Lennox Lewis is overrated

Liston is a whopping 3 places above Lewis, what is the big deal?

The fight against Ali was obviously a set up as well, he went down, was conscious but didn't get up for whatever reason, he was also a very troubled man and if you knew his history, you'd understand.

I feel that Liston is more proven than Lewis by a bit, he was heavily avoided at his peak but did end up carving a bloody swatch through a pretty decent division and beat multiple styles, not to mention brutally sparking the reigning champion twice, only to lose to what many consider the best ever.

He also hung around afterwards and beat some okay fighters when he was well past his prime, including ruining the career of a decent fighter in Martin.

Liston is also better H2H and Liston/Lewis peak to peak would result in a Liston KO.

Why is it hard to rank Liston over Lewis? It's very easy to do so.

 

His rampage was one of the best ever, but H2H and longevity he never had and he never faced his ultimate stylistic nemesis, which makes me put him a spot under Liston. Liston and Foreman would have KOed Tyson, I don't doubt this.

The 2nd career really detracts as well, had he retired he'd probably had been a top 5 for most people....

 

Well the fact that Lewis beat better competition and had more title defences than liston.
Also the Phantom punch is completley unsubstantiated and unsubstantiable!
There is no conclusive proof that that was set up. Untill concrete evidence is brought to life proving that that fight was thrown it will be considered a legitimate knock out.

 

Realistically if Liston had been recieved well by the public and given all the correct matches at his peak, he would have been a top 5 for me, Liston was a great fighter who was an unfortunate case.

Without a doubt he blows Lewis out peak to peak.:yep

 

Lewis flat out couldn't take Liston's best shots, I assure you that, and Liston was quite accurate and quite controlling. Ever see Lennox fight someone with a great jab who could use it to control the fight?

No, and it would give him immense issue's. Not only was Liston a better boxer, he was a better puncher and was much more durable at his best.

Liston KO 5 Lennox.

 

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Liston's wins over Patterson were as athoritative as it gets, it helps some with the "lack of a great fighter" on his resume. The fact remains however that he brutally dominated a variety of GOOD fighters and even a few ELITE fighters at his time, more so than most ATG HW's even do to their B and A- level competition....

And he did it to a wide variety of styles.... he outslugged sluggers, starched swarmers and outboxed skilled boxers... and his competition is very underrated and on par with Tyson's run in the 80's.

Lewis would not have dominated like Liston did and you must remember that Liston was mismanaged and heavily avoided, he'd have been a lock top 5 had he gotten the chance, trust me.

Liston is barely in the top 10 for me because of the reasons you state above, but he is in for the reasons I stated here, H2H comparison, he's a menace and a top 3, where as Lennox is not even a top 10 on a H2H comparison for me, as many defeat him peak/peak in my opinion and Liston smokes virtually all except for Ali, Louis and Holyfield.

Liston for me beats Marciano, Tyson, Holmes, Charles, Walcott, Lewis, both Klit's, Foreman, Frazier etc.

So to disclude such a fine example of a HW out of the top 10 would be a travesty.

 

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I could really give two shits if some fanboys on some message board think's he's overrated or the best ever. When CREDIBLE sources start saying he the best ever or not that good, wake me up.

 

:yep:good

 

Sure, let's look at their opposition completely unbiased.

Lewis -

Mercer - Mercer being a tough chinned, hot and cold fighter but solid, great win.

Briggs - Briggs is a joke.

Golota - Mentally weak fighter who was highly skilled, but could be swarmed by anyone, even shitty Brewster.

Tucker - Good win, though Tyson got Tucker at his prime and more clearly.

Tua - Good win.

Ruddock - Good win, but where did Ruddock really go other than being a good opponent for the elite?

Morrison - Overrated, exciting glass chinned fighter, but good win considering Lewis disposed of him properly.

Vit Klit - One of the best wins on his record, but everyone knows the story and let's not rehash it.

Holyfield - Holyfield was past it here, lacking his famous reflexes, one was controversial, one was clear. This however was a good win.

Tyson - Totally shot, this win counts for very little.


Liston -

Patterson x 2 - This was the only ATG on Liston's record, but Patterson was in his prime and disposed of twice in round 1, to give an example of how good of a win this was for the time, this was Tyson TKO 1 Spinks twice, a definitive performance.

Machen - Machen is an underrated boxer who was a tough opponent for a variety of guys, Liston beat this guy clear as day, 10 rounds to 2.

Cleveland Williams x 2 - Williams, at this time and for a bit after the Liston fights, was a ranked top 5 contender who scored some good wins.

The best part is that this wasn't competitive, Liston dominated and blew him out on two occasions early.

Zora Foley - Skilled power puncher, was later stopped by Ali but took most of the early rounds off of him, hung around as a top 10 contender for a long time and has some good wins. Liston KO 3.

This easily bests the Morrison win for Lewis.

Roy Harris - Ranked contender who lasted 13 hard rounds with Patterson, Liston TKO 1, ruined what was left of the guys career.

Nino Valdes - Ranked veteran, Liston KO 3.

Chuck Wepner - Everyone knows this famous fringe contender, Liston TKO 10 at the end of his career.

How is it not comparable? Just because modern fans don't recognise or study the guys that Liston demolished doesn't mean they aren't similiar to many of Lewis' opponents.

Liston was heavily avoided, he never got the chance to add up some more wins, but his dominate wins over the fighters that I listed up top are very valid wins.

 

Yes Lewis did beat a past prime Holyfield and a shot Tyson. However Tyson's prime occured pre jail. His peak was around 1988 when he fought Spinks. He was past his prime when he was released. Holyfield didn't fight Tyson until 1996, eight years after the Spinks fight. That was not the prime Tyson that Holyfield beat. If Lewis doesn't get credit for beating a past prime Holyfield, why does Holyfield get credit for beating a past prime Tyson?