How big is Lennox Lewis' "run"?

That reads as a considerably low bar for "a worthy title challenger".

Seven in a row against who?
Seven in a row over how long a period?

Mercer was a wreck after the Witherspoon bout in 1996. A Neck injury, Hepatitis B and lord knows what else saw him fight only twice in a period spanning more than four-years.

Then all it took was for him to knock over a few more nobodies in 2001 and early 2002 to get a WBO title shot.

Says it all really, and as was alluded to in my previous post, Mercer's last hurrah (if it could even be viewed as such) makes a quite self-evident case for just how poorly the WBO was regarded back then, and why.

During the period in question, the WBO oversaw what was boxing's answer to the 'Last Chance Saloon'.

 

Worthy to be a routine title opponent.


By modern standards a big ranked win and some filler is a pretty typical streak for a title contender.

Cleveland Williams was a wreck before the Ali fight. He had the streak and hadn't lost in years except a close fight with Terrell. He got the shot. Guys who haven't lost in years except to a champion have always got shots regardless who they beat. Thats pretty normal.

 

Understood, wasn't sure how you defined it ...

 

Mercer wasn't even that in 2002.

Which other governing body rated him a contender?

Where was his big ranked win? (Please don't say Witherspoon)

Save for the Wlad bout, have you watched any of Mercer's fight's from '98 to '02? Referring to what came before Wlad as 'some filler' is actually overstating the caliber of Mercer's post Witherspoon competition.

 

Witherspoon being blackballed led to him being ranked off feats from the 80s for a very long time BUT Cole and Gonzalez were some really decent wins he had in 1996. Of course this is 2002 but in boxing feats don't expire just because they have cobwebs. Speaking of feats with cobwebs Mercer doing well against Lennox was as big a part of Mercers case as any of the wins. Lennox had since regained the belt and defended a bunch of times.

How would you describe it? Stimulus, win farming, resume enrichment. Whatever you call it this is normal in boxing.

 

Not really, I’d say a few heavyweights have a hard lock for not beating certain guys unless it’s a fluke.

 

*Outstanding

 

This isn't about Witherspoon's standing in 1996. It's the implication that Mercer's victory over him that year made him a worthy title challenger six years later.

In terms of world ratings, they absolutely do expire. Hence Mercer falling out of the ratings after Spoon. Inactivity due to serious injury and illness, followed by a succession of so-called comeback bouts against journeymen will do that.

The only governing body taking notice of Mercer at this time was the WBO.

Again, why this should contribute to the earning of a title shot is anyone's guess.

I'd call it mental gymnastics in an attempt to justify the unjustifiable. There's nothing on God's green Earth that will convince me that Wlad/Mercer was a world title-worthy match up.

Meanwhile, Lewis's genuinely impressive run against high-end and dangerous opponents is being overshadowed by the rather sad end to Mercer's meaningful world-level career.

 

The 90s was a tough era in the heavyweight division. It was deep, loaded with dangerous fighters. Some were flawed but still dangerous.
The elite fighters couldn't take their eye off the ball or they got flattened. A Michael Bent or Oliver McCall upset the Applecart.

Lennox beat alot of powerful punchers, good sized modern type of heavyweights. Just an example Lewis fought a guy in Sacramento named Lionel Butler. He could hit. I was concerned for Lewis going into that one. Larry Merchant referred to Butler as a powerful "earth moving machine" as Butler walked to the ring.

Guys like that were all through the 90. The name won't jump out on paper. They were mostly all dangerous. To me Lewis resume is outstanding. Only Ali and Holyfield fought better competition at heavyweight.

 

Larry Holmes would be in the same neigborhood.

 

The list leaves out stoppage wins over Vitali Klitschko, Mike Tyson, Frank Bruno, Razor Ruddock, Oliver McCall, Gary Mason, and Hasim Rahman ... as they weren't part of that single run.

 

Honestly, not very impressive... on paper, it looks great, but in the ring, it was often bland, average, and strange. That's why Lennox didn't get recognition when he fought, but he does when he's many years into his career, and we don't remember those fights or the circumstances clearly anymore.