Not only could Lewis handle Foreman, but I think he stops Big George. At their best I'd make Lewis the favorite. I tend to think that he tools, the size and the ability to keep George at bay and occupied long enough for him to wear down via an accumulation of punches and succumb to a TKO stoppage. George lacks the handspeed, defense and techinique for me to see it any other way. He does however have the one punch power. But so did Tua, Ruddock, Morrison, Briggs, Tyson (though poorly aged), Bruno, V Klitschko and Mercer. These fighters had, regardless of when he met them, enough power to get the job done. Like Larry Merchant would say "....he may have chinks in his armor, but look at all that armor..." Regarding Ali-Lewis, it would be an uphill battle for Muhammad. Lewis's size and skill would definately make it interesting. Lennox has a great jab, he's pretty fluid for his size and he's technically competant. I think he uses his size and ability to his upmost advantage. If a fight were brewing at thier absolute best with both fighters fighting a unification bout to determine the true champ, though I pick Ali, I think a strong case can be made for Lennox.
Problem is that Lewis is also very skilled fighter in techical way...his top amateur...other than many alis opponent in 70th..only size doen't mean nothing, without skills.
I rank Lewis as a top 10 hw all time. Probably the same for Foreman. You mention guys that don't even come close to either in class - Tua etc. Why is Lewis such an uphill battle for Ali? I think Lewis could thank his lucky stars just getting by Foreman, to say nothing about Ali. You need to consider Ali fought against a WIDE variety of boxing talent, size, and style, and beat them all.. especially in his prime. Lewis never did.... crap, the guy got Koed by Rahman, who is hardly an ATG by anybody's stupid, imaginary stretching. I'll agree the Rahman thing is a fluke, but it is a fluke that would have never happened to Ali or Foreman in their primes. In a unification match, prime vs prime, Ali kills Lewis... NO ifs, ands, or buts about it!
Don't be so short sighted, You're thinking about what Ali is going to do to Lennox moreso than what Lennox is going to do in return. Lennox was a great fighter and IMO would always offer a competitive fight for anyone. Dont think of Ali the legend think of Ali the fighter. Lewis was accurate he had pretty good handspeed for his size. Its not as clear cut as you think. Lewis could win. I agree with you and say Ali wins but if Lewis was around during Ali's era, it would be on of his toughest wins; not in the same grueling sense like how he suffered with Frazier but more like a strategic difficulty that he struggled with against Norton.
Ali would have trouble, no doubt in my mind- Lewis was a big physical guy, good jab himself and had good power (also decent movement). Ali wouldn't hurt Lewis, and Ali would stay respectful of the power. It's a winnable fight for Lewis, especially if he stays active. Bottom line is that Ali would have some "big" issues to overcome.
Lewis fought numerous fighters who varied in size, talent and style. While I think Ali faced men who were a bit better, Lewis definately faced a wide array of great contenders. Ruddock, Morrison, Mason, Klitschko, Tua, Bruno, and several others who were all good figthers. In fact, few champions ever beat more men who were ranked than Lewis. Foreman and Ali are among my favorite fighters, but let's not get one sided here. Foreman lost to Young, and Ali had his jaw broked by Norton. Lewis's defeat to Rahman came at the age of 35, which was hardly prime, and Ali lost to Spinks at a fairly comparable age of 36. If you were to say, Ali beats Lewis, then I'd agree. To say that he "kills" Lewis however, leaves plenty of room for some ifs, and's and buts. Ali defeated some big men like Mathis and Terell, but neither of those guys were anywhere near Lewis's equal in talent, skill or power. I would favor Ali to win a decision over any version of Lewis, but make no mistake about it, Lewis could give Ali fits, and on the right night even beat him.
let's see the worst off night for Ali, and the most "on" night for Lewis... even then Ali kicks the Lion's butt. If you think Lewis faced the same sort of competition Ali faced during their respective careers.... I'd like some of the drugs you are taking!
Is it just me or is Lennox getting a bit overrated, in regards to george and lennox, i think style wise this is a nightmare for lennox.
I think it's the other way around actually. Foreman's ideal situation is a fighter who comes at him like Frazier. A good, skilled boxer with a solid chin is his nightmare, watch the Ali and Young fights. And Lewis is exactly that: great footwork, sense of distance, pacing, punch variety etc. And he has great power to go with it contrary to the former two. He is very adept at landing straight, long punches from a distance which is exactly where Foreman's already leaky defense is open to.
Lewis is a gifted big man ,probably the best of them ,evry one semms to consider him a good mover ,I would say for his size he is ,but his footwork is light years behind Ali's,and it is that foot speed that would be the key in this fight,I like Ali by clear dec here.
I already agreed that Ali should be favored in this fight. I don't think that it's unreanable to think that a sharp Lewis against a flat Ali could win on the right night though. Do you really think that Ken Norton was exponentially better than Lennox Lewis? I didn't say that. I simply stated that Lewis defeated a very wide array of very good fighters, some of which ( but not all ) may have been contenders in Ali's day. Ali didn't always fight great men either. I still feel that Ali was a better fighter, but I also think that you're really short changing Lewis
Had Lennox Lewis fought from 1960-1975 his record would be much patchier. I think Liston would blow him out, and Ali would outclass him - I'd favour a prime Foreman to overwhelm him with power, and I think he'd lose at least once to Frazier in 3 fights. Someone like Shavers could put him to sleep early on an off night, it'd certainly be interesting to watch Lewis' performances in that era.
That is the key i think, lewis hasn't fought anyone like Ali in regards to his hands and footspeed.It's very difficult to have an answer to his kind of speed.