Fighters Lennox Lewis ducked

thesandman · Aug 3, 2012

JeanPaulValley said: ↑

Well it's all true. Saying Holyfield was bad because he foght mostly US fighters is silly because Lewis fought mostly US fighters. The birth place of your opponent is not really indicative of anything.
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Lewis wasn't a US fighter. So when he's fighting an American in the US, he's fighting in a foreign country against a guy fighting at home.

One knock on Euro fighters is that they are 'euro' level fighters because their style or ability doesn't transfer on other parts of the world. I'm saying the same against Holy. He had a good style to match US fighters in his own backyard, but it never really transferred to the world HEAVYWEIGHT stage.

Off the top off my head (I'm sure I'll miss some) and even forgetting about his first fights before winning the European and British Title, Lewis fought

Mason
Phil Jackson
Ruddock
Bruno
Mavrovic
Golota
Tua
Vitaly
Botha

As well as the US fighters he fought.

I'm sure I've forgotten someone. Anyway. Compares favorably to one B fighter.

Tyson fought outside the US and against overseas fighters. Bowe too.

Not Holy though.

MMJoe · Aug 3, 2012

JeanPaulValley said: ↑

Lewis had limited impact

by the Washington Times (not by TS. Posted as conversation piece.)

Heavyweight champion Lennox Lewis accomplished many things during his 14-year boxing career, which supposedly ended yesterday with his announcement that he is retiring.

He held the World Boxing Council title and other versions of the heavyweight championship three different times and successfully defended his championship 13 times. He is calling it quits with a 41-2-1 record, 32 knockouts.

On paper, it is an impressive record. But if you watched Lennox Lewis during his career, you know that his mark in boxing is not as impressive.

He reigned over the division during the one of its weakest eras. The best fighter he faced was Evander Holyfield, and that didnt take place until 1999 long past Holyfields prime and three years from Holyfields last hurrah, his upset knockout of Mike Tyson.

Lennox struggled with Holyfield. OK, Lewis was robbed of a win in their first fight in March 1999 at Madison Square Garden when the fight was declared a draw. But if he was truly a great heavyweight champion, Lewis should have decisively defeated Holyfield. Worse, in the rematch in November, in which Lewis was declared the winner in a decision, it was a much closer fight. A number of observers believed that Holyfield actually won.

Lewis also met Tyson way past his prime. When Lewis met Tyson in June 2002, he fought a disinterested and out-of-shape fighter who had already taken a beating from Holyfield six years earlier and arguably had reached his peak 14 years before, when he stopped Michael Spinks in one round in 1988. Trainer Emanuel Steward had to scream at Lewis in the corner to get him to finish off a pathetic Tyson in the eighth round.

The list of Lewis conquests is hardly a Hall of Fame roster: Phil Jackson, Zeljko Mavrovic, Shannon Briggs (who almost knocked Lewis out in the first round), Michael Grant, Frans Botha and David Tua among them.

How Lewis held the title three times is not a Rocky story. He won the vacant WBC belt the first time in May 1993 with a lackluster decision over Tony Tucker. He lost it a year later when Oliver McCall a former Tyson sparring partner knocked him out in two rounds.

Lewis won it back three years later in a rematch when McCall walked around the ring crying and refusing to fight for five rounds until finally the bout was called and Lewis declared the winner. In his next title defense against Henry Akinwande, Lewis was declared the winner when Akinwande was disqualified for holding.

Stop me when I get to a legendary Lewis fight.

The third time Lewis won the belt was probably the most impressive of his career. Like the McCall fight, Lewis got sloppy and was tagged with a right hand by Hasim Rahman in their South African fight in April 2001, knocked out in the fifth round. He came back in November and knocked out Rahman in four rounds, the way a champion would.

Lewis career may be marked by who he didnt fight rather than who he did. What is remarkably disappointing is that Lennox Lewis and Riddick Bowe never fought each other. I cant recall another time in boxing when two of the best fighters in the heavyweight class who came up at the same time went through their entire careers without having fought each other.

The blame seems to be with Bowe. He was supposed to fight Lewis in a mandatory challenge of the WBC belt after Bowe first won the title in November 1992 when he defeated Holyfield.

But Bowe and his manager, Rock Newman, opted to give up that version of the belt (at the time, Bowe still held the World Boxing Association and International Boxing Federation titles), making a show of it going to England Lewis home and dumping the belt into a garbage bag.

There was no denying that a fight with Lewis, who had beaten Bowe in the 1988 Olympics to win the gold medal and who had earned the No.1 ranking by knocking out Razor Ruddock in two rounds in October 1991, would be a tough fight for Bowe. But he took the champions prerogative and opted for an easy title defense against a terribly out-of-shape Michael Dokes. It seemed as if there would be plenty of time eventually for a Bowe-Lewis fight.

But it never came to pass. Bowe lost in a rematch with Holyfield in November 1993. It appeared there was a deal for a Bowe-Lewis fight in the fall of 1994, but Lewis lost to McCall. By the time Lewis became champion again, Bowe was out of boxing after two severe beatings from Andrew Golota although winning both fights on disqualifications.

Give Lewis his due for being able to stay on or near the top of the division for 14 years. He was able to do what Bowe was not dedicate himself to the training it would take to have a long career.

But in the ring the ultimate stage for a fighter Riddick Bowe left more of a mark on heavyweight boxing than Lewis did. Bowes three fights with Holyfield were only second to the Muhammad Ali-Joe Frazier trifecta for excitement and toughness. They were the last great heavyweight title fights of our time. And nothing Lewis did in the ring measures up.
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Beat every man he ever faced. KO'd Vitali in 6.

On The Money · Aug 3, 2012

MMJoe, what a ****ing carrot.

JeanPaulValley · Aug 3, 2012

thesandman said: ↑

Nope. I didn't edit anything.

Surprisingly it appears you saw what you wanted to see. Why am I not surprised?
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ya got me there

JeanPaulValley · Aug 3, 2012

thesandman said: ↑

Lewis wasn't a US fighter. So when he's fighting an American in the US, he's fighting in a foreign country against a guy fighting at home.

One knock on Euro fighters is that they are 'euro' level fighters because their style or ability doesn't transfer on other parts of the world. I'm saying the same against Holy. He had a good style to match US fighters in his own backyard, but it never really transferred to the world HEAVYWEIGHT stage.

Off the top off my head (I'm sure I'll miss some) and even forgetting about his first fights before winning the European and British Title, Lewis fought

Mason
Phil Jackson
Ruddock
Bruno
Mavrovic
Golota
Tua
Vitaly
Botha

As well as the US fighters he fought.

I'm sure I've forgotten someone. Anyway. Compares favorably to one B fighter.

Tyson fought outside the US and against overseas fighters. Bowe too.

Not Holy though.
Click to expand...

You dont have a point though my man. You're saying that Holyfield was no good? The majority of good-great fighters were Americans during the 80's and 90's. What Euro fighter of that time was so good? The contenders and champs were American and Holyfield fought them! Lewis fought mostly US fighters as did Tyson,Bowe,Holmes,Foreman,Wlad Klitschko etc
And Holyfield did fight non US fighters sometimes. Your opponents birth place isn't indicative of anything.

FrochFan · Aug 3, 2012

JeanPaulValley said: ↑

You dont have a point though my man. You're saying that Holyfield was no good? The majority of good-great fighters were Americans during the 80's and 90's. What Euro fighter of that time was so good? The contenders and champs were American and Holyfield fought them! Lewis fought mostly US fighters as did Tyson,Bowe,Holmes,Foreman,Wlad Klitschko etc
And Holyfield did fight non US fighters sometimes. Your opponents birth place isn't indicative of anything.
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Evander Holyfield has never beaten an Eastern European fighter. Go check the HW, SHW medal count of the last 24 years if you dont think thats a big deal.

They have a different boxing style, even a guy as low as Golota gave Riddick Bowe and Chris Byrd problems.

JeanPaulValley · Aug 3, 2012

FrochFan said: ↑

Evander Holyfield has never beaten an Eastern European fighter. Go check the HW, SHW medal count of the last 24 years if you dont think thats a big deal.

They have a different boxing style, even a guy as low as Golota gave Riddick Bowe and Chris Byrd problems.
Click to expand...

So Evander is no good because he never beat an eastern European fighter?
What about the 2 times he was lineal HW champion? Beating Foreman,Bowe,Rahman,Ruiz,Mercer and Tyson means far more than beating a fighter from Eastern Europe. Since when does the country a fighter is from become indicative of their talent? It seems that all of you chumps have run out of things to discredit Holyfield with. I'm sorry Froch Fan but you are simply mad and clearly not on my level.

Only on ESB does beating an Eastern European fighter mean more than being a world champion. WOW!

raffine · Jan 29, 2013

Boxing: Lewis wars with trainer over title claim

Tracey, Ted

Daily Record (Glasgow, Scotland)

Mar 14, 2000

LENNOX LEWIS has had a raging row with his trainer Emanuel Steward.

The bust-up came as he began the build-up to his first fight as undisputed world heavyweight champion.

Lewis was left fuming by reports that Steward claimed Evander Holyfield should have won their historic bout last November.

And the British fighter's promoter Panos Eliades was forced to step in as peacemaker in their war.

It is the latest twist in a relationship which has sometimes been rocky, although Steward will continue to train Lewis for his clash with Michael Grant in New York on April 29.

raffine · Jan 29, 2013

Boxing: Lewis wars with trainer over title claim

Tracey, Ted

Daily Record (Glasgow, Scotland)

Mar 14, 2000

LENNOX LEWIS has had a raging row with his trainer Emanuel Steward.

The bust-up came as he began the build-up to his first fight as undisputed world heavyweight champion.

Lewis was left fuming by reports that Steward claimed Evander Holyfield should have won their historic bout last November.

And the British fighter's promoter Panos Eliades was forced to step in as peacemaker in their war.

It is the latest twist in a relationship which has sometimes been rocky, although Steward will continue to train Lewis for his clash with Michael Grant in New York on April 29.

raffine · Jan 29, 2013

BOXING: LENNOX GOES POTTY OVER TRAINER STEW; Manny's mouth sparks big-fight row

Dillon, John

The Mirror (London, England)

Mar 14, 2000

LENNOX LEWIS
has had a bust-up with trainer Emanuel Steward

just as he begins preparations for his first fight as undisputed world heavyweight champion.

Lewis was that Steward claimed Evander Holyfield should have won their historic, second clash last November

Lewis' promoter Panos Eliades was forced to step in and act as peacemaker

It is the latest twist in a relationship which has sometimes been rocky, although Steward will continue to train Lewis for his clash with Michael Grant in New York on April 29

Espin88 · Jan 29, 2013

Henke67 said: ↑

It was shameful how he ducked Ali by being born about 30 years later than he should've been.
Click to expand...

raffine · Jan 29, 2013

BOXING: LENNOX GOES POTTY OVER TRAINER STEW; Manny's mouth sparks big-fight row

Dillon, John

The Mirror (London, England)

Mar 14, 2000

LENNOX LEWIS
has had a bust-up with trainer Emanuel Steward

just as he begins preparations for his first fight as undisputed world heavyweight champion.

Lewis was that Steward claimed Evander Holyfield should have won their historic, second clash last November

Lewis' promoter Panos Eliades was forced to step in and act as peacemaker

It is the latest twist in a relationship which has sometimes been rocky, although Steward will continue to train Lewis for his clash with Michael Grant in New York on April 29

itsmeagain1 · Jan 29, 2013

Tko 6

raffine · Jan 29, 2013

Boxing: Lewis sets sights on Holyfield

The Independent (London, England)

See all results for this publication

Browse back issues of this publication by date

September 26, 1998 | Leach, Glyn

Last weekend, America's "free" TV multitudes had the opportunity to see Holyfield in his first non-pay-per-view fight in two years

Lewis said. "I am glad that the Bean fight was on free TV in the USA, so that everyone got the chance to see it. My mouth was watering a bit - Holyfield looks very beatable

raffine · Jan 29, 2013

Boxing: Lewis sets sights on Holyfield

The Independent (London, England)

See all results for this publication

Browse back issues of this publication by date

:deal
September 26, 1998 | Leach, Glyn

Last weekend, America's "free" TV multitudes had the opportunity to see Holyfield in his first non-pay-per-view fight in two years

Lewis said. "I am glad that the Bean fight was on free TV in the USA, so that everyone got the chance to see it. My mouth was watering a bit - Holyfield looks very beatable

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