Nobody in the history of boxing can beat the best version of Lewis. Nobody.

Interesting way to look at it, his legs slowed down as it became harder to carry that 6'3 frame around the ring for a full 12-15 rounds of Boxing. If he was in this era I don't think he would bulk up to say 230 - 240lbs.

I think he'd work to his strengths (his speed and fleet of foot) and therefore remain light.

He wouldn't expect to out-strength the bigger heavyweight whether he was bulked up or not. His best game-plan against likes of Bowe, Lewis and the Klitschko's would be to hit, move and outwork/outbox them. Ali would not have an easy time with prime versions of any of these guys, but I'm pretty sure that we've not yet seen a heavyweight since he retired who I would favor to beat him head to head.

In those 3 years he was doing a lot of public appearances as various universities around the US, interviews on TV Shows and his own Broadway show.

I can partly agree.

But I love Ali. :bart

 

The Dangerous part of Lewis is that he can "FIGHT" when he has to. That's why I liked the Ray Mercer fight. Mercer is a Strong MFer with a good chin and solid punch and forced Lewis to dig deep and he did. Lewis showed vulnerabilities in that fight but he still came out ahead. And who doesn't show vulnerabilities? Everyone does.
He also covered up pretty well for a Big Man on the inside. However, I've always wondered if that was 80's Tyson in there, would Tyson have been able to just put a combination together and get that uppercut in there between the guard like he has always done. And if he stuns Lewis...eh. His finishes back then were remarkable because he used to train specific combinations repeatedly in training that became instinctual. That is, until he stopped training and bad habits came into play and down goes Tyson looking for his mouth-piece.

You have to press Lewis though. Take him out of his comfort zone. Get him to fight at a pace he can't deal with because Big Men love to control the pace so that their tank doesn't run out.
You don't want to sit there and Box a 6'5 fighter with the physical and technical capabilities of Lewis. Very Hard to do. Even if you are capable of showing you can be 5'11 and out-jab 6'5 fighters like Tyson amazingly did.

Lewis best weapon to me would be still the Uppercut which was very powerful...along with his ability during his peak years to put more than one punch together. People like to point to the Jab and I agree it is a great weapon against Tyson like anyone else but Lewis's Jab was Very Good but not "Great" because he had a tendency to Paw with it. You aren't pawing with the Jab against Tyson. He is to fast and slick during the 80's and had an ability to Time and counter you with his own Jab and combinations.
You have to punch that Jab through his Skull to get his attention and throw more than one punch at a time behind that Jab.

Lewis has shown this ability as far as throwing a solid hard Jab with combinations in some of his fights. But he would need to be consistent with it at least for the first 8 rounds until Tyson has slowed and hopefully is frustrated (which he can be). That pawing with the Jab I just don't see working. To me, it's almost a waste when you have the talent of Lewis but I guess he had his reasons for it. I don't know. That Jab Wlad displays is remarkable.
But hey, maybe Lewis thought it was better to to paw with it as a distraction and a blocker of your vision so that he could set up his big right-hand. Probably. But would that work against Tyson given his foot speed unlike most of the rest of the HWs?



This fight was one of those fights that made me really like Lewis. I just like to see fighters push through the tough times in close fights.

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yMytoZsxqTY[/ame]




And I can certainly see Lennox Lewis beating Tyson but more so by UD. He is a Chess Player first and foremost but has the capabilities to send in the Cavalry if need be.



On a side note and not pertaining to this fight but just a general thought: Everybody has "off-days" but with Fighters, an "off day" is a real *****. And then you are judged on it like you were because there are "no excuses" Tough Profession.

 

Agree...


To Clarify my "Gone" remark: "Gone" as far as he was out of the sport (by the time he had physically matured and at his absolute best).

When he came back, those three years did him in. He said himself he didn't have the stamina in his legs anymore to dance around for the full fight like he used to. He had to be calculating with it. And his overall speed wasn't the same even though he was still fast.

However, he did recondition his body when he came back to absorb punishment specifically. But his main weapon of agility/speed was diminished.

I think in the 60's his weight tended to go up and down from low 200's to 215 tops.
I could easily see him being 220 lbs today and having that same physical ability he had with no decreased ability because he had the frame for it.


As far as fighting those that came after...yeah, he would have his troubles. He's human after all. But Goddamn his Mind/Heart/Will for fighting was incredible.

 

I do think Lewis does has the greatest chance to beat Ali out of all the modern Super-Heavyweights. He could beat Ali in a Hypothetical match-up. But I think Ali wins more than Lewis. One thing for certain is that Ali never lost to Boxers who were taller than him; Foreman, Bugner, Wepner & Terrell. Although those particular Boxers are not comparable to the 'Complete Package'' that Lewis represents.

The fact is neither Ali or Lewis have faced a fighter like each other, so it is difficult to find middle ground (Similar Opponents) to compare performances on how each Boxer dealt with the particular situation.

Manny Steward on Lewis/Ali:

"I just don’t think Ali could have easily outbox him, because of the size of Lennox, and Lennox could move on his feet pretty good, too. But Ali was the type of guy who found a way to win. I don’t know! It would have been a very tough fight for Ali, I could tell you that, though! He wouldn’t have been able to just easily outbox Lennox, and he wouldn’t have been able to intimidate Lennox with his whole gang, so to say. It would have been tough fight!"

Definitely a tough fight but Ali always found a way to win.

 

Same myth perpetuated again.

Tyson KO 1 6'5" Lou Savarese
Tyson KO 1 6'6" Sammy Scaff
Tyson KO 2 6'4" Alfonso Ratliff
Tyson TKO 7 6'5" Tyrell Biggs (beat Biggs at his best unlike Lewis)
He recorded a TKO against Golota who is 6'4" before it was changed to a NC

Mike was a master at slipping the jab and going to the body. Mike is a much better in fighter than that f@ggot Lewis, I don't see Lewis doing much inside and he would end up backing up or holding. Pushing Mike around in clinches doesn't mean much, Trevor Berbick was able to do it before he got a taste of Tysons power. Lewis doesn't have the chin to live with a prime Tyson for 12 rounds. A shot Tyson who completely neglected training lasted 8 rounds with Lewis. If he had the speed and explosiveness he had in his prime years Lewis easily gets rocked and destroyed.

The guys who lasted against Tyson had athleticism (Lewis is an OK athlete) and were guys with CHINS. James Tillis was 61" (not 6'5" super heavy like Lewis) and he was able to survive with Tyson because he had a CHIN and clinched, same with Razor Ruddock. Mitch Green survived because he had a iron chin and held on for dear life. Even guys like Pinklon Thomas who had iron chins and had never been KOed were vanquished by Tyson. Ribalta who fights just like Lewis but with a much superior chin was TKOed.

Only way Lewis can win is if he holds on the entire fight and tries to accumulate points. Mercer was able to get inside and damage Lewis and he has no where the skill, power, speed and accuracy that Tyson does.

Its only a matter of time until Lewis gets hit and KOed. Lewis was hittable even if he uses the jab.

Lewis only looks good against Mike's left overs. He was one shotted TWICE in his PRIME.

 

I think Wlad is actually the better pure "boxer": He has a better Jab, better Right-hand, and has an incredible short-left-hook when he bothers to use it (which he used to use it a lot more pre-Emanuel even though Emanuel tries to get him to use it).

Lewis's UPPERCUT is superior as I am not sure how often if ever Wlad uses it.

Lewis also had a smooth quality to him and wasn't so mechanical like Wlad which isn't bad at all but I'm just pointing out the difference in styles of the two Big Men.


That said, although Wlad has tremendous heart I don't think he is the "FIGHTER" that Lewis is and that to me can make a big difference in H2H matchups.

To clarify "Fighter": someone that can stand toe to toe and duke it out and has the ability to make it a test/fight of "Wills" as opposed to the "boxer" who prefers to make it a classical chess-match.

So Yes, I can agree with that. Lewis is one of, if not the Best of the Super-HWs.




I thought Bowe was exceptional when he bothered to climb out of bed, stay out of the fridge, and was motivated to fight. He was a smooth fighter as well.

Is it something in Brownsville, Brooklyn, New York that produces some odd behaviors in their fighters like Tyson, Bowe, Briggs and Judah?
WTF atsch
Al "Bummy" Davis was from there as well. Some interesting talent/characters.

 

6.5-7 Not feather-fisted as some critics suggest, But not devastating power. Although when Ali decided to sit down on his punches he could seriously hurt you, but his game isn't based around power.

 

lennox never had to face calzaghe!

 

What about prime James "Buster" Douglas? He had a short prime (lasted about 38 minutes), but when I watch him on that night, I feel like its the closest thing to pugilistic perfection I've ever seen out of a heavyweight.

 

Ruddock himself said that the Tyson fights took a lot out of both of them.

Golota was on drugs that fight and wasn't himself.

Golota is an animal if he's not drugged and has his head straight.