Lennox Lewis vs. Chris Byrd.

Well, it took you long enough to clear that up. Rather meaningless and void of analysis, basically "Byrd was knocked out before and a guy who fights nothing like that guy will do the same." Not much substance to that.

I've been asking you that very question.

This should have been the end of your post...

Exceptional but not in the class of Patterson, Ali, Tyson, or Byrd's overall body movement.etc. So how many people here do you think would pick Jones Jr over Vitali and Tua?

I'm not color blind, you just have trouble expressing your thoughts. It took you I don't know how many posts to explain what you meant with this Ike/Lewis business despite being questioned explicitly about it.

Of course not because Lewis never faced anyone like Byrd his entire career.

You can't name one Left Hand KO from Lennox Lewis.

Byrd was caught and hurt by Tua, Wlad, and Vitali. Byrd has proven to be a great survivor, I'm not confident Lewis is going to finish him the moment he has him hurt.

 

Make no mistake guys, Byrd was down on the cards but he frustrated the hell out of Vitali. And all those misses with the jab likely played a huge role in the shoulder injury just as it would for Holyfield. And he was getting in some good counter shots to the body and head, he couldn't hurt Vitali but Lennox couldn't hurt Vitali either. Most underrated win of all time?

Watch the video, look at Byrd slip and counter. You think a 36 year old Lewis is going to catch this guy and just magically finish him because he's GREAT. Vitali is a huge volume puncher like Ike so he was able to keep Byrd too busy to win many rounds. I don't have confidence in the older Lewis in doing that.

[url]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FecLhLS8ibI[/url]

 

I'm not a nationalist, so I wouldn't know. Must sicken you that I out argue every one of you nationalist Brits in every Lewis thread. Except when I pick him to beat prime Tyson of course. You act like not picking Lewis in a fantasy fight is insulting your kin, I feel sad for you, taking this so personally. I'm surprsied you didn't kill yourself those times Lewis got laid out for the count. Glad you made it.

 

Follow the conversation in full. The Brit originally claimed Lewis would do exactly what Ike did, tried to argue he could do what Ike did, than decided that's not really what he meant.

 

Why is this guy allowed to post in Classic?

 

Ok, back to discussing boxing. :good

 

What's wrong with fadge?

[url]http://www.irishamericanmom.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/IMG_0112.jpg[/url]

 

Byrd may have been a bit awkward / slippery for Lewis but let's get real here there's nothing on his record or in his skill set to suggest he could have got the win by either KO or on the cards.

Comes down to levels ultimately - and Lewis was a few above Byrd.

I haven't read the whole thread but on the subject of Lewis' left hand - watch the Bruno fight and tell me his left wasn't a weapon. Big left turned the tide for him in that fight.

 

There's certainly a strong chance that Byrd could have made Lewis look bad.

I've said it before, there are a lot of people who are quick to note that Lewis fought many big, strong 'punchers' ... but on the other hand, there's quite a big absence of smaller, clever, 'defensive' boxers on his resume.

 

Byrd wasn't very good though, and numerous of his wins were unconvincing, so I'd expect Lewis to ultimately beat him down, batter him around, knock him out or win a decision on sheer power and aggression.

 

Fixed.

 

fair point, you could be right,

I would still take Lewis over Byrd

Lewis to me is often under-rated. He is one of the best ever overall. Even late in his career.

 

Incorrect.

Lewis turned down Ruiz to fight Grant.

Lewis turned down a 10 million dollar pay and Chris Byrd to be inactive for 8 months and make a fight with Kirk Johnson for less money that was selling poorly.

Lewis only got the Tyson fight because he promised the IBF he would defend the belt against Byrd next. He broke his word, dumped the title, and tried to make a fight with Kirk Johnson.

 

Ruiz was not. Grant was seen as the bigger threa t. I believe Lewis made the right move in facing Grant instead of Ruiz.

However, Byrd was seen as a potentional bad match up for Lewis. I've posted numerous articles from ESPN, Sports Illustrated..etc. from the time that state this.

Johnson certainly was not hyped as a Lewis beater, especially after the egg he laid against John Ruiz. The Johnson/Lewis fight was on course to be a big bomb.

Here's a mainstream article, that mentions the very slow ticket sales for Johnson/Lewis as well as calling into question Lewis' willingness to meet Byrd. Byrd still wanted the Lewis fight.


But that doesn't mean the card at the Staples Center in Los Angeles is off, despite very slow ticket sales.
Lewis was reportedly in his finest shape since his first meeting with Evander Holyfield and may not want to waste a training camp in the Poconos.

Chris Byrd, the IBF title-holder, has volunteered to step in and replace his buddy Johnson.
Byrd, attending the International Hall of Fame ceremonies in Canastota, N.Y., (where, ironically, Johnson's trainer, Curtis Cokes, will be inducted this weekend), said, "I haven't seriously trained in six months, but I'm never really out of shape. I'd be ready by next Saturday."
But Lewis has made it clear that he doesn't want to fight the clever southpaw, who might still fit in the mix if, as expected, Don King makes a move.

[url]http://assets.espn.go.com/boxing/news/2003/0606/1564465.html[/url]

 

Can't believe I missed this comment. It is rather ironic.

Byrd's win over Vitali is just as legitmate as Lewis' win. Both were behind on the cards and scored a TKO. Byrd forced Vitali to quit by frustrating him and injuring his shoulder with his head movement. Lewis caused a bad cut that caused the doctor to force a stoppage.

And as I pointed out with the video, Vitali was not kicking Byrd's ass. He was outworking him but he was hardly landing anything. Remember Vitali was quicker than Lewis and throws in a higher volume, Lewis was a more damaging hitter but not as damaging as Wlad if Steward is to believed.