Boxers you would have liked to see Lewis fight

Berlenbach · Nov 12, 2015

Saad54 said: ↑

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.
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Moorer-Lewis would have been interesting, though I don't think Moorer was very interested in that one. After beating Holyfield he was asked if he intended to face Lewis. His response was along the lines of "I'll fight who I want to fight, not who you want me to fight." Turned out he wanted to fight a 45 year old who hadn't fought in a year, and lost.

Mendoza · Nov 12, 2015

Ike Ibeabuchi in 1998 or 1999! Lewis might be KO here, or might have won.

John Ruiz. Any time. Ruiz would have been knocked out. Lewis dropped a belt to avoid Ruiz.

Chris Byrd. Just to see if Lewis had some issues with quick boxers. 1998-2002. Lewis dropped a blet to avoid Byrd

Bowe. Early to mid-1990's.

Sanders. Often mentioned in the press, Lewis did not pick him for reasons. Possible upset here. 1997-2002.

Foxy 01 · Nov 12, 2015

Mendoza said: ↑

Ike Ibeabuchi in 1998 or 1999! Lewis might be KO here, or might have won.
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What makes you think Ike was any more deserving than Briggs, or Mavrovic in 98? He had only beaten Tua who was worth mentioning. As for 99, why on earth would Lewis decide to defend his sole title against Ike, when he could fight Holy and win 2 more titles? After March of that year it was a moot point anyway, because Ibeabuchi had bigger things to worry about.

John Ruiz. Any time. Ruiz would have been knocked out. Lewis dropped a belt to avoid Ruiz.
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Yes Ruiz would have been knocked out, but fighting Ruiz would have meant doing business with Don King, which Lewis always tried to avoid if possible. So instead of fighting Ruiz in 2000, he fought Grant, Botha, and errmmm,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, oh yeah the guy who had previously KTFO Ruiz in a single round. Some " avoidance. "

Chris Byrd. Just to see if Lewis had some issues with quick boxers. 1998-2002. Lewis dropped a blet to avoid Byrd
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In 98 - 2000 whilst Lewis was fighting Briggs, Mavrovic, Holyfield and the 3 mentioned above, Byrd was fighting for nothing until April 2000 when he won Vitali's title which he promptly lost to his brother in the October of that year. Then it was back to meaningless fights for Mickey Mouse belts until December 2002.

By which time Lewis had fought Tyson for the highest grossing fight ever ( at that time ) and elected to fight Johnson, and Vitali in 2003.

The rest we know with regards to Johnson's injury and the VK fight being brought forward 6 months.

Anyone seriously believing Lewis " avoided " Byrd in order to fight both Johnson and Klitchko is delusional.

Bowe. Early to mid-1990's.
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The blame for that fight not happening can only be laid at Bowe's door. He dumped the belt originally, and the derisory 90 - 10% later offer to Lewis has been done to death on this board. Anyone with a brain knows Bowe and Newman NEVER had any serious intention of fighting Lewis.

Sanders. Often mentioned in the press, Lewis did not pick him for reasons. Possible upset here. 1997-2002.
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Add McCall ( regained his WBC title ) Akinwande, and Golota to the fighters, listed above and tell me who he should NOT have fought in order to accommodate Sanders, whilst Corrie was content fighting the likes of Weathers, Purrity, Cole, Sprott, Tisdale, and getting stopped by Rahman.

In 2001 Lewis fought said Rahman who had already stopped Sanders, but Lewis invoked the rematch clause, which took up that year.

You are not seriously going to suggest Lewis should have fought Sanders instead of earning his biggest ever payday against Tyson in 2002 are you?
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Thread Stealer · Nov 12, 2015

Rid**** Bowe, obviously.

2piece · Nov 12, 2015

Rid**** Bowe, George Foreman, and Larry Holmes.

BCS8 · Nov 13, 2015

Foxy 01 said: ↑

Mendoza said: ↑

Add McCall ( regained his WBC title ) Akinwande, and Golota to the fighters, listed above and tell me who he should NOT have fought in order to accommodate Sanders, whilst Corrie was content fighting the likes of Weathers, Purrity, Cole, Sprott, Tisdale, and getting stopped by Rahman.
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Mavrovic, Akinwande, Botha and Justin friggin Fortune are NOT better than Sanders, and I can say that with 100% confidence.

That said, looking through Lewis' resume again, he has to be given credit for fighting a who's who of fighters at the time. I guess a guy with that sort of resume is entitled to a few soft touches now and again.
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Saad54 · Nov 13, 2015

Foxy 01 said: ↑

Mendoza said: ↑

What makes you think Ike was any more deserving than Briggs, or Mavrovic in 98? He had only beaten Tua who was worth mentioning. As for 99, why on earth would Lewis decide to defend his sole title against Ike, when he could fight Holy and win 2 more titles? After March of that year it was a moot point anyway, because Ibeabuchi had bigger things to worry about.

Yes Ruiz would have been knocked out, but fighting Ruiz would have meant doing business with Don King, which Lewis always tried to avoid if possible. So instead of fighting Ruiz in 2000, he fought Grant, Botha, and errmmm,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, oh yeah the guy who had previously KTFO Ruiz in a single round. Some " avoidance. "

In 98 - 2000 whilst Lewis was fighting Briggs, Mavrovic, Holyfield and the 3 mentioned above, Byrd was fighting for nothing until April 2000 when he won Vitali's title which he promptly lost to his brother in the October of that year. Then it was back to meaningless fights for Mickey Mouse belts until December 2002.

By which time Lewis had fought Tyson for the highest grossing fight ever ( at that time ) and elected to fight Johnson, and Vitali in 2003.

The rest we know with regards to Johnson's injury and the VK fight being brought forward 6 months.

Anyone seriously believing Lewis " avoided " Byrd in order to fight both Johnson and Klitchko is delusional.

The blame for that fight not happening can only be laid at Bowe's door. He dumped the belt originally, and the derisory 90 - 10% later offer to Lewis has been done to death on this board. Anyone with a brain knows Bowe and Newman NEVER had any serious intention of fighting Lewis.

Add McCall ( regained his WBC title ) Akinwande, and Golota to the fighters, listed above and tell me who he should NOT have fought in order to accommodate Sanders, whilst Corrie was content fighting the likes of Weathers, Purrity, Cole, Sprott, Tisdale, and getting stopped by Rahman.

In 2001 Lewis fought said Rahman who had already stopped Sanders, but Lewis invoked the rematch clause, which took up that year.

You are not seriously going to suggest Lewis should have fought Sanders instead of earning his biggest ever payday against Tyson in 2002 are you?
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I didn't read all your post, but from the little I read at the top - Ike beating Tua was a better win than anything Mavroric had done, and arguably a better win than Briggs controversially outpointing a largely inactive, ready to retire foreman.
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Foxy 01 · Nov 13, 2015

BCS8 said: ↑

Foxy 01 said: ↑

Mavrovic, Akinwande, Botha and Justin friggin Fortune are NOT better than Sanders, and I can say that with 100% confidence.

That said, looking through Lewis' resume again, he has to be given credit for fighting a who's who of fighters at the time. I guess a guy with that sort of resume is entitled to a few soft touches now and again.
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Perhaps you are unaware of this.

In his first comeback fight Lewis was given a chance to fight for the mandatory challenger position within the WBC and won it by knocking out American contender Lionel Butler. However, at the behest of promoter Don King, the WBC bypassed him and gave Mike Tyson the first chance at the title recently been won by Briton Frank Bruno from Oliver McCall. Bruno had previously lost to both Lewis and Tyson.

Lewis had the number 1 contender's slot in the WBC rankings when he knocked out Australian Justin Fortune, then defeated former WBO Champion Tommy Morrison in October 1995, followed by Olympic gold medallist and former WBO champion Ray Mercer in a close majority decision in May 1996. Lewis successfully sued to force Tyson to make a mandatory defence of the WBC title against him or force him to give up the title, winning a four million dollar settlement from promoter Don King. Rather than fight Lewis, Tyson relinquished the WBC title to fight Evander Holyfield. The WBC title was declared vacant. This set up a rematch between Lewis and McCall, who met on 7 February 1997 in Las Vegas for the WBC title.
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Foxy 01 · Nov 13, 2015

Saad54 said: ↑

Foxy 01 said: ↑

I didn't read all your post, but from the little I read at the top - Ike beating Tua was a better win than anything Mavroric had done, and arguably a better win than Briggs controversially outpointing a largely inactive, ready to retire foreman.
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Your determination to vilify Lewis is laughable. So Ibeabuchi fights 16 nobodies, pulls out a good win against Tua in his 17th fight, and you claim he " deserves " a shot at Lewis. Akinwande in 97 had fought far better than the dross Ike fed on up until the Tua fight. The same goes for Mavrovic, who had won and defended his Euro title 6 times.

So too had Golota. His 2 fights with Bowe alone surpassed anything Ike had done even though he got DQ'd whilst ahead both times.

Is it just Lewis you criticise? Or do you think the big Nigerian was more deserving of a crack at Holyfields titles as well in 98 instead of Vaughn Bean?
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Hookie · Nov 13, 2015

Bowe- had they met in '93 I think Bowe wins by KO, with Manny Steward... I'll take Lewis by decision.

W. Klitschko- great fight but Lewis has Manny and Klitschko does not. Lewis by late round TKO.

Foreman- Lewis outboxes Foreman but Foreman rocks Lewis a few times.

Holmes- Holmes gives Lewis a good fight but Lewis wins by decision.

Ibeabuchi- great fight, Lewis by decision.

Moorer- Lewis by KO.

Byrd- Lewis by decision.

Sanders- Lewis by KO after getting rocked a couple of times.

Toney- great fight, Lewis by decision.

Ruiz- Lewis by KO.

Peter- Lewis by TKO.

Maskaev- Lewis by KO

Closer to prime versions of Holyfield and Tyson. Holyfield by decision and Lewis by late round TKO.

Rematches vs. Mercer and V. Klitschko. Holyfield by decision and V. Klitschko by decision which sets up a rubber match... Lewis wins the 3rd fight by close decision.

HerolGee · Nov 13, 2015

Ike and Bowe spring to mind, other than that, theres nothing exciting.

certainly none of the upcoming bum of the months from the K bro club, with the possible exception of Chaggy, arguably wlads best defence, as a stay busy or easy retirement fight for Lewis.

Saad54 · Nov 13, 2015

Foxy 01 said: ↑

Saad54 said: ↑

Your determination to vilify Lewis is laughable. So Ibeabuchi fights 16 nobodies, pulls out a good win against Tua in his 17th fight, and you claim he " deserves " a shot at Lewis. Akinwande in 97 had fought far better than the dross Ike fed on up until the Tua fight. The same goes for Mavrovic, who had won and defended his Euro title 6 times.

So too had Golota. His 2 fights with Bowe alone surpassed anything Ike had done even though he got DQ'd whilst ahead both times.

Is it just Lewis you criticise? Or do you think the big Nigerian was more deserving of a crack at Holyfields titles as well in 98 instead of Vaughn Bean?
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I'm not even trying to vilify Lewis. I just think Ike was better than those two guys and his win over Tua was better than anything they had done. If anything, I am criticizing Briggs and Mavrovic.

Your assertion that Mavrovic deserved a shot at Lewis more than Ike is weak. As weak as Mavrovic's quality of opposition as European Champion.

Ike v. Lewis would have been a great fight and I can see why some posters would have liked to have seen him fight Lewis.

Of course, Holyfield could have fought better guys than Bean.

This thread is simply about who people would have liked to see Lewis fight and you seem to be on the defensive, thinking Lewis always fought the best available contenders all the time, which is simply not the case.
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Frankel · Nov 14, 2015

Foxy 01 said: ↑

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?
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Lewis actually avoided all three of these fighters. Larry Holmes claims in his autobiography "Against The Odds". He offered Lewis a fight in mid 1992, yet Lewis told him, he was not interested. claiming Holmes was still a top fighter with an excellent jab.

Lewis made claim in a SkySports interview with Johnny Nelson, that he "Avoided Michael Moorer in 1997 due to him being a southpaw.

Lewis boasted in 2002, "One brother for breafast, the other brother for Tea".. Lewis thought of the brothers as "easy meat" yet after his very fortunate win over Vitali. Lewis ran off into retirement, with his trousers full of brown, at the thought of the better brother Wladimir.

Corrie Sanders fought on the undercard of Lewis vs McCall (1) in 1994 as well as a couple of other Lewis fight cards. Sanders called for a Lewis fight for years.

John Ruiz also called for a Lewis fight from 99-2003 when No1 contender and WBA Champion.

turnip · Nov 14, 2015

Frankel said: ↑

Lewis actually avoided all three of these fighters. Larry Holmes claims in his autobiography "Against The Odds". He offered Lewis a fight in mid 1992, yet Lewis told him, he was not interested. claiming Holmes was still a top fighter with an excellent jab.

Lewis made claim in a SkySports interview with Johnny Nelson, that he "Avoided Michael Moorer in 1997 due to him being a southpaw.

Lewis boasted in 2002, "One brother for breafast, the other brother for Tea".. Lewis thought of the brothers as "easy meat" yet after his very fortunate win over Vitali. Lewis ran off into retirement, with his trousers full of brown, at the thought of the better brother Wladimir.

Corrie Sanders fought on the undercard of Lewis vs McCall (1) in 1994 as well as a couple of other Lewis fight cards. Sanders called for a Lewis fight for years.

John Ruiz also called for a Lewis fight from 99-2003 when No1 contender and WBA Champion.
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Lewis freighted of Vlad ?.F#ck me I have heard it all now. he beat his big brother remember the one who take a punch cut him to ribbons 60 stitches I think .would be a short painful night for Vlad all over in two rnds.

McGrain · Nov 14, 2015

Bowe, Wladimir.

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Boxers you would have liked to see Lewis fight

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