There’s this notion that Lewis wasn’t durable and didn’t have a chin, the McCall fight he was green and threw a blind right hand (not set up) and McCall landed right on the chin, and Rahman, he loaded up with everything and Lewis misjudged the distance because he got cocky thinking Rahman wasn’t good enough to tag him clean, that was the hardest punch Rahman could’ve possibly threw. Lewis took some big punches against Mercer, Briggs, Vitali Klitschko and Bruno and didn’t go down against any of them.
He wouldn't have reigned as long as he did if he didn't have durability. His chin wasn't Ali's but it wasn't The worse by a long shot.
Lewis took flush punches off the following opponents.... Tony Tucker = 47 stoppages out of 57 wins. Gary Mason = 34 stoppages out of 37 wins. Frank Bruno = 38 stoppages out of 40 wins. Ray Mercer = 26 stoppages out of 36 wins. Shannon Briggs = 53 stoppages out of 60 wins. Vitali Klitschko = 41 stoppages out of 45 wins. If Lewis's chin was that bad he would've been found out in all these fights. Lewis offered Rahman a free shot by holding his hands down in an arrogant manner and rightly got KO'ed. If you offer any big punching Heavyweight to take a free shot at you and you get caught flush the chances are your getting KO'ed. Rahman had 41 stoppages in 50 wins and was known for his feats in strength he could bench press over 400 pounds. McCall caught Lewis with a shot he didn't see coming and Lewis got up too quickly and was still dazed hence he didn't help the referee to make a decision to let him carry on. Had Lewis stayed down for a few more seconds to clear his head then got up I think he could've survived that crisis. But in the end it was the best thing that happened to Lewis as he become a better fighter and went with a better trainer. I'd rate Lewis's chin in the region of 6.5/7.0 better than average but not elite either.
Lennox Lewis had a great chin. Lennox fought the biggest punchers of his (or nearly any) era. Lennox only went down two times, both with one punch, and he was up around the count of five against McCall (who threw that right with his eyes closed - a lucky punch if there ever was one). And Lennox beat both guys in rematches. When all was said and done, if you didn't knock out Lennox Lewis with one punch, you didn't win. Which is why Lennox Lewis beat everyone he faced as a pro. Because it wasn't easy to knock him out with one punch.
Ugh, another thread over-rating Lennox Lewis. As if he doesn’t get enough of those. Lewis’ chin issues are overplayed by his critics, I agree (it wasn’t glass though it certainly wasn’t much chop, either). But, “durable?” If he is…who isn’t?
I agree with your estimation of Lewis' chin overall, but it has to be said Vitali, Tucker and Mason had deceptively high KO percentage, and none of them could come close to the guys like Ruddock in terms of power, who had much lower KO %. Vitali, Tucker and Mason weren't big punchers by any means. Decent? Yes, but not great
