Peak Lennox Lewis V Peak Oleksandr Usyk

Very good point and I completely agree. It really isn't fair for anyone to say Lewis truly avoided soutpaws. My only point is that I believe Uysk would be difficult stylistically for a conventional fighter like Lewis that set up with his jab and fought at a measured pace. I wouldn't pick any of the southpaws from Lewis's era over him but I do think Chris Byrd would give him a lot of problems just like Uysk would.

 

Would it be fair to say Byrd gave virtually everyone problems?

 

Yes I agree Usyk would be good at timing Lewis and measuring him. If Lewis allowed himself to get flustered could definitely start losing rounds. I think manny stewart would really need to come in with a plan to spoil Usyk's style and that a Lewis win would be a pretty ugly one. I think both guys would land on each other at times and check each other's chins. I also think Lewis hit harder than anyone Usyk has fought so not sure how he'd react to that esp downstairs.

Byrd vs Lewis I'm not as sure. Byrd was always leaning back and sideways and as I mentioned Lewis had that power and, despite being a Byrd fan, I have to admit when a guy hit at a certain level Byrd was in for a tough night. Byrd weathered the storm against Tua, but Tua didn't have the reach Lewis had.

 

Well, I'm not sure. Chris Bird didn't give Ike "The President" Ibeabuchi a problem, and Chris Bird's most famous victory was due to an injury to Vitali Klitschko, not so much due to Bird.
I also feel Bird should have lost to Gollota; I think that's fair (he should have lost to Vitali too, but the injury).

 

I think it's fair to say Byrd was definitely giving Vitali problems. Many claim he threw his shoulder out due to Byrd making him miss so often. I think it's also fair to say Byrd gave Ike some problems and was very awkward for him until he ended up catching up with him. Very impressive win tho for Ike.

 

Very true. Definitely a boogie man for heavyweights.

 

Usyk would have to be better than Holyfield. Do we know that yet? Is usyk really a better heavyweight than Evander?


We do know that Lewis beat better fighters than Joshua. But so far Joshua is the best superheavyweight that Usyk has beat so far. What does that actually mean when Joshua himself was never quite unanimously recognised as the best of that division anyway?

I’m happy to devise a theory of how either one of them can win against the other….but we don’t know if Usyk was as good a heavyweight as Holyfield.

 

I can't think of rated HW southpaws during Lewis's time other than Moorer, Byrd and Sanders, or have i forgotten someone?. I doubt the reason those fights didn't happen was because Lewis or his handlers were concerned about the style match up. I suspect Moorer, and/or his handlers would have been extremely concerned, though.

It's true Lewis had a good jab, but his straight right was arguably his best and most dangerous punch. A good, powerful straight right is also the scourge of southpaws.

Prime for prime I would heavily favour Lennox over every southpaw in history.

 

Those were definitely the top three southpaw heavyweights from Lewis's era. I think the reason those fights didn't happen was simply risk versus reward. I hear what your saying about Lewis's right hand which is my point. He set up that right hand with his jab like most conventional fighters and that is much more difficult against a southpaw's right jab. It's simply stylistic issue but not an end all.

 

If they didn't happen because of Lewis's team it would have been more due to lack of reward than risk. As I say, I'd confidently take a prime Lewis over every southpaw in history.

 

I'm not prepared to say usyk is a better hw than the holyfield who fought foreman, but I think usyk who beat AJ is a better hw than the depleted holyfield who fought lewis.

 

I like Usyk and think he's great, but he's getting a bit too much credit for his fights with AJ. Would anyone here actually bet on AJ over Lewis? Just saying, looking at the AJ fights as saying much of anything about how a fight with Lewis would go seems a stretch.

 

I hear what you saying but I remember when Lewis was a young champion like Uysk is now. I watched him get knocked out by McCall and Rahman and people talked bad about Lewis just like folks today do about AJ and even Uysk. 20 years have passed and most have Lewis in the top five all time heavyweights. I think the same will happen with Uysk. He won't be truly appreciated until well after he is retired.

 

Uysk has arguably already done enough to be ranked above Lennox p4p, but he's 36, I don't think he's good enough or has enough time left to surpass Lewis at HW.

 

Time is definitely not on his side and the names are simply not there in his era. Beating Fury would look great on his resume but I don't know what else he can do to make that fight happen. He agreed to not only just 30% of the purse but to fight Fury in the UK. Fury wants no part of him. Lewis to his credit came to US and unified against Holyfield.