Prime Lennox Lewis vs Prime Larry Holmes

Close fight, I see Holmes winning it though...I don't agree that Holmes couldn't hurt Lewis, he had a great right hand to go with the jab...Lewis was by far the bigger puncher but, Holmes had by far the better chin...Either guy is tough to pick against but, my money would be on Holmes, who I think is quite often under-rated...

 

Holmes wins more of the early rounds but Lewis starts firing on all cylinders later on to salvage a late TKO.

 

I have always favoured Holmes in this match up. I just think Holmes had the right attributes to give Lewis problems.

Holmes clearly had the superior jab and a good jab has always given Lewis problems as proven in the Bruno, Vitali and Mercer fights. Holmes durability would counter Lewis' biggest advantage which is power, if Holmes can take Shaver's best and get back up to win then he'd do the same with Lewis.

I see Holmes speed, jab and movement to be enough to earn him a close decision.

 

Lewis.

Either way.

Stoppage or decision.

 

Been thinking this pretty much and changed my opinion as often.

Would have been very interesting in the early nineties too.

 

LOL, he could not stop Grandpa Holyfield in two fights, could not stop the overrated one trick pony fat Tua, could not stop trialhorse Mercer, could not stop one eyed face ripped off Vitali gets laid out by ONE punch by two never were yourneyman but he is going to stop Holmes or even more laughable decision him.........

 

Wow, interesting match-up . . . I think I would go with Holmes because of everything that was stated earlier, Larry is extremely underrated, but it would be one hell of a fight!

 

I really can't decide....

 

Ok. First off i'll determine a timeline of when I view them as prime:

Lewis from 97-02
Holmes from 77-83.

New lewis lost in his prime to rahman, it wasn't a lucky punch; the best man won. Of course lewis later avenged this defeat.

Larry was unbeaten throughout his prime despite a very close fight with tim spoon and norton.

Larry has the superior jab.

Lewis is quicker.

Both have very good power.

Larry is more durable.

Both have tremendous ring iq.

All in all I think larry is a more fundamentally sound boxer and see it playing out as follows:

In the early rounds larry out jabs lewis rendering his outside attack completely moot.

Through the middle rounds lewis begins to brawl and really sit down on his punches, he is able to take larry out of his comfort zone.

9-12 sees larry having to adapt again because he is losing the brawl with his bigger opponent. He reverts back to boxing behind the jab and beats lewis to the punch down the stretch to close out a close decision loss.

Larry's career is not really appreciated by the casual fan. He clearly beat spinks in the rematch regardless of what 3 men at ringside tell you. He also deserved the nod in a close victory over mccall. In reality his only unavenged losses came against a prime tyson and a prime holyfield.

He never unified but if you ask for a top ten heavyweight list from his era he holds victories over the majority.

Lewis is also underrated by the casual fan. He cleaned out his era and was the last man standing from the great 90's. He won his passing of the torch fight and bowed out before he declined to much.

In reality these are both worthy of a top ten position based on their legacy, resume and skillset.

Close fight. But larry should beat lewis down the stretch.

 

Lewis is one of my favorite Boxer but i think a prime larry holmes would beat him by ud or late tko

 

Holmes is the more technically sound fighter and I'd rate his determination / will to win as higher. Can't see the fight ending by knock out. Lewis when focused was reasonably durable, while Holmes had a strong chin. Judging by the two men' styles, probably a cagey fight with neither wanting to give much away. Lennox didn't usually box for the knock out or raise his tempo and in the later rounds I reckon Holmes (who was a great distance fighter) would start being more aggressive. Holmes by decision

 

The size is what would win this for Lennox- if he did win, but Larry was so good I have to go with Larry by UD.

 

I'd go with Lennox.

 

Young Holmes wins via KO with that silky smooth jab (no homo)

Old Holmes wins via UD with superior craft. In the sixth round, Holmes would look at the ringside judges and yell, "I still ain't no Tommy Morrison!" ala the Ray Mercer fight.