Considering how well he did against a pre prime but much better version than Vitali fought, I'm far from convinced. Lewis didn't know the meaning of the word defence that night and that's dangerous against a puncher like Bruno.
For about half this thread the question seems to have been how well Bruno would do vs Vitali's opponents and Lewis was one of them.
This is actually a good point. I do find it hilarious how they have selective outrage when it comes to seeking out rematches. If you want to excuse Vitali not aggressively pursuing a rematch with Byrd, then Lewis certainly also gets a pass for not rematching Vitali. Lewis was also a washed up old fighter who had nothing left to prove while Vitali was in his prime and had plenty of time to go after Byrd again.
I brought up Bruno to point out that even B level belt holders like him would do well against Vitali's opponents.
he showed a good chin in those 6 rounds no question. but it is not enough to make a case for an ATG chin
I couldn't possibly disagree more strongly with your assertion Bruno was good at surviving when hurt. I was a Bruno fan, but he had literally the worst survival instincts when hurt of any fighter I've ever seen. I think a common misconception is that Bruno had a weak chin. I don't think his chin was especially weak. I think he was as hard to hurt as the next guy. The problem is, all you had to do was stun him to stop him. When hurt he didn't clinch, didn't tuck up into a high guard and didn't move his head or feet. He literally stood static, there to be hit with free shots. Bruno was badly hurt in the 1st round of the Jumbo Cummings fight, just before the bell saved him. He was literally stopped every other time he was hurt in his career. Watch Bonecrusher Smith's stoppage of him, which incidentally is the only time in his career he was put on the floor, he literally stood static, no guard, no movement, no attempt to hold, he just stood still and got punched shot after shot: This content is protected His stoppage losses to Witherspoon, Tyson and Lewis were similar in the regard Bruno literally made no attempt to defend himself once hurt. To the extent i find them disturbing to watch back. Bruno's ability to survive when hurt was absolutely horrible. He was gassed in the 12th vs McCall, not hurt.
It's probably his biggest weakness. If someone said it's his achilles heel it would be hard to refute.
Vitali was a top 15 great imo. I only wish he could have had better competition. The best fighter he ever faced was obviously past it and still won...that bugs me some.
Good points, except Foreman tried mightily to get a rematch with Ali right? Also he had said his wife was making him retiring after Briggs-understandable since I think she likely was agitating for it for a while, & he was almost 49. But your overall point is sound.
I said he was very good at holding on while attempting to survive, not that he was good at surviving being hurt in general. He frustrated Tyson with his grabbing when he had him hurt. Bruno was as strong as an ox and there are few heavyweights who could break out of his clinch, certainly not the mediocre guys Vitali fought. Samuel Peter didn't have even 30% of the finishing ability and skill of some of the guys who stopped Bruno, he was extremely sloppy. That was the context of the conversation.
The scoring in that fight was despicable. I still can't watch it to this day because I get irrationally angry. Foreman deserved better.
Yes he tried for years to get the rematch with Ali. Foreman was the NABF champion and technically Ali's mandatory so it was actually Ali ducking. I don't hold it against Ali since he had nothing left to prove in the sport, was getting old, and cemented himself as an ATG at that point. He retired after the Young loss for religious reasons.
You said - "even if Bruno got hurt, he was very good at holding on AND SURVIVING" - he wasn't. He was truly hopeless at it. His career evidences this. Its one of the most obviously erroneous claims I've read on here. Please don't conflate him holding Tyson at points in their fight with Bruno being effective at holding on and surviving when hurt. I rate Pauli Malinaggi's power higher than Bruno's ability to hold on and survive when hurt. I'm serious, btw.
