Did the extra weight really help Lennox ?

He bulked after losing to McCall. He lost to McCall and struggled against Bruno while under 240. He performed well in pretty much every fight after McCall except the first Rahman fight.

 

More than a bit harder, importantly it looks so casual and effortless second only to maybe Foreman KOing Moorer

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Lewis came in 10lbs heavier for his first fight with Steward. He dropped weight a bit for his next few fights, but there did seem to be a conscious effort to bulk him up to help impose his natural size over opponents.

I'm working from memory here, there had been criticism of Correa period Lewis for trying to dance and box on his feet too much. Foreman had made remarks that Lewis was a pure puncher and that he should stick with that, and stop trying to be Ali (Foreman had acknowledged he too had fallen into that trap himself early in his career).

I think Lewis probably peaked under Steward, but he wasn't as mobile as he was earlier in his career, so there probably was a trade off. I think people underestimate though how intimidating Lewis was during his title reign, and the bulk played a part in that. Fighters who were weaker mentally really struggled with him.

The trend for nearly all heavyweights though is that they add weight as they get older.

 

Lewis was indeed more athletic when lighter.

however, despite this, Lewis did not have great coordination. The younger version was sometimes off balance despite his speed.

Steward made the right call. Yes, Lewis would have been quicker around 230 lbs. but he was never going to have the balance and coordination of a Ali or Holmes. Speed and athleticism is different from coordination and balance.

Lewis was at his best around 240 because he didn’t have great balance. He needed to be a strong guy who could dominate with his jab and walk guys into big right hands and big right uppercuts.

If he tried dancing like a Larry Holmes, he would have more losses, just because there is only so much improvement you can make to a guy who does not have great natural balance and coordination.

 

I liked the Pepe Correa trained flat top version of Lewis from 1991-1994 compared to the Emanuel Stewert dreads version from 1996-2002 who was faster due to being lighter and arguably more dangerous but also threw wild overhand rights and went to the body more although was more vulnerable defensively. The heavier dreads Lewis on balance was better who jabbed more and took fewer risks.

Best lighter flat top performances of Lewis came against Mike Weaver (1991), Derek williams(1991), Donovan Ruddock (1992),Tony Tucker(1993) and Frank Bruno (1993).Take your pick from 1996-2002 with wins against Ray Mercer (1996) and Andrew Golta (1997) as well as a knockout of Lineal Heavyweight Champion Shannon Briggs in the same year. A outstanding performance against Evander Holyfield (1999) and rematch with Hasim Rahman (2001) and Mike Tyson (2002) He was sluggish but strong against Vitali Klitschko (2003) due to inactivity and weight gain.

 

I would say the 2 Holyfield fights followed by the Tua performance were peak Lewis.

 

I'd say Shannon Briggs (1997) and The first Evander Holyfield (1999) fight for me. Emmaunel Stewart thought he was at his best for Francis Botha (2000). I really liked his performance against Mike Tyson (2002) as well.

 

Styles make fights, but I think Botha was Lewis' Cleveland Williams performance.

Obviously not his most significant win, but if you want to put a case forward for Lewis as a H2H monster, that is one of the fights you would start with.

 

I also like the young Lennox Lewis, and I don't think he was that much better under Stewart (where he mostly improved his defence and clinching).
A 15-fights Lewis had a war with seasoned Gary Mason (where he boxed well) and produced one of his most sensational, surgical performance against Ruddock.
It's true that he became clumsy during his 1993/1994 reign, although I think it's more due to overconfidence than a lack of ability.

 

He lost to Rahman out of complacency. He weighed in at a career high (only later surpassed by his weight in the Vitali bout) due to a lack of preparation.

Lewis's best performance, in my opinion, came against Holyfield in their first encounter, in which he weighed in at 245.

 

I think Lewis was 242 in the first fight but not real difference anyway.

 

Remember during the HBO broadcast of the Bruno fight when Harold Lederman said “Lewis throws his right hand like a girl”.

 

The Gary Mason fight was great although I think the Derek Williams fight was better.