Don't know if this has been asked already but how different would Lennox Lewis legacy be if he turned pro 1985 instead of post-Seoul? Does it get even better as I think he is a seasoned pro by 1988 with only one serious rival who is about to unravel.....
a gold medal is always a plus and the difference of winning it has much more emphasis and status as a proven than a woulda, coulda, shoulda
Rather than take the opinion of Tyson fans seriously I prefer Lewis's own take on their sparring. " I remember that first day we sparred he was very hyped up. Mike just rang across the ring and he wanted to knock me out. He did catch me by surprise and bloodied my nose, and I bloodied his mouth. Arnie Boehm thought the first 2 rounds went to Tyson, and after that things began to change with Lennox evading his charges. By the 3rd day I was hitting without getting hit. I was taunting Mike and laughing at him. So he said " come on, chicken, hit me you son of a b&%£*h " So I did, then Cus jumped in and said " Thats enough " Kevin Rooney's take on this was. " We were having trouble getting good sparring for Mike, and we heard about this kid Lennox from Canada. So we brought him up, and Mike more than held his own with him. " Hardly the versions you would get from Tyson freaks.
Well, I wouldn't count on Lewis word either, his ego is too big for him to see the true. Just listen to his post-fight interview after Vitaly... without watching the actual fight you could easily imagine he was controlling his opponent easily. Judging by this, I just wonder to what extend he was "bending" the reality when talking about Tyson sparrings... I think Rooney (who more or leas said there were good fights, but without any domination) is more credible source there.
If you must spread your pathetic fanboy lies, as least try to get the facts right. It is impossible for someone born on the 2 / 9 / 1965 to be an 18 year old against a 16 year old, when the younger guy was born on the 30 / 6 / 1966. There is in fact only slightly under 10 months difference between them. Your other horse**** about him knocking Lewis out of the ring inside 10 seconds is merely a figment of your fanboy imagination.
I'd take the word of Lewis ( ego as well ) over the mentally unhinged Tyson or his fans. Rooney did in fact say there was no domination by either party. As for the Vitali fight, the damage to VK's face was done by Lewis's fists. It really is as simple as that.
Yes its hard to argue with the way things turned out for him, it was a great career. I don't know if too many would wait 4 extra years in these days of quick money.
Lennoxs career was superb.his timing was spot on.he was a slower developer.2 things held him back from universal approval....1 his defeat to mccall came at a time when he was about to be accepted as world number 1..that defeat set him back 3 years. 2.He carried several fighters into the later rounds or on points, that he shouldve put away... Overall his career was superb just lacking a career defining fight at his peak mid nineties..Bowe being the obvious one. By nature he is an analytical man which showed in his cautious approach at times. In a long career though NOBODY he fought was the better fighter than him...i also dont know a heavyweight bar Ali who fought every challenger of his era..ducked nobody and beat a list of genuine challengers that was as long as you like..MASON WEAVER BIGGS MERCER RUDDOCK MORRISON BRUNO GRANT TUA MCCALL RAHMAN HOLYFIELD TUCKER JACKSON TYSON KLITSCHKO and ive probably missed a couple..great fighter good guy.
Hed get beat bu Tyson definitely, and prob an 80s superheavy if said fighter showed up in shape Biggs, Tucker Douglas etc
The Tyson/Lewis sparring session is so blown out of proportion. People claim Lewis somehow easily handled Tyson. Fast forward to their fight in 02, Lewis, fighting a dead old over the hill Tyson and was scared of letting his hands go. Steward had to scream at him 'get this mother****er out of here' . I dont believe for one second Lewis somehow easily handled the younger Tyson. Not going by how scared he looked against him when they did eventually fight. taken from the HBO documentary Lewis says 'i didnt want to fight this guy (Tyson), hes an animal'