1996 - "Tyson Ducked Lewis" ?

the thing that confuses me what did lewis achieve pre 96 to make tyson frightened of him i think tyson would have fought him in a flash the big difference was lewis was far better managed than tyson did lewis even deserve to be offered £13 million at that point bruno only got £3 million for the tyson fight and he was the champion

 

Look at how much trouble Ruddock gave him and then look at how easily Lewis brushed Ruddock aside. That and this wasn't prime Tyson we still really didn't know how good he was as he had been out of the game for some time.

 

ruddock was finished after the tyson fights thats not an excuse thats a fact i mean lewis struggled against bruno and a washed up tony tucker as soon as he met a decent opponent in oliver mccall he was knocked out in 2 rounds to me tyson was finished as soon as he got out the slammer holyfield exposed the fact that tysons legs were gone if they had fought in 96 i think lewis would have won if they met at there peak tyson would have won inside 4 rounds unless lewis done a bonecrusher and held on for dear life

 

Nope, that's actually an opinion.

King didn't want it in '96, and Mike at that time just wanted to do what he was told. I don't think Tyson was seriously terrified of Lewis, but he certainly should've been aware of the danger he posed; those trying to just write off Lewis '96 as someone to be easily ignored are just plain wrong.

So, in conclusion, **** you Don King.

 

Lewis turned down the multi-million dollar purse because it came with strings attached. Namely giving promotional rights to Don King.

Lewis wanted to go to purse bids, which would mean NO STRINGS ATTACHED

Tyson payed him 4million$ not to.

 

Lewis was at his absolute peak in 1996 I think.

 

No, it is an excuse actually, if not an outright lie. He was still as highly regarded as he ever was following the Tyson fights and was favored to beat Lennox when they fought.

 

Highly regarded and reality are two different things. His future performances would suggest he wasnt the same.

 

Tyson took a lot of punishment and by that time was reduced to a crude brawler, but he did show a lot of grit in my opinion. Ruddock in my opinion was never the same. Even though, as said, he was never that great anyway, he approached the Tyson fights with a lot of intensity and desire and thats what most likely allowed him to keep getting up and yes he looked like the elephant man at the end of the second fight.

 

To what extent? By definition, "finished" fighters aren't highly regarded.

Future performances can't rewrite the past. There was nothing that suggested he was "finished" until after Lennox KO'd him.

 

It doesnt rewrite the past, it puts it in the proper perspective in most cases. "Most" fighters have a turning point in their career where they start to decline or become less consistent from their respective peak. Some quicker than others. Thats a big part of what we discuss on this board, and more often than not, its pretty obviously there on their records.
Im not trying to diminish Lewis win, because its probably one of his best, but you cant overlook the fact that he went through some serious beatings against Tyson and personally I think that took a lot out of him, as it would from any fighter.

 

He shoulda did the same in 01.