Lennox Lewis is a lock for top 5 heavyweight of all time

He's in the top five for sure- no order Ali/Louis/Lewis/Holmes/George

 

Ali, Louis, Holmes, Holyfield...either Lewis or Foreman at #5.

 

Yes, he's a lock for top 5.

I think I have him at #3, although on any given day, I might have him at #4 and Holmes at #3 instead because Holmes gets some extra credit for his senior career.

 

Holyfield was too inconsistent to be top 5, imo.

 

He and Wlad have pretty similar credentials, actually. So a list that rated Wlad on the border of the top 5 should probably also include Lennox comfortably in the top 5.

 

I completely sympathize with your point, but Holy didn't get stopped twice in his prime by second-raters...hard for me to get past that, despite the fact that overall Lewis was a sensational fighter.

 

A Lewis with Holyfield's chin would be in contention for #1.

 

No, he’s not a lock in my opinion. He probably deserves a top 10 place but I can see him outside it too. He got KO’ed twice and the second time by a very average heavyweight. Without that, he’d definitely be top 10 and have a very good argument for top 5.

I also found him a hot and cold performer. When he was on, he was one of the best ever but he could be quite underwhelming too.

However, he was ducked horribly by Bowe and Tyson when a win over either of them would have secured his legacy in a much more tangible way, so I have some sympathy for him.

 

He's a Lock for Top-10, IMO. But I won't argue too enthusiastically with those who have him outside their Top-5.

Just a note on Lewis' defeats. He was never beaten by men rated outside of the Ring's Top-10 and the KOs he suffered were both avenged.

They count against him, but I think his redress of these wrongs, combined with the rest of his ledger, do enough to make him Top-5, for mine. His schedule demonstrates a solid concentration of ranked opposition; quite a number of whom, on balance, fair relatively well historically.

 

You make a lot of sense, well put together, and not easy to formulate a counterclaim, Lewis is a divisive boxer, some place and rate him highly, whilst others dismiss him and his achievements' out of hand, he is either top 5, or to the detractors only just inside the 10.
For me a motivated, and pumped Lewis, would give all the top 5 a very uncomfortable night , and possibly vanquish 3 of them.
stay safe guys.

 

Are we talking top 5 head-to-head or top 5 based on resume? I would definitely have him in my top 5 head-to-head (and perhaps even top 3), but I don’t think I’d have him that high based on resume alone.

 

Big George said he was the GOAT. I believe there's a YouTube of it around.

 

Personally I have him at 3