No Version of Wladimer Klitschko Could Beat "That Past Best" Lewis, Vitali Fought

Also people are forgetting that the fighters who Lewis struggles with are fighters that can outjab him.

Mercer did this, Holyfield did this at times, Bruno was doing this and so to was Vitali. Thats why he had to go into the trenches with the fighters.

 

Lewis beat Vitali, Tyson, Holyfield, Tua, Morrison, Bruno, Mercer, Briggs, McCall etc.

Almost everyone Wlad beat would be beaten by Lewis' top 10 opponents at the time Lewis fought them.

 

"Lennox Lewis has never beaten anybody as good as a prime W. Klitschko."

Never the less Lewis stops Klitschko early.

 

no they wouldn't.

Ok I will give you Holyfield and Vitali, and perhaps Mercer.

But Tua? Morrison? And Shannon Briggs

 

What about Tyson and Golota?

And I think Tua, Morrison and Briggs would smash the likes of Mormeck & Peters.

All 3 of them were Monsters back in the day.

Even if you only agree on Holyfield, Vitali and Mercer - doesn't that heavily suggest Lewis fought in a better HW divison than Wlad?

 

Lewis would throw off wlads offense by intelligently applying pressure which wlad doesn't like. Like I said, wlad isn't used to dealing with big, skilled fighters. Normally they are one or the other.

 

a prime 230lbs Shannon Briggs was a beast and probably would beat wlad himself.

 

That version of Lennox gets the **** beat out of him by Wlad and is likely knocked out by a right hand.

 

...or he walks into a straight right hand by Wlad. If that does happen, and LL is knocked down, does he get back up before it's waved off?

 

Wlad doesn't throw right hands until his opponent is about to collapse. By that time Lewis already would have knocked him out.

 

His resume and skill gets overrated because Lewis was awesome vs a particular style of fighter- orthodox sluggers who stood and traded with him.

We didn't see him fight southpaws, or pure speed/skill guys, or counerpunchers who could punch. Whether it's an accident or not, we just don't know because the fights aren't there.

It's not to say he couldn't have done well against those guys, but it's no different than if Hopkins fought Kelly Pavlik style fighters 40 times or if Calzaghe fought 40 Lacy types. They look good against who they're suited for. And if you never fight someone who can be your stylistic foil, you'll look better than you really are. That's why even though Byrd, Ruiz, Sanders, Moorer, etc. don't have the name value and Lennox could've beaten them all, his resume would be much more well rounded if they were on there nonetheless.

Wlad's fought every style out there, and still only has one more loss than Lewis to go along with 17 more wins. To me, that's the more proven fighter despite not having the name value of a Holyfield or Tyson on the resume.

 

Agreement!! :happy

Disagreement!! :nono

 

If he was a beast he wouldn't have struggled to a draw with Frans Botha.

He would not have beaten Wlad. Don't be silly.

 

I don't really give two ****s about either guy in terms of "loyalties" or whatever, but I find it amusing that Lewis is now the "pride of England" and some sort of national treasure, along with being elevated to boxing God status by the same fans who booed and criticized the **** out of this dude the majority of his his career. The same things many of them say about Wlad are the same things they were saying about Lewis when he was stinking up arenas and getting sparked out. They are both good fighters and it would be a toss up in terms of the fight itself.

 

You said at the time Lewis fought them, Tyson shouldn't have even been top 5 in the division. He was less than a shell of the once great fighter he was. Hence his subsequent losses after his fight with Lewis.

Morrison was a beast who was chubby and Tua lost to every top tier fighter he fought. Tua is a mythical beast in fans eyes without actually doing achieving a lot in the division.

Regarding Briggs, well if he would/could smash Peter then surely he should be beating the likes of Marcus Rhode and the legendary Frans Botha.

Again this is my point the fighters you named are of no better quality than what Wlad is beating today, apart from Holyfield.