fine im stating it lennox lewis is top 5 heavywieght of all time

I rank him 7th. I have no fight with people who have him top 5.

 

Lewis deserves to be in the top 10.

 

Nope, he looks just like Pernell Whitaker. I have some good Whitaker avatars in my collection, but yours takes some beating.

 

Arguably he's top 5...I have him 7th

 

There's a couple problems with your argument. No.1 Tyson was supposed to fight Lewis in 1996 but vacated his title instead of fighting him. No.2 you have Holyfield ahead of Lewis, but Lewis beat Holyfield. No.3 you say most of the guys he beat sucked, but can you name one top heavyweight from his era that he didn't fight? The only two that come to mind are Bowe(he openly ducked Lewis), and possibly Wlad(Lewis was supposed to fight him but then Wlad got knocked out by Sanders)

 

I agree. Lennox is arguably as high as 3 all-time. Don't like it? Let's look at Lennox vs. the contenders for the number 3 position. (I hope we don't have any arguments over Ali and Louis at 1 and 2).

Lennox vs. Larry Holmes- both in their primes, this is a great fight. Based on the fact that he used to be able to go 15 rounds, I give Holmes the edge by decision in this fight. Holmes had a great chin and a better jab than Lewis. Lewis would have his moments, but Larry would probably win this one with good, active boxing.

Lennox vs. Rocky Marciano- this would be a massacre. Lennox would have the advantage on the outside and the inside. I'm not saying that the Rock wouldn't connect (maybe even floor Lennox briefly if the fight went long) but Lewis wins this one by KO inside of 6-7 rounds.

Lennox vs. Jack Johnson- both cautious, tactical fighters. Lewis hits harder than Johnson and would likely have the size edge and maybe the better jab. Johnson lost to a big man in Willard and Lennox would probably be a slight favorite in this one with his huge right hand.

Lennox vs. Jack Dempsey- again, this is a great fight for Lewis. Dempsey would be inside flailing away and the strength advantage would just be too much. Like Marciano, Dempsey would have a puncher's chance, especially early but Lennox has it all over him from distance and/or muscling around on the inside.

Lennox vs. George Foreman- this could be an amazing fight. Both thunderous hitters, both with a jab and both huge. This fight would be a KO and either man could win. I'm inclined to think that Big George is more likely to floor Lennox than vice versa.

So, Lennox holds his own, at the very least, against the best fighters of all-time. His 41-2-1 record (let's face it, without the HOlyfield horsesh#t in their first fight, he was 42-2) is filled with quality fights (Ruddock, Tucker, Mercer, Golota, Holyfield(2), Rahman(2), Tua, Tyson and Klitschko). Lennox is my number 4 all-time. I just wish he'd fought Bowe in '93 and Wladimir in 2001.

 

Some good points. :yep

I honestly think Lewis' stock will continue to rise and rise with time (ala Holmes) he's still not quite getting the recognition he deserves from some quarters, however. Not that long ago I rated him in and around the back reaches of the Top 10/just outside it- however, personally my respect for Lewis has grown ever since his retirement.

It's fair to say in that growing up watching Tyson, Lewis, Holyfield and Bowe from their early days that I always regarded Holyfield and Tyson to be my fave HW's- they just had a magnetic appeal that Lewis didn't seem to possess to the same extent. Lewis also tended to coast along on a play-it-safe mode in some fights, occasionally he fought down the the level of his 'lesser calibre' opponents (Phil Jackson and Željko Mavrovi&#263 wheareas the others tended to be more electrifying and exciting fighters in a gung-ho type sense.

Looking back, through time his quick-fire destructions of Grant, Golota and Ruddock were immensely impressive statements and rank amongst the best wins in the recent history of the HW division, defeating . Losing to McCall and Rahman were mere blips on the radar- both defeats he avenged. Much was made of Lewis' chin being supposedly china, however the Tua, Tyson, Bruno and Mercer fights showed that he had a good punch resistance when it came to soaking up acumulative shots.

He's definitely Top 10 of All-Time in terms of greatness (I have him #5), in terms of head-2-head combat you could argue for even higher. :good

 

Utter claptrap.:-(

Lewis called Tyson out as early in '96 but as we well know (not the fault of Lewis' camp) the fight was never sanctioned. Instead Mikey squared up with Holyfield (the supposedly easier option). We all know what happened in that one, eh. You can say whatever you wish about Lewis but he sure didn't avoid fighters. He ranks behind Holmes but ahead of the other two guys you've mentioned for sure.

Arrange the words "belt", "Riddick Bowe" and "trashcan" together to make a sentence and this suggests Lewis wasn't the chicken at all ... :tong

 

One point one might make is that he failed to face Holyfield and Tyson in their primes so did not prove himself the better man in a head to head sense which casues confusion over who the best fighter of his era was. Had Holyfield beaten Lewis in the early to mid 90s he likely would be considered the superior fighter.

 

It is not so much a matter of why he shouldn't. More a matter of who has a stronger claim.

It is quite a feat to break the top 5 at heavyweight taking into acount everybody since 1880.