Is Lennox Lewis Overrated?

Vastly Underrated, he dominated what is in my opinion the best era of HWs ever. Yes Tyson was over the hill but Holyfield was 3years off his career best win. Then theres:

Vitali - beat future ring champ at 37years of age, 3 months from his 38th birthday

Golota - rated no1 in the world by many after he beat up on Bowe. KO'D IN 1

Rudduck - top3 in the world, destroyed in 2

Tua - new Tyson, maybe the hardest left hooker ever, shutout

Bruno - top 5 fighter, Lennox was having a tough time but ko'd him

Rahman - came back from a KO loss at 35 to destroy Rahman

Morrison - ex WBO champ, big hitter, fresh off beating Rudduck, top 10 fighter, dominated

Tucker - unbeaten since Tyson, ex IBF champ and top 10 operator dominated

McCall - avenged the loss making Oliver cry

Mercer - toughed it out to win a tough decision against a tough style

Briggs - linear champ, destroyed in 4

Grant - the heir apparent destroyed

Gary Mason - top5 fighter, 35-0, beaten into retirement

Lewis can't help it Prime Bowe and Prime Holyfield ducked him, he beat everyone else

 

Without reading what anyone else says, I would answer an emphatic no. Yes, Lewis had two embarressing ko losses which he reversed, but he also defeated every fighter he fought and defeated an impressive number of rated opponents. I rate him in the top five, myself.

 

36 and past his prime but there was only 3 years difference between there ages, Lennox was 33 and 34 in the rematch. Holyfield did a little better in the rematch

Holyfield was poor in his next fight after Lewis BUT his head was used like a speedball in his matches with Lewis and Lennox probably did some damage to Evander in those 2

I forgot to mention Lewis was older than Tyson when they squared off

 

Lennox Lewis was a fine champion, I would say top 10 for sure. I don't know about overrated or underrated, most people recognize his achievements, you can't please everyone.

 

That resume amounts to about 4th on the all time great scale, which is where most have him. So why he is "vastly underrated?"

 

I can deal with 4, I have him 3, some have him outside the top10

Many claim any fighter with a punch will beat him, yet bigger punchers like Tua, Tyson, Rudduck, Morrison, Bruno couldn't

 

Well I disagree about your opinions on the 90s HW scene. Fighters like Morrison, Mercer, Tua, Golota, I feel, would have done very little during the 70s era of Heavyweight's. Likewise, McCall was just a gate keeper, and would have never held a title if Ali, Frazier, and Foreman were around. Just my opinion though.

Still, Lewis is a great Heavyweight, one worthy of a top 10 place.

 

On top of that, Ruiz is a ***** to beat. Simple as that. Outside of Tua and Jones, no-one has ever looked good fighting Ruiz. Most people thought Holyfield edged him in the series nonetheless, an excellent win considering Johnny boy, despite a boring and annoying style, put together quite a few good wins and love him or hate him, he has been a top contender for more than half a decade. Hell, he's still in the picture now after his shutout win over McClline. The man just won't go away. :rofl

 

I don't think those 4 would have beaten the top3 of the 70s, but thats hardly a fair comparison because they weren't the top 4 of the 90s.

What about Tua against Shavers or Quartey, I probably favour Tua

 

I'm not sure where I would rank Lennox Lewis on an all-time greats list, but I think he should rank fairly high on any such list. I've always found it a very difficult assignment to rank fighters on an all-time list; there are so many variables to consider.

But Lennox Lewis has a solid resume. If you look at his quality of opposition, it's a pretty impressive list of fighters for HIS DAY! Granted, Lewis never defeated a "great" fighter per se, but he defeated the best of his era; the most that can be asked of any fighter.

For the people who have Larry Holmes rated in their top five, I think Lennox Lewis should be right there with him. Larry Holmes resume of opponents is not superior to that of Lewis'; in fact, I'd say that Lewis' quality of opposition was superior to that of Holmes'. And Lewis managed to regain the championship twice and to defeat every opponent that had beaten him. Something that Larry Holmes can't say. And the same for Joe Louis. Who did Louis beat that was "great"?

I'd say Lennox Lewis definitely deserves to be rated pretty high in an all-time greats list.

 

Yeah, I'm no fan of John Ruiz or his style of fighting, but the guy has a solid resume. Look at the guys he's beaten over the last five, six years. He's managed to defeat a pretty good crop of good, decent heavyweights; more so than a lot of other high profile fighters. The man deserves respect! He came a long way since the debacle against Tua.