Top 25 Heavyweights OAT

1. Ali
2. Louis
3. Lewis
4. Holmes
5. Foreman
6. Liston
7. Tyson
8. Usyk
9. Holyfield
10. Frazier
11. Bowe
12. W Klitschko
13. V Klitschko
14. Fury
15. Dempsey
16. Marciano
17. Johnson
18. Jeffries
19. Wills
20. Norton
21. Charles
22. Walcott
23. Witherspoon
24. Douglas
25. Ibeabuchi

 

Lewis aged remarkably well, just like Vitali. I think Vitali was better after his return. His best form was against Samders, Peter, and Johnson. He looked great against Gomez, and at his best against Chris Arreola. Lewis was outclassed in 2003, but he could prove the cut wasn't a fluke.

Lennox possessed the outstanding qualities necessary to be in his prime at a later age: reach that doesn't age, a powerful punch that lands last, and ring intelligence that increases with age. He didn't have to move around the ring like Usyk, who, at the same age as Lennox and Vitali, is still in the game.

But you can swap them around; I know both of them too well to blindly follow trends.

 

It's actually crazy that Vitali gets more credit from being stopped by the out of shape, past prime, 38 year old Lewis than Rahman gets for stopping the prime Lennox.

 

Top 25 best or top 25 greatest ?

 

You never cease to amaze

 

I get that a lot.

 

Define prime for me. Lewis was at his career heaviest, 37 years old and took Vitali on 2 weeks notice wheras Vitali claimed he had been studying Lewis for years and still lost via accumulated damage, not just 1 cut, so no fluke. Lewis landed more punches in Vitali than any of his other opponents

Lewis at that point was not at his peak, he was on the decline, his reflexes had diminished and while he was never fast, his speed clearly waned, That version of Lewis is not as good as 1996-2000 Lennox.

You hate Lennox, so it's no surprise you claim a fighter on the wrong side of 30 and not at his best fighting weight is still at his peak wheras the 31 year old Vitali whos in the best shape of his career supposedly wasn't in his prime lmfao. And then you put Vitali above Lewis on the all time ranking.... What kind of nonesense is this ?

 

Because with Rahman there is this opinion he got "lucky". To be honest I do think Mercer genuinely faced a Lewis close to top form and focus and deserves more credit in comparison.

 

Dude, stop already with the Lennox was his heaviest. 1) The extra weight was a technique Steward wanted for Lewis so he could tire Vitali out. 2) If he showed up out of shape that is his own issue. He's a professional fighter and this wasn't the 1st time he came in supposedly out of shape.

Lennox was getting busted up. Yes, he was 37, but it's not that old especially when Vitali fought until he was 42. Lennox didn't even have that many fights. Stop whining.

 

Who did Vitali fight in his late 30s and 40s that was as anywhere near as good as an aging Lennox ? He'd have lost to Lewis because he lost in his prime. He wasn't beating Povetkin was he ? he was fighting Arreola, Peter and Juan Gomez. An old Lennox Lewis would look good against those guys too just like he looked good against a shot Mike Tyson, he would tee off on a heavy set 40 year old Briggs and get him out of there

It backfired and Lewis looked lethargic, he was out of shape. Furthermore how does this prove Lewis was still at his peak and that it was a good strategy just because Steward came up with it ? Lol

 

Who cares? You can only fight who was available. I forgot what publication, but Lewis' team was talking about additional fights after Vitali (before the fight).

I don't care if he showed up in shape or not. That's his fault. He could have come in shape if he wanted to have the rematch. Lewis walked away from a massive pay day.

 

In the case of such a big guy, whose style relies on frequent clinching, controlling distance, and changing the pace of the fight, a few extra pounds doesn't matter. Was Fury lighter against Usyk than against Ngannou? In which fight was he better prepared? It's ridiculous to talk about Vitali studying Lewis. How did he study him for years? Did he attend academic lectures?

In reality, Vitali, whose defensive style relied on a deep, back-legged approach, was PERFECT for Lewis, who possessed enormous reach and whose signature punch was the overhand. Lennox couldn't have asked for a better opponent. The style clearly favored Lennox, and the theory that Lennox was in poor form is a cheap excuse. Besides, Lennox was waiting for the result of the Klitschko-Johnson fight before retiring. Check when he announced it!

 

Fighting whom ? An old Lewis on top is still an old Lewis

If you're admitting to all of this then the whole conversation is irrelevant. Out of shape Lewis beat Vitali and his now wife wanted him to retire so he did

 

Conditioning matters, Lewis underestimated Vitali, saw him as a stiff Euro, fought a completely different style he prepared for and he was getting old. Elite Boxing is a very narrow margin, all these factors added together can change the course of a fight.

The last time Lewis was at a career heaviest he got knocked out, so your opinion is mute in that regard. The evidence suggests otherwise

It wasn't just Vitali throwing off his coordination. Worse Reflexes will diminish your ability to control distance, slower hands and feet means slower on the draw, will also affect your ability to counter punch. Him being heavier than Klitschko was never going to help him, but there are ways it harmed him

 

Povetkin was nowhere near Vitali's league. I would've loved to have seen Odlanier Solis fight Povetkin though.