Lewis-Tyson Is On

Looking back, I can’t believe how many people gave Mike a chance.

He was absolutely done.

Unless you had a deep dislike for Mike, it was horrible.

I think Mike’s fans were being nostalgic and wanted him to turn back the clock one last time. I have to believe that some of those bets were made from the heart and not the head.

Personally, I couldn’t take any pleasure out of that fight at all.

The build up was a circus.

The pre-fight brawl was either staged or it showed that Mike shouldn’t have been anywhere near a ring.

I watched it again recently. Most people got caught up in the excitement without asking the following question:

How on earth could Mike have MISSED that guy with the punch that he threw?

To me, it looked like a script from the WWE. And one of the saddest things I’ve seen as boxing fan, was Mike sat in the corner saying that he couldn’t let his hands go.

The whole thing was horrible.

Mike was a punching bag because he needed the cheque so badly.

 

For those too young to remember it, there were a lot of really delusional Tyson fans then.

Even after Lewis retired, a lot of them were convinced that Tyson could take over the division again!

 

Jack Johnson verse James j Jeffries.
Jack Johnson ko Bob Fitz.
Charles beats Joe Louis.
Marciano kos Louis.
Muhammed Ali kos Archie Moore.
Larry Holmes wrtd Ali.
Berbick wpt Ali.
Tyson wko Larry Holmes.

And another one on the list of passing the torch.. Lewis w ko Tyson.
Even tho Lewis was almost retired himself this fight had to happen. It wrapped up the Tyson Era and to a degree, the Lewis Era.
An Historical fight imo.

 

It' interesting to try and view this without the benefit of hindsight which is easier said than done. I remember the press conference when Tyson went bezerk and remember thinking that he had no chance. Lewis was big and quiet and brooding, as he always tended to be, and his cool aloofness rattled Tyson. He was just desperate to get a reaction from Lewis.
Given Tyson's melt down at the presser, I was shocked at this 1st round performance. It didn't look like he was desperate, he looked good. Quick and dangerous and I was thinking Lewis was in genuine danger but by the third it was clear that that was all Tyson had.
The end was a total humbling. Tyson showing pain in the corner as the swab stick was applied to his eyebrow and telling his crew that he was gone. I don't like him much as a guy but he came out and took his lumps so props to him. Lewis was imperious and ruthless.
I was delighted for Lewis who was a fine Fighter and Champion and had been given almost zero credit until the Holyfield fights. It was ironic that in beating the remains of Mike Tyson people finally gave him the plaudits he had more than earned.

 

If Tyson had caught Lennox and pulled off the upset. Holyfield would have probably would have gotten the first title shot. Also he would have probably still beat Tyson. If he had a third match with Lennox he would have probably been ko'd.

 

I like Tyson and did back then but Tyson’s being so overrated and held on a pedestal won me a lot of bets among my friends who were convinced Tyson could t lose if he trained and the weather was a certain temperate and he ate the a good breakfast. It’s crazy but those fanatics and myths about him still live to this day. “If Tyson was in his prime” is the most overused and redundant myth in boxing.

 

It’s now downplayed on Lewis’ resume, but it’s not like just anyone could’ve shown up and taken Tyson apart. Tyson was still legitimately top 5 in the decision and could’ve come out with a win if it were Ruiz, Oquendo, Kirk Johnson, Rahman or some of the other guys floating around In the division at the time. I could see him laying out Dillianabol Whyte.

It wasn’t the same Mike but he was still a problem.

 

Remember this well too.
Tyson was still a household name the world over and Lewis while not quite that level wasn't far off. This was huge at the time, press coverage was as big as Floyd-Pac if not bigger IIRC, many never thought it would happen because of both guys being with rival networks HBO and Showtime so when it finally did there was huge relief all round.
I think a fact that gets forgotten all these years later is that not long before this Lewis had gotten KO'ed by Hasim Rahman, a contender who most believed Tyson could beat. Factor in the McCall KO loss and other instances that suggested Lennox had a less than formidable chin and while Tyson had clearly faded his power had not, all it what would take was one good punch and Lewis would be gone was the belief among many and not an entirely unrealistic one although again in hindsight we later discovered that Lennox Lewis DID have a good chin, the Rahman and McCall losses were more down to Lennox being overconfident, bad preparation and looking forward to more more prestigious opponents (Bowe, Holyfield and later Tyson) rather than focusing on what was in front of him.
My gut instinct at the time was that Lewis would school Tyson before stopping him around the same time as Douglas and Holyfield did (final 3rd) you only had to watch MT's fights with Nielsen and Golota to see he was slow as molasses by that point and likely wouldn't get a chance to land anything.
The fight was actually a dud but it gave both guys a monster payday and cemented Lewis' legacy.

 

Think about it though, Tyson in 2002 was better than Wilder has ever been..

 

Why would anybody have thought that?

 

I could see Rahman and Whyte beating that specific version of Mike.

He was only a threat in the early rounds.

 

Aye, while The World Awaits (Floyd vs. Oscar) may have set new live gate and PPV records five years after this, for me this remains the biggest (in terms of "feel") that I can remember.

 

I honestly don’t think it did anything for Lennox’ legacy or resume.

Evander had already beaten a still dangerous version of Mike 6 years earlier.