Where Would Lennox slot in amongst the big names of the 70 's ?

Only prime Foreman has a serious chance. Holmes would probably make it a close fight but I don't see him actually pulling it off.
Ali in the 70s no longer had the consistent footspeed and reflexes to get in score some shots and get back out on Lewis without taking serious artillery and being out punched.
Norton gets iced early. Frazier gets manhandled and blasted out in 5. He starts too slow and Lewis was vulnerable to the straight right but not the hook.
Lyle and shavers are outclassed 9/10 times but have a slim punchers chance.

 

I'm not as confident he would beat the elites as much as you are. But I think he would beat Norton and the best of the rest with your Lyles and Quarrys etc

 

Lennox vs Frazier is a toss up
Lennox vs ali, I'd favor ali but also a toss up
Lennox vs Holmes is also a toss up
Lennox vs foreman would be particularly interesting because you have a great agile boxer with a chin of glass against a brute slugger that wouldn't go down. Either for foreman by k.o. or lennox on points.
Lennox desimates norton though.

 

Lennox Lewis could likely have been the reigning champion.

 

Lewis would of dispatched Frazier without much difficulty. Short, squat, left hookers like Tua and Morrison, Lewis handled with ease. Lewis, jab, uppercut and tendency to use his size on smaller men by leaning on them would pose nightmares for Frazier.

Foreman definitely has a punchers chance. Foreman had a good jab too and we saw how guys with good jabs like Mercer, Bruno and Vitali gave Lewis problems. How Lewis dealt with opponents with good jabs was to become more aggressive and bomb then out, not exactly the smartest thing to do with Foreman. If Lewis isn't 100% focused he gets knocked out.

Ali was passed his best, too easy to hit, not mobile enough but his speed, skills and ring generalship were on a level Lewis never faced. I don't think this is an easy fight for Lewis, it's close, he fails to put Ali away like he did with Mavrovic and Ali with his flashy combo's steals plenty of rounds from Lewis but Lewis does enough to win a close decision or perhaps Ali wins a controversial decision.

Norton was an awkward fighter but his lack of durability costs him in the end, after a few tricky rounds Lewis finds his range and bombs him out.

Holmes, jab and durability give Lewis problems. But Lewis as I said before being out jabbed would jump on Holmes and Lewis would try and over power Holmes and unlike Foreman Holmes doesn't have the power to keep Lewis off him. Holmes chin and heart ensure he doesn't fold but I think Lewis is too big and too strong and wins a competitive decision.

 

For some reason, I always think of Holmes as an 80s fighter.

 

One thing to note about Lewis is that he didn't get knocked out by the hardest punchers he met. I think Lewis would be ready for Foreman's power and it should be noted that it's not like Foreman could just plow through Lewis' power absentmindedly with reckless abandon. He was put on the canvas by Lyle and even Ali's right hand had him staggering as early as round 4. Just like Foreman's power could be a nightmare for Lewis, Lewis power could be likewise for Foreman. If Lewis chin wasn't in doubt, it's no question that I'd pick him to lay Foreman out.

 

Same here

 

People forget the Ali Lewis style match up. Ali almost always enjoyed a size advantage and it was almost always his opponent who had to get inside HIS reach to score. Not the case at all with Lewis.
I don't think Ali would be comfortable at all in the unfamiliar role as the agressor while having to keep his head out of the way of Lewis bombs.

In contrast Lewis, as a young amateur had just watched an entire generation of Ali copycats and as an Ali fan(as every boxer growing up back then probably was) was intimately familiar with Ali's style and had extensive experience boxing with guys of Ali's height and reach and probably had some of the aging Ali copycats as sparring partners.

Ali would be very uncomfortable having to Bob and weave to get inside Lewis reach, body work would be highly advisable(which Ali didn't do) and on the inside he would be faced with lewis' physical strength and uppercut.

Only way Ali wins is fighting the way holyfield did against Douglas and he no longer had the youth reflexes and legs to do that in the 70s




Now the Lewis Frazier thread has been done before and I've said my piece. I would bet my house on Lewis

 

Lennox Lewis would have started fav against all of the 70's HW . However if
he fought in the timeline of the thread. Then the Lewis of the McCall or
Rahman would have turned up. This version would by ko in 2 by Foreman ,
out jabbed and out boxed by Ali and Holmes , stopped by a buzzsaw Frazier in
8 rds and Ron Lyle have a punchers chance of ko him early.

 

Where would he slot in?

The answer is somewhere.

Some fighters are just too good not t hold the title at some point, even if they share an era with someone better.

 

Lennox would do well, beat Bonavena, Quarry, and Young. But Ali, Holmes, Foreman, and Frazier would do him in, and I would give a strong puncher's chance to Foster, Lyle, and Shavers.