Newman offered that because he knew Lewis would turn it down, he had no intention of letting Bowe near Lewis.
Rubbish. Lewis-Ruddock and Holyfield-Bowe were agreed eliminators to crown a new post-Tyson best in boxing. Lewis-Ruddock was carried on HBO, and Ruddock was very well thought of for his spirited losses to Tyson. Lewis crushed him and sent a message with the entire world watching. Every fight fan in the world wanted to see Bowe-Lewis because of how good both fights had been in their own way, Bowe-Holyfield a see-saw classic, and Lewis-Ruddock a brutal crossroads. The idea that no one knew who Lewis was...he was not bringing anything to the table...is ridiculous. This would have been a megafight, and Bowe chickened out, pure ans simple.
Nobody said people didn't know who Lewis was, but he wasn't a box-office attraction, meaning people weren't very willing on paying money to see him fight, despite the fact that he was a top boxer. Bowe had no reason whatsoever to be afraid of Lewis.
1. Lennox Lewis 2. George Foreman 3. Wladimir Klitschko 4. Vitali Klitschko 5. Riddick Bowe 6. Anthony Joshua 7. Nikolai Valuev 8. Primo Carnera 9. Gerry Cooney 10. Deontay Wilder
And what I am trying to tell you is that he absolutely was, being an Olympic gold medalist, featured on TV several times, and with a brutal knockout of Ruddock on HBO for what was given to be an eliminator. If they couldn't sell a fight with Lewis, then there wasn't a fighter out of prison that they could have sold.
Fury has just 2 wins to his name, Wilder is of questionable quality despite appearing on my list* Also Fury hasn’t defended a belt as yet * Wilder makes the list due to his length of tenure as World Champion and the number of defences he made, Despite the dubious nature of his opponents.
Yes, they could sell a fight with Lewis, but I'd bet you anything they'd sell a fight with Foreman or Morrison a lot easier. Newman offered Lewis 10 %, roughly the same that was offered to Bowe when he got his title shot, so the offer was more than fair. If Lewis really wanted that fight, he should have taken it even if they didn't offer him any money at all.
Neither of which were mandatories who had the leverage of the WBC #1 ranking behind them. And was a Foreman or Morrison match ever made, by the way? The truth is, Bowe just wanted to crush cans and picks up checks.