Lennox Lewis - Was He Really The Most Skilled...

Bowe was also outjabbed by holy easily also by an old Tubbs.

 

Refer to Godking's reply.... whenever Holyfield stuck to the jab, he was having great succes. The reserve is not true.

 

There have been Super Heavys ALMOST from the START. Jess Willard 6'6' 260 Primo Carnara 6'5 3/4 250, Buddy Baer 6'5"1/2 250, plus many others that have gotten to the top or close. The best overall all would have to be Lewis 6"5 250, Bowe was a Super 6'5 250 and I rate him over Carnera and Willard but he fell short of Lewis and avoided him. The saying the Bigger they are the harder they Fall was meant for these guys but Willard and Carnera showed a lot of heart and strength for what they lacked in skill....Joe Louis showed how to chop the big men down (Simon) (B.Baer) Earnie Terrell had the height not the weight and he was a powerless guy. Other mentions would be Golota and Briggs at 6"4 250 but I see them losing to the likes of Dempsey,Louis,Marciano,Ali with there lack of mental strength for Golota and lack of stamina for Briggs......the best ever of these men I think I am safe to say would be
1) Lewis
2) Vitali
3)Vlad
4)Bowe
5) with Carnera,Willard,Valuev,B.Baer, and Cooney,Briggs,Golota fitting in somewhere

 

I would say that he was the the most skilled fighter at that weight. You can't count larry holmes because in his prime he weighed around 212, which is nowhere near superheavyweight. It way only when he was much older that he fought at over 240.

 

I think Super Heavyweight is a relative term, at least when comparing champions of different eras. Ali,Foreman and Holmes were considered superheavies compared to men like Marciano,Patterson,Dempsey,Charles and the like just as men like Lewis,Bowe and the Klitschkos are considered superheavies when compared to men like Ali, Holmes and Foreman. With that being said however I would agree that out of the current crop of "Superheavyweights" Lewis is(Or was) the best. I would 've loved to have seen a match between Lewis at his best against Ali or Holmes. Would Lennox's size combined with his power and good boxing skills been too much for the much lighter yet highly skilled Ali or Holmes? Food for thought if nothing else.

 

But he outjabbed Pinklon Thomas who although shot had a great jab. He was skilled for a Superheavyweight.

 

I wouldnt go that far with Lennox, if we remember both times he came in around 253 in big fights (Rahman & Vitali) everyone said he was "overweight". Lennox could carry around 240 and look in top shape. I think even Wladimir comes in around 240, but I think he could carry 250-255

 

Great post. I was thinking about some of the things you mentioned here earlier today. A lot of people talk about how heavyweights have gotten bigger over the years and how we have these super-heavyweight now, but the fact is, like you pointed out, there have been big, giant fighters since way back when. The only difference is that today's big guys have more skill and are reaching the upper echelons of the heavyweight division, but they are hardly the first big heavyweight fighters to ever appear.

 

Lewis weighed about 247 for Tyson and looked in top shape; he was just thicker and more filled out, but he didn't look fat. That's damn near 250-253 pounds that he could carry very well. Compare George Foreman at 250 and Lewis at 250 and there's a big difference in body composition. I don't ever recall Lewis looking "fat" like Holmes or Foreman at 250+ or even David Tua at 250+. I agree that both Klitschko's could carry 250+ and still be lean and in shape.....

 

I met Lewis in February of 2008, and if he's 6'5 then I'm 5'10". He looked about 6'7".

 

Oh absolutely not, Lennox never looked fat like George or Larry, and well Tua is about 5'11 so of course he's going to look like a doughboy at 250, just pointing out how soon we forget the arguments that at that weight he was supposedly "out of shape".

 

I remember seeing Lennox during his early pro career boxing around 224lbs.. It was great to see a tall rangy heavyweight so fast for his dimensions, but after his loss to McCall , Emannuel Steward wanted to see Lewis making bold statements in America, when he ventured to America to tangle with Butler and Morrison he emerged at around 245 .. 250.. and much more heavily set .. his skinny waste was more filled and his fleetfooted movements were diferent, he preferred to stand and bang more ... The first Oliver McCall fight was the place he last appeared like a slender athlete, he wanted (or Manny wanted) a monster to put the fear of god into everyone he faced...... including McCall again and eventually Tyson...

 

Yea I remember him coming over to fight Morrison and looking like a monster, don't remember the weights exactly but it was a huge difference. After the McCall fight I thought Tommy might have a chance against Lennox until we saw Lennox's "new look". I knew it was over as he walked to the ring.

 

I thought the lighter Lewis was probably the more effective Lewis. When he weighed 225-228 he was pretty damn quick and mobile. And his punching power was probably just as great as when he gained weight due to the increased velocity of his already powerful shots. Although he had the frame to adequately carry 245+ pounds, I think he was just better when he was lighter.

 

Interesting point. It's funny he was fairly devastating under either version. The young lighter version had much more speed but didn't have the defense or skills in terms of punch selection as the older version. The older version had more power and was smarter, but noticably slower.

Funny, I can't remember where or when but a few posts made reference to Lewis on a H2H basis said he was slow and ponderous, and I recall replying that the younger version was no such thing.