Lennox Lewis vs Ray Mercer - who won?

Just watched, I have it 6-4 Lennox but it could be 5-5 just as easily.
Lennox shouldn´t have struggled that much to beat such a static target like Ray, the guy wouldn´t move his heat if you baseball batted his head, weird perfomance, Ray´s jab is the subject but it shouldn´t be, the reach advantage for Lewis was big.

 

1-Lewis
2-Mercer
3-Lewis
4-Lewis
5-Lewis
6-Mercer
7-Lewis
8-Mercer
9-Mercer
10-Lewis

 

This time at least he didn´t grab too much the back of the neck to land it.

 

From memory I scored the first four rounds for Ray & the final six for Lennox.

Mercer was a difficult opponent at this stage in Lewis's transition from the typically lighter, mobile (albeit right-hand happy), out boxer pre Steward, and the heavier, stronger, more flat footed, box-puncher he became under Steward.

I think he got caught in between styles, which made for a much closer fight than Lewis typically had with other fighters broadly on Mercer's level.

That notwithstanding, the relative competitiveness and physical nature of the fight meant that, whilst closer than perhaps earlier & later versions of Lewis would have made it, Lennox got to show another quality, specifically that he could tough it out against a strong, iron-chinned & heavy-handed puncher in a tough, tough fight.

 

Excellent points.

 

Cheers John

 

Theres also the fact that Lewis was expecting to fight Tyson after so Lewis probably wanted to stand more toe to toe to show his toughness and fight in a more exciting style for American public who still wern't sold on him at the time.

 

Really tough,close fight but I have it 6-4 to Lewis. Lennox may not have looked good in squeezing out the win,but he proved that he could dig deep and come through.