Lennox Lewis looked pretty bad in Gary Mason fight

Yeah, I think that's possibly true, without giving it too much thought. But what does that really mean in the face of the fact that Joshua went life and death with a Mason level fighter at the same stage of his career? You've tried to dismiss the stoppage a bit with an argument about "if it hadn't been for the cut" but Lewis smashed his eye shut with punches and he wasn't really in much danger while doing it.

Lewis inarguably got much better, but i'd disagree that Lewis looked "pretty bad" given the stage of his career. I think he looked superb for a 14-0 prospect - superb.

I couldn't disagree more forcefully. He certainly didn't look better after being clocked, freezing and getting battered about the ring.

 

He looked better because he did better.

 

...i'm not sure if you're joking or not?

Joshua came close to being beaten. Lewis was never anywhere near that level of peril.

Yes, inarguably, Lewis looked better against Mason than Joshua did against Whyte.

 

I don't think those situations are the same at all. I think Lewis clearly and cleanly bettered Briggs to a greater extent than Foreman did aside from the hurt.

And I think that Lewis clearly and cleanly out-boxed Mason to a greater degree than Joshua did Whyte.

I can't see your point at all.

I think you have a case of video-game ****ysis here. Lewis had what he had against Mason, deployed it and was inarguably better than what Joshua had against Whyte when he deployed it. I don't think there's any counter-argument, at all.

 

Yes, you said that already - that Lewis has more skill than Joshua at this stage. But you also seem to want to say here that Lewis should have won ALL rounds (and still lost rounds) or at least all but one because of his physical advantages in order to receive credit, despite the stoppage (which you also try to undermine). Like this happens routinely between 14-0 prospect and much more experienced European champions or something.

But Joshua was faster than Whyte. He was taller (2") than Whyte. He had a longer reach (4") than Whyte. And he nearly got knocked out. But you're still trying to say that Joshua was better against Whyte than Lewis was against Mason!

It all seems very bizarre to me. And a huge reach.

 

Yeah, you get guys like that who like lop-sided decisions more than KOs. It's just a matter of taste and your preference for clinics probably helps explain. Although Joshua hardly out-boxed Whyte without getting hit. He nearly got ****ing killed tbh!