Boxers you would have liked to see Lewis fight

Bowe
Foreman
Horace Notice

 

Bowe

 

Chris Byrd.

Yes, that is my pick.

It would have told us a lot.

 

Rid**** Nowe...er..Bowe

 

Ricardo Lopez

 

When EXACTLY would you like to have seen these " mythical " fights?

Lewis turned pro in 89, and you want him to fight Holmes in the " early " 90's? What, 90, 91, 92? Unfortunately Larry had 3 years off after 88, and came back against the likes of Anderson and Gonzales. Sh it for want of a better word. In fairness he then has a good win against Mercer, but loses to Holy, then gets back to fighting dross.

Moorer in 93 was fighting guys like Bonecrusher Smith beaten 10 times, Swindell beaten 8 times, Pritchard beaten 9 times, Evans beaten 7 times, then a good win against Holy. By the time Lewis gets on a good run, Moorer is losing to old man Foreman, Holyfield, and drawing with Dale Crowe.

As far as Vlad goes, lets get things in perspective here. Mercer was 41 when he fought Klitchko. Corrie Sanders was 37 and far more interested in golf than boxing when he KTFO Vladimir 3 months before Lewis retired.

So once again, EXACTLY when was Lewis supposed to face these " world " beaters?

 

Would of been nice to see him face a quality southpaw since rumors were he struggled with the stance.

As for a singular orthodox fighter I think most would say Bowe.

Wlad's peak hit after Lewis retired so I'm not as interested in that one although it's a great fantasy fight.

 

Bowe, obviously. Byrd would have been intriguing too.

 

Corrie Sanders. Corrie wanted that fight for a long time

 

Ike Ibeabuchi

 

Byrd was barely in the ratings in 2000 when he faced Wlad. Mercer was an old man.

 

Bowe is the obvious choice, he's the one that got away and the one guy who Lewis didn't face that really mattered. Whether it would have been in 93 when it should have happened or in 95 when they were signed to fight prior to the loss to McCall, it's a fight I would have wanted to see. It's a real shame that by 96 only 4 years after Bowe won the title, he was shot.

As for the others mentioned. Holmes was too far gone to have been competitive, it's not a fight I would have been interested in.

Moorer would have been a good fight had it happened in 94, it's a shame Moorer showed no interest in facing Lewis after he won the title. When questioned about Lewis after the Holyfield fight he said "I have no burning desire to fight anyone" which says a lot about his attitude and explains why he went for a supposedly easy first defence in Foreman. Also with Hindsight, Moorer's fragile chin wouldn't have lasted to long against Lewis but it still would have been seen as a good fight at the time.

As for Wlad in 2002, he simply wasn't ready back then as proven later by the Sanders and Brewster fights. His promoters back in 2002 didn't think he was ready, even Tommy Brooks who was assisting with his training then said prior to the Mercer fight he needed 2-3 more fights before facing Lewis. At the time he would have made a good challenger but the fight itself would have been one of Lewis' easier defences.

 

Bowe (in the 1992-93 time frame, Holyfield (1992-1996 versions)

 

Larry beat Mercer (much easier than Lewis did) in 1992, then fought Holyfield in a WBC title fight. I think the poster is saying Lewis-Holmes would have been an intriguing fight in the 1992-1993 time frame.

Moorer and Lewis held world titles concurrently. They could have fought either as a defense for Lewis, before Moorer fought Holyfield, or in a unification fight in 1994, before both got knocked out.

Lewis was WBC champion in 2002. He could have fought Wlad after the Tyson fight, before Sanders got to Wlad. Wlad was already a big name and it would have been a good money fight, especially in Germany.

I think Lewis would have won all three of these matchups. Wlad and Moorer were weak in the chin department. I think Larry, actually, would have been the toughest of the three but he didn't have the movement he had in his prime and I think Lewis could get him with the right hand. He'd have to be wary of Larry's right, though. I think Lewis would have outscored Larry for a fairly close decision.