Evander Holyfield vs Lennox Lewis in their primes?

He WOULD win? I'm sorry, where did you buy tickets to see this fight? :yep

I back Holyfield as well, but saying he would win for sure, like Lewis has virtually no chance is ridiculous.

 

Holyfield weighed 202 in his first fight at HW and 210 in his 2nd. Yes, he was 205 in his first fight with Bowe but this was his 2nd lowest weight at HW... he had weighed as much as 212 prior to his 1st fight with Bowe in 1992 (he was 212 vs. Stewart in 1989, his 5th fight at HW). He was 217 vs. Bowe in their 2nd fight, 1993.

 

Qawi was still very good and it was only Holyfield's 12th pro fight. He had only been a pro for less than 20 months. They fought again and Holyfield stopped him, only Holyfield and Foreman were able to stop him.

 

'vander as usual gets woefully sold shrt.

Evander was a real sharp puncher.

 

Lewis. Lewis was an even better boxer than Bowe, who pounded Holyfield in 2 of 3 fights, losing the 2nd one via razor thin margin.

 

I don't know if I'd say that Lewis was a better boxer than Bowe. Lewis had the better career but both were very good boxers. At times Lewis was a little sloppy looking and off balance. Lewis improved when he worked with Manny Steward but did he ever surpass Bowe's boxing ability? Bowe had a good jab, quick hands, power in both hands, a good left hook, powerful uppercuts, good infighting skills, he could fight dirty and usually got away with it, and he was very durable. I fvcking hated the guy but he could fight. As for their '88 Olympic fight? It was pretty much even prior to the stoppage, which was total bullshlt! I wonder if those who bring it up ever even watched it.

 

Yes, Lewis was a better boxer. He owned Bowe in the Olympics and had a much better defense. Bowe was not much for defense, and Lewis easily found his mark with the right hand. Later in his career, Bowe had tough fights with Tubbs ( 6-4 for Bowe ), and was pounded by Golota.

Lewis' prime happened in the mid-1990's under Steward, where he had much better balance. I would say Lewis hit harder, and was also smarter in the ring.

 

I'd say that Evander is somewhat overrated on this forum. He's neck and neck with Lewis on the polls :yep

Holy was by far the more exciting boxer, with a greater heart and technical skills. But he just doesn't have the size or power to beat a guy like Lewis at his best. It's the case of a great big un beats a great littler one.

Now, if you want to ask "could" prime Holy beat prime Lewis ... then yes, he "could". Lewis had enough lacklustre performances to see where a quality fighter like Evander could take advantage and box his ears.

But all things being equal, I'd bet on Lewis.

 

He had a tough time with Tubbs. Following the Tubbs fight he won 8 fights in a row, 7 by KO, prior to his first fight with Holyfield. He had two tough fights with Golota, the last two fights, prior to a long layoff... a retirement really. He's still 2-0 vs. Golota.

Bowe beat a much better Holyfield than Lewis beat. Bowe's performance was much better than Lewis'. Like I said, I'm not a Bowe fan but at his very best he was one of the best ever. Lewis is a top 5-10 all-time, no doubt. I still think that a prime Holyfield beats a prime Lewis though. I also think he beats a prime Boweore times than not. We just happened to see one of the "nots" in 1992 (Holyfield definitely underestimated Bowe).

 

So hard to judge as Holyfield's form leading up to and initially after the Lewis fights was good, his victories over Mercer, Tyson, Moorer, Bean and Ruiz prove this, he was still beating top fighters so i don't believe he was shot when he faced Lewis, obviously wasn't as good as the 90/93 model but he was more canny and actually harder to fight than the younger version. I suspect Lewis may always have been tough for him and even if we were to match Holy 92 against peak Lewis, he would have given away roughly three stone to the bigger man, which you simply cannot do. It's a close call, Lewis wins a SP.....

 

I got Holy.
Lewis is way overrated.
Holy in his prime takes the fight hard to Lewis and imposes his will and takes a UD

 

Evander will need to deliver 2-4 punch combinations to Lenni's face to put him away as he doesn't have the one punch Ko power. But then again Evander himself was a good smart strategist in the ring. He could out box Lewis as well.

 

Lewis is bigger and a better boxer than foreman imo. Both at their peaks I can see Lewis win on points. It be awesome if We could match Lennox against a mix the older and more technically sound version of foreman with his younger beastly self.
I think Ali, Holmes, Tyson and hokey field vs Lewis can go either way I'd suspect that Holyfield has the least chance of winning.
Bowe vs Lewis would be a great fight, have the feeling Lewis wins by stoppage. Lewis easily beats the rest, way too big.

 

Holyfield could fight for barely a minute of the round by the time he fought Lewis. A prime Holyfield would have no trouble knocking out Lewis.