How do you rate Lennox Lewis as a body puncher?

I wouldnt

 

NOthing spectacular. I mean, Lewis had power, and he could hit hard to the body, but he wasn't known for possessing a withering body attack, ala Joe Frazier or Mike McCallum. I'd say his body work was so-so.

 

He threw bodyshots not too many, but Lewis didnt like to leave himself open and fighting mostly from the outside and throwing a bodyshot leaves you more open.

 

nothing i can add that hasn't been said. like most heavies, he was a head hunter. when he did work the body, it wasn't spectacular

 

This, going to the body didnt suit his style

 

Jorodz kind of put it in my kind of perspective here - there aren't a tremendous amount of truly great body punchers in heavyweight history anyway really - and it certainly never detracted from his greatness as a fighter overall thats for sure. At his best Lewis was an amazing fighter

Of the heavyweight champions, outside of Jeffries, Dempsey, Marciano and Tyson who else was renowned for there body punching?

ps just out of interest, you say your twenty now? - what was the first fight that really grabbed your attention for boxing? Just interested to know

:boxerkeep punching in the meantime btw

 

Louis, Frazier, Toney, Fitz

 

All around 6 feet tall. I think we can see a pattern here. Like PowerPuncher and lefthook31 have already said, going to the body consistently did not suit Lewis, who was 6'5 and made the most out of his height and reach advantages.

 

Lewis' body work was virtually nonexistent. Almost every time I remember seeing Lewis go to the body, it was purely to set a head punch or weaken an opponent's defense somehow, for example take how he jabbed to Briggs' stomach, making sure that Briggs would keep his hands down, then nailed Briggs with the overhand right to the head. See 3:45 of this video for the sequence:

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=81kwTBoWw6U[/ame]

(Nitpickers please note the almost in that paragraph before jumping on me ).

I can remember Lewis throwing a good uppercut to the body on a few occasions, but body work didn't really suit his strengths and style, as everyone has already said.

 

i dont think he was that great of a body puncher but he didn't go for it as an instinct like Frazier and Marciano did but that's mainly because he didn't need to he had plenty of power to knock someone out with a simple one two to the head..

 

out of 1-10 10 being best he is a 5.. Not great. Another tall guy like Lennox with a right Thomas Hearns was a 7 with body punches. Just to show you how I rate Lennox.

 

Obviously he didn't go the body like a Frazier or Tyson, he could mix it in here and there with effectiveness. At times he used the combo that Tyson is so famous for, the right hook to the body and right uppercut to the head combo, dropping Morrison with it and landing it quite a few times against Mercer. He hurt Mavrovic to the body (more so than the gazillion right uppercuts he landed while holding Mavrovic's neck with his left hand), Holyfield to the body in the 5th round of the first fight, and Tua in the late rounds of their fight. I forgot the round, it was when Lampley was going nuts over Lewis landing the uppercut, but it was actually a bodyshot that did the most damage in that sequence.

In some other fights, he didn't seem to even bother with a body attack.

 

sorry meant to type Frazier aswell, - I don't think Louis was especially renowned for his body punching - and was Toney at all? Fitz from what i see on film was definately not primarily a body puncher - he looked more a straight up marquis of queensbury style boxer to me - he just happened to win the title on a million to one shot in Corbetts belly in my opinion - but anyhows my point being I make that about 5 former heavyweight champions in history who were famed for their body punching - only 5 - just an interesting observation thats all.

 

Louis made Schmelling squeel like a pig from bodyshots and could certainly work the body. Fitz knocked out Corbett to the body, I think he had a few body KOs. Toney does goto the body nicely but obviously isnt very workmanly.

1 point is men with fast accurate hands dont need to goto the body as much as they have more options. If you can land to the head why goto the body?