I think so. He had a very good overall career but missed significant fights with prime Holyfield, Bowe and Holyfield. The two one punch ko losses to run of the mill contenders is a bad stain, as well.
Mason had a inflated record against dreadful competition. Bowe's close win over Tubbs was more impressive than Lewis's win over the unproven Mason. The Ruddock win was very good, but Tyson had just beat him twice. I think the Ruddock win might be Lewis's best win, actually. Also, Bowe beat a prime Holyfield , whereas Lewis beat a faded version. The Golota ko was impressive. But, I don't think the Bowe who twice lost to Golota was nearly as good as the prime Bowe of 92-93. Lewis was behind in the Vitali fight when it was stopped on cuts. That win has to be put in proper context.
I think the consensus is that Lewis would beat Bowe. I certainly think so, and it seems to me that by ducking Lewis, Bowe thought so too. Lewis has had his crummy performances too, make no mistake, but Golota's carpet bombing of Bowe was brutal. Lewis never looked that bad imho.
I wouldn't say so. Bowe was shot after 1996, Lennox went on to have seven dominant years. Lennox is recognized as an ATG, whereas Bowe is pretty much on the fringe and has a somewhat tarnished legacy. He lost plenty of support after dumping that belt in the trash I assure you. Bowe was on his way to being an ATG and he ruined it, once Eddie Futch dumped him that was pretty much it for him. I mean if you look at Bowe's resume you got prime Holyfield and that's basically it. And Holyfield was not a big puncher.
True, but Lewis took that fight on two weeks notice, and it was mostly the first two rounds Vitali dominated. The last four once Lewis adjusted to Vitali's style were much closer, if not a slight advantage for Lewis. The cut was bad a undoubtedly helped him as well. Plus Lewis was as out of shape as I ever saw him in that fight. I personally think beating Tyson was Lewis' last great goal, and once he did that he lost a lot of hunger. I think he recognized it and got out at the right time, though he probably should have given Vitali one rematch.
I think the destruction Golota laid on Bowe in two back-to-back fights and then the immediate whooping from Lewis he received left little doubt that Lewis was on that playing field among the boxing public. Even if Bowe was shot.
The problem with the Golota fight as a measuring stick is Golota took a shot of lidocaine before the bout for arthritis in his knee and had a terrible reaction to it. He suffered a seizure and his pulse stopped. He would win a 1.4 million dollar settlement. That fight should of been canceled and rescheduled. These facts came out after but all you have to do is look at Golota that night he is visibly off.
I think that he was underrated while he was active, and the inevitable historical overcorrection has since set in. I think that his opposition compares very favourably to that of other all-time greats.
I don't care for correction or the new favorite word of the day, overcorrection, Lewis is a top 5 all time heavy, probaby Top 3. My estimation needs no correction.
That's true. And it applies to most heavyweights and fighters in general. Underrated while active and over glorified in retirement. Lewis is a top 10 heavy.
Tyson was nothing close to his prime, but he still would've beaten quite a few of the top ten at the time he fought Lewis and was ranked near the top of the division. People tend to forget that.
That's very debatable. The ring annual ratings for 2002 was: Lennox Lewis Wlad Byrd Tua Holyfield Ruiz Vitali Kirk Johnson Tyson Jameel Mccline Considering Tyson would lose 2 of his next three bouts to Danny Williams and Kevin Mcbride I doubt he defeats many on that list. Tyson was shot as far back as 97 against Botha. His fights were more like freakshows at this point.
