, they tend to over rate them when they haven't beaten excellent Fighters. Usyk would be the perfect example, at heavyweight he hasn't beaten a really good fighter yet. Fury was his best win, and Tyson was old fat and not a very good boxer anyway. Yet people are saying that Usyk would beat the all-time greats LOL LOL LOL.

 

The brits hated Lennox "Maple Syrup" Lewis when he was active because he was a Jamaican Canadian who got one-punch-kayo'd twice. Then when he retired and they realized they had basically no one of note historically at HW besides ol' Maple Syrup, he got a bit overrated.

Very good fighter. Right now, yes, perhaps a bit overrated. His chin and tendency to switch off and get nailed by a huge shot will always be a big detractor when viewing him historically. You can't switch off like that against a puncher like Vlad.

Lewis would pair well with Fury, very interesting fight. I think he's favored if he can get inside, and Fury is favored outside.

Usyk I think wins.

Joshua gets destroyed, no question.

 

Grossly overrated. He's not even the best of his own era, let alone a top 5 ATG like some claim. Holyfield, clearly, and Tyson, arguably are both better.

Lewis is alone in being a top level ATG who was taken out early by second-rate fighters. That alone establishes just how overrated this guy is

 

Wlad is the only HW in history who has dominated his era without ever getting his hands on the WBC belt and not avenging all of his losses. Quite the feat.

 

Lennox fought more than twice as many ex-world champions and top 10 fighters in his career as Bowe did, so "beating every man he faced" is why people use that line. Those guys you named all lost convincingly to fighters Lennox went on to beat easily.

Moorer was taken apart by Holyfield; Wlad was knocked out by multiple fringe world-level guys and journeymen and did not find his groove until years after Lennox retired; Corrie Sanders was knocked out by Hasim Rahman; and John Ruiz got blown away by David Tua in 30 seconds.

Byrd, maybe, but he only really got to the top of the rankings after Lennox had finally landed a huge money-spinning Tyson fight. He'd already been destroyed by Ibeabubchi and Wlad at that point. Lewis beat the best opposition and legitimate top 5 contenders who positioned themselves as worthy challengers. So he did beat every legit contender that was around.

 

Lennox Lewis was the best of his era.

Lennox Lewis beat everyone he faced, including Holyfield and Tyson.

Holyfield and Tyson are 0-3 against Lewis.

Tyson was "taken out early" by Danny Williams and Kevin McBride.

Holyfield had his boxing license revoked because he was losing to everyone. Holyfield later lost to Mitt Romney in a fake celebrity boxing match and was humiliated by an MMA fighter, while Mike Tyson lost to freaking YouTuber Jake Paul.

Tyson and Holyfield BOTH lost to five guys they never beat in rematches. Tyson even had a rematch clause with Lewis, and Lewis sued Tyson to try to get him back in the ring with him.

Meanwhile, Lennox Lewis won the Olympic Gold Medal against Bowe (Holyfield won Bronze, Tyson couldn't get past Henry Tillman to make the team)

Lewis beat everyone he fought as a pro.

Lewis retired as the defending World Heavyweight Champion after a win over another Hall of Famer.

And Lennox Lewis retired a multi-millionaire with all his marbles and remained retired.

Never had to prostitute himself like Tyson and Holyfield to make a buck.

If you don't think he was the best of his era ... you are underrating him.

Holyfield and Tyson WOULD KILL to have had Lennox's career.

Win Olympic Gold over a Hall of Famer in your last amateur fight - Beat Everyone You Fight As a Pro - Retire from the pros as World Heavyweight Champ with a win over a Hall of Famer - and relax with tens of millions in the bank and your brain intact.

Basically, every heavyweight who ever lived would choose that career.

No one from his era had a better career ... certainly not Holyfield and Tyson.

 

Nobody hated him in Britain, they just didn't care for him as his accent was there and nobody felt they could relate to him

It confused alot of people

 

No, he didn't. Tell me how Botha or Mavrovic (both had extremely thin resumes) were more desrving contenders than Moorer, Wlad, Byrd or Johnny Ruiz. As for Ruiz being KOed by Tua. Yes, he was. And so was Rahman who knocked out Lewis

 

Tua knocked out Moorer in 30 seconds and Ruiz in 19 seconds. And Lewis dominated Tua in a title defense.

Wlad and Lewis were on a collision course, and it was a foregone conclusion that they would meet. They even appeared in the movie Ocean's Eleven together fighting each other. Except Vitali got injured and quit against Byrd. So Wlad gave up his WBC ranking when he challenged and beat Byrd for the WBO belt. (That's how Vitali ended up being in position to fight Lewis instead of Wlad.)

When Lewis fought Botha, Frans was a late replacement for John Ruiz. Ruiz and Lewis agreed to fight after Lewis fought Michael Grant. But days before the Lewis-Grant fight, a federal judge ruled that Lewis had to fight Ruiz before Grant or lose the WBA belt.

Lennox's team argued that they already had an agreement to fight Ruiz next, but when Ruiz was offered a vacant WBA title shot against Holyfield (who was coming off a loss to Lewis), Ruiz scrapped his fight with Lewis and took the Holyfield fight instead. (Which Ruiz lost.)

All Ruiz had to do was say, "No thanks, we have an agreement to fight" ... but he chose to go after the vacant belt instead of fighting Lewis. (Mainly because Don King wasn't going to promote Lewis-Ruiz, but he would promote Holyfield-Ruiz.)

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/sport/683342.stm

Honestly, if Wlad chooses to fight Byrd instead of Lewis, if Ruiz chooses to fight Holyfield instead of Lewis ... that's not really Lennox's problem.

 

I think he’s underrated. To me, although it’s not easy to say, but objectively he has a better record and achieved more than Mike Tyson.
I know Mike had that destructive style at such a young age etc, but the consistency and longevity of Lennox can’t be underated