Does Lennox Lewis not fighting Bowe the second best HW from his era ruin his legacy?

My comment was referring to the reports of very slow ticket sells for Johnson/Lewis.

 

Yes, Lewis' words. I'm sure if Wlad came out and said people would rather see him fight Cunningham than Fury, Cunningham is more exciting, you would accept that and not call it a duck.

And at everyone at once. Maybe if he didn't already trash his title and fought Byrd when he was supposed to, he wouldn't have to.

 

I was 25. I'm from the USA..so maybe things were different in Vancouver.

The only contender with more momentum and buzz was Wlad. I've shown articles with Byrd winning ESPN polls etc. How can you even counter that?

 

I'm the Mongoose. This is no attempt to hide behind an alt. I got a temporary ban for calling King Tut a deformed imbred Caucasian, which he was.

I think there are a number of HWs you could slide into the "best since Ali" and Lewis is certainly among them.

 

I was an adult at the time as well, and I can provide articles that show what I remember, what I remember reading at the time. They are still up.

There was only serious buzz after Jones/Ruiz which had yet to happen. We are still in 2002 here.

 

-It was. This is how Lewis got to defend the IBF against Tyson. The winner of Lewis/Tyson had to agree to meet Byrd with a new purse bid deadline set for September and expected fight in December.

FEB 26: IBF exception terms released!

The conditions of the exception request granted by the IBF to Lennox Lewis allowing him to defend against WBC #1 Mike Tyson before facing IBF #1 Chris Byrd are as follows:

1. The winner of Lewis-Tyson must fight Chris Byrd next, with no intervening bout and no later than December 8.

2. Tyson must be licensed and a host venue must be in place for Tyson-Lewis by March 25.

3. If it appears Lewis-Tyson will not take place, Lewis must begin negotiations with Byrd immediately.

4. Byrd will be permitted one or more interim fights, but a loss will KO his mandatory position.

5. There will be no further exceptions granted.

6. Neither the Lewis-Tyson winner or Byrd shall engage in a fight after October 8.

Note: Byrd has ten days to appeal.

-Like you said, it was known Lewis had no intention of facing Byrd and his own attorney even commented as much. There was a need to get Holyfield/Byrd rolling so they could meet the December date. This is less than two months notice for a major fight already.

-No. Not in place of Vitali. In place of nothing in December of 2002. Well, Lewis wouldn't have had to wait if he didn't junk his title and just fought Byrd in December.

-The Dec. 7th date was set aside for Lewis/Byrd, which for all intents and purposes was still on until the September announcement. Why do you think this date was selected by HBO?

In the wake of Lennox Lewis' decision to vacate the IBF belt, the next move belongs to Evander Holyfield, who occupies the second position in the IBF's heavyweight ratings. Holyfield must decide if he wants to fight the top-rated Chris Byrd to fill the vacancy. Because the matter is the subject of ongoing litigation, Holyfield will be forced to make his decision fairly quickly as Byrd is entitled to fight for the IBF belt by December 8. "There's no timetable at this minute, but I don't want Chris Byrd to be penalized by having to wait much longer," said IBF attorney Linda Torres. "We have to start moving quickly to get Chris his title shot." Torres added that she planned to confer with IBF president Marian Muhammad after she arrived in Portland, Oregon, where Roy Jones will defend his light heavyweight championship this weekend. Holyfield expressed a preference not to face Byrd during his post-fight interview after defeating Hasim Rahman. However, Holyfield has never been known to shrink from a challenge and he has consistently stated that his goal is to unify the heavyweight titles before he retires. (Fightnews)



-Your article mentions that there would be no time to for a probable Lewis/Vitali to occur on that date, because of course the date was set to meet the Lewis/Byrd Dec. 8 deadline. And thanks to securing the belt before the deadline, King was able to get Byrd/Holyfield done with enough time to promote.

-I will call it a duck. Just like Bowe/Lewis. Maybe worse, since Byrd was given so few opportunities despite being willing to fight anyone.


This may set the record for the sale of ice in the winter," Burstein said, alluding the fact that Lewis intended all along to relinquish the IBF title.

 

Define clamoring?

 

If you are taking Lewis at his word, he doesn't really think about money anymore.


ATLANTIC CITY — There is a common misconception that the fighters other fighters most fear and avoid are big punchers, guys who can put you down and out with a single punch.
The actual profile of the sort of fighter most likely to be ducked whenever possible is something entirely different. He'd be lefthanded, cuter than Shirley Temple in those 1930s musicals, peskier than a swarm of mosquitoes at a picnic. He'd be someone who wouldn't only beat you, but make you look foolish in the bargain.


Holyfield who went to war with Lewis, Bowe, Tyson..etc. said he wanted no part of Byrd on the record and only agreed to fight him when he had no choice.

 

-How are they ethically any different? Isn't this exactly what Bowe signed? Rhetorical question, it is, in fact.

-Both parties win. King gets Byrd/Holyfield together for early December, and Lewis doesn't have to literally trash his title.

-Of course he didn't want it. You are going to have to prove HBO didn't want it. They certainly gave them the date.

When you word it that way, sounds like King is standing up for the greater good, and keeping Lewis from holding a title hostage.

 

So you are defending Lewis but calling him a liar in the same post.

Holyfield, a man who fought far more wars than Lewis, was scared of Byrd, but its ridiculous to suggest Byrd was.