Shannon Briggs: I Boxed A Legend…Lennox Lewis

Discussion in 'World Boxing Forum' started by Caelum, Jun 1, 2012.


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  1. Caelum

    Caelum Boxing Addict Full Member

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    BoxingInsider: What made Lennox Lewis so effective?
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    BoxingInsider: What did you learn about him in there, did anything that he did surprise you?
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    BoxingInsider: A lot of pundits and fans now rate Lennox Lewis as one of the greatest of all time, what would you say is it about him that earns him those high praises?
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    BoxingInsider: Was Lewis one of the hardest hitters you ever fought?
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    http://www.boxinginsider.com/headlines/shannon-briggs-i-boxed-a-legend-lennox-lewis/
     
    Caelum, Jun 1, 2012
    Caelum, Jun 1, 2012
    #1
  2. ianwigley

    ianwigley Guest

    Didn't Lewis duck Mike Tyson until he (Tyson) was way out of his prime?
     
    ianwigley, Jun 1, 2012
    ianwigley, Jun 1, 2012
    #2
  3. suckeggs

    suckeggs Boxing Addict Full Member

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    So basically Shannon... what you're saying is... because Lewis didn't go balls out and brawl with everyone he's not an all time great HW??????? Oh dear
     
    suckeggs, Jun 1, 2012
    suckeggs, Jun 1, 2012
    #3
  4. suckeggs

    suckeggs Boxing Addict Full Member

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    :-(
    Lewis was Tysons Mandatory and Tyson paid him off to step aside. Lewis didn't duck anybody
     
    suckeggs, Jun 1, 2012
    suckeggs, Jun 1, 2012
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  5. ianwigley

    ianwigley Guest

    Gotcha S, thank you for that.:good:good:good
     
    ianwigley, Jun 1, 2012
    ianwigley, Jun 1, 2012
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  6. ianwigley

    ianwigley Guest

    Not my words...

    This I ask not rhetorically, but because I don't really know, and seek the feedback of the most knowledgable boxing board around.

    It seems to me as a non-fan of Lewis's--though I respect him personally as a "gentleman" and the fact that he beat all comers--that he didn't quite have fights with all (but who does?) or even most deserving opponents.

    There are reasons of course, and he may not necessarily have ducked these others. For example, Riddick Bowe ducked him, not the reverse.

    However, the lists of top 10 fighters during Lennox's day, as I recall, include the following. Does anyone else care to name fighters Lennox should legitimately have fought? This is NOT an exercise in saying that he would have beaten this one or that, or lost to someone else. Just to determine decent, possible, even likely matches that were ultimately not made.

    I have read (but am not sure it's so) that Lewis was the only heavyweight champion who was stripped of every version of the title for refusing to fight the #1 contender: WBA - Ruiz, IBF - Byrd, WBC - Klitschko.

    Hence the list of fighters he didn't meet:

    Riddick Bowe
    Mike Tyson (until Tyson was a shell of himself)
    Evander Holyfield (until Holy was a shell of himself)
    Michael Moorer
    George Foreman
    Tim Witherspoon
    John Ruiz
    Chris Byrd
    Corrie Sanders
    Vlad Klitschko
    Roy Jones Jr. (offered incredible $ to fight Roy and rejected it)
    Herbie Hide
    Greg Page
    Tony Tubbs
    Buster Douglas

    There are probably legit reasons for not fighting some of the above, and a few likely weren't well-ranked, but I'm hoping some of the members here can provide some reasons for Lennox's not fighting certain fighters, and also possibly add to the list above as appropriate.

    Thanks

    http://www.cyberboxingzone.com/cbzf...-Lennox-Lewis-avoid-multiple-worthy-opponents
     
    ianwigley, Jun 1, 2012
    ianwigley, Jun 1, 2012
    #6
  7. irishny

    irishny Obsessed with Boxing banned

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    No.

    How do you duck someone who is in jail for nearly 4 years or banned for biting peoples ears off,or getting beat up by Evander Holyfield when you are in your prime?

    Also, fyi Lewis was older than Tyson when they fought.
     
    irishny, Jun 1, 2012
    irishny, Jun 1, 2012
    #7
  8. suckeggs

    suckeggs Boxing Addict Full Member

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    Tried to answer some
     
    suckeggs, Jun 1, 2012
    suckeggs, Jun 1, 2012
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  9. Caelum

    Caelum Boxing Addict Full Member

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    Not really. Tyson burning out was his own fault. And going to jail didn't help either. But the time they met, Tyson was shot but that's on Tyson for messing up his career.

    I blame Tyson, not Lewis.

    Interesting to note, Emanuel thought Tyson was also going to burn out in his 20's because of his style. I can't recall which age he put it at. Mid-late 20's I think.

    I would have given him at least to 27 if he continued on the same path Cayton and Rooney had him on. However, even Rooney admitted during the years he was training him that Boredom could derail him. So maybe he never makes it that far.
     
    Caelum, Jun 1, 2012
    Caelum, Jun 1, 2012
    #9
  10. irishny

    irishny Obsessed with Boxing banned

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    ^ this
     
    irishny, Jun 1, 2012
    irishny, Jun 1, 2012
    #10
  11. mgdb26

    mgdb26 Boxing Addict Full Member

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    I'm confused. In the threat title it says Briggs said Lennox is "a legend". In the interview he says "he was very ordinary", and "I can't say he was great". What the hell, OP?
     
    mgdb26, Jun 1, 2012
    mgdb26, Jun 1, 2012
    #11
  12. Caelum

    Caelum Boxing Addict Full Member

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    Tyson was past it by the time he fought Holyfield. And so was Holyfield. The big differences: Holyfield was active and had the mentality to stay hungry; Tyson wasn't.

    Everybody ages different based on genetics and life-style (which includes wear and tear in and outside of the ring).

    I can't remember the exact quote Dundee said, but he called Tyson the oldest 2? year old he ever saw.


    Some factors for Lewis possibly remaining in the sport at a high level longer than most:

    Size advantage.
    Activity.
    Great Trainer.
    Mother as a support system.
    Forced to stay hungry for a long period of times because he was waiting on getting those big fights. Although he could have done what others did and got bored and derailed so I do think he had the ability of "patience." Especially given his willingness to stay an amateur to make sure he won his Gold Medal. Start of a Champion (for the long haul)
     
    Caelum, Jun 1, 2012
    Caelum, Jun 1, 2012
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  13. Caelum

    Caelum Boxing Addict Full Member

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    I think its just their title and not the quote of the fighter. There are a series of them. I posted one with Ribalta being interviewed about Tyson as well. Same title. Basically, these are Legends and now we are going to get an interview from someone that fought them.
     
    Caelum, Jun 1, 2012
    Caelum, Jun 1, 2012
    #13
  14. Caelum

    Caelum Boxing Addict Full Member

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    May 16, 2010
    Interview with Oliver McCall



    Boxinginsider.com: I always remember your first Lewis fight when you were crying coming to the ring. Why were you crying?
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    Boxinginsider.com: How did you know you were going to win that fight? When you came out of that dressing room with that fire in your eyes, I thought to myself Wow this guy actually looks like he can win this thing…
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    Boxinginsider.com: Are you surprised at how Lennox Lewis went on to great success after that? It seemed like your KO of him kind of helped him become a better fighter…
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    Boxinginsider.com: He never showed his very best? His full potential?
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    Boxinginsider.com: You are renowned for being able to take a big punch. Who was the hardest puncher you faced?
    Oliver McCall: “Bert Cooper. Left hook. That was the hardest punch that I ever felt and that I had to overcome. It felt like a truck had hit me. I never got hit by a truck but it felt like if a truck would have hit me.”

    Boxinginsider.com: Who else was up there? Lennox?
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    Boxinginsider.com: How about Tyson? He has to be up there?
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    Boxinginsider.com: You sparred hundreds of rounds with Tyson, right?
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    Boxinginsider.com: You’ve never been knocked down, true?
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    Boxinginsider.com: Now who do you see as probably taking over as the next dominant heavyweight champ?
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    Caelum, Jun 1, 2012
    Caelum, Jun 1, 2012
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  15. Davo

    Davo Boxing Addict Full Member

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    I think ******ed Klit fans have lead to lennox being a bit overrated. He is clearly head and shoulders above either Klit. Nobody with sense can debate that. So by them claiming their heroes are great fighters, it causes him to have to be labelled the GOAT. Also, the Klits are so horrifically boring they make Lennox seem like an action fighter. I remember how much everyone used to rag on Lennox's boring, plodding style. He was too risk averse, just nowhere near as bad as Voidimir.

    I agree that he was not as great as Larry Holmes and quite a few others too.
    Lennox is definitely somewhere on the ATG list, but lower down IMO. Johnson, Louis, Ali, Foreman, Tyson, etc. all beat him out handily in my estimation.
     
    Davo, Jun 1, 2012
    Davo, Jun 1, 2012
    #15
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