can we be more specific about which years/ages we are talking about? I am not sure if everyone knows that earls court arena is. Anyway Lewis has the power to stop Usyk. The straight right hand and the right uppercut are Lewis's best punches. If we look at the 3 fights Usyk has had in Saudi, he looked really good vs Joshua 2, looked brilliant in the second Fury fight despite clear decline in speed, and was sensational in Fury 1 for the first 3 rounds and the last 5. If Usyk walks into uppercuts vs Lewis the way he did in Fury 1, he won't be able to take those despite his great chin. But i think Usyk is smart enough to understand that Lewis throws better uppercuts than Fury and that he needs to be even more careful. If we take the Usyk from Joshua 2, i think his combination of movement, stamina, speed and the left hand will allow him to decision Lewis with a solid chance of Usyk scoring a stoppage aka McCall or Rahman. Lewis's defense was very average vs orthodox fighters. Caught multiple times vs Holyfield with left hooks, unofficially knocked down vs Briggs with a simple left, hit often vs Mercer and Mavrovic both of whom were slower than Usyk. I am very skeptical of Lewis's defense vs the southpaw left hand. As soon as Usyk starts unloading with the left, it will make things very hard for Lewis. I am going 60/40 with Usyk. But again, if Usyk walks into uppercuts carelessly, he will pay a price for it. Still, i trust Usyk's ability to adapt his defense a lot more than i trust Lewis's defense vs the straight left hand and combinations Usyk can throw.
Jesus. Lewis gets brutally stopped. A guy throwing right hand leads with average coordination and leaky defense. Usyk will see Lewis's right hand from a mile away, nail him with a big left and go home.
Of the fight the Los Angeles Times said, "It almost seemed as if Lewis had wiped out 93 years of English heavyweight futility in three minutes and 46 seconds of boxing." Fight City has it as Lewis's #1 performance.
50/50. Lennox in 1992 was a top fighter even then if he wasn't as cautious in his later years. Only voted Lennox because I'd favour prime Lennox against a prime Usyk
