He ran from Vitali after getting that lucky doctor stoppage. He was getting beat up by Vitali like the proverbial red-headed stepchild. He ran like a ***** from the rematch. Big George Foreman pretty much called him out as a coward when he refused the rematch. George remarked that no one turns down that amount of money and that fight could have really energized heavyweight boxing back then. Nowhere near Wlad in terms of longevity of championship reign or number of fights. Wlad is top five; Lewis ekes out a top ten for heavyweights.
Lewis fought and beat Vitali, who has Wlad beat who is as good as Vitali? Did Wlad rematch all the people who beat him?
I'd favor Lewis to beat most heavyweights who are considered "all time greats". He had his limitations though. He was starched twice and didn't deserve the win against Ray Mercer and using his foul cup as a rib protector detracts from his skill set IMO. I rate him above Joe Louis because the competition he faced was far better than Louis' competition. He retired when the most interesting fights for him were just about unavoidable.
My All-time Heavyweights: 1. Muhammad Ali 2. Joe Louis 3. Lennox Lewis 4. Larry Holmes 5. Wlad Klit So I rate him #3 all time at heavyweight. He beat the best of his generation, beat every man he ever stepped in the ring with.
By far the best HW of the 90s... He beat the best of the 80s fighters, 90s fighters and the second best fighter of the 00s, and would have likely beaten or at least fought the best HW of the 00s had Wlad not got blitzkreiged by Sanders.:good His resume speaks for itself. GOAT when the dust settles. Wlad might end up consensus top 5.:good
I have to rate him over Louis, Ali and Holmes because those three didn't have to face a truly global field of competitors in a generation that produces heavyweight sized men regularly.
He retired because he finally met another gifted boxer his size but younger and stronger and smarter than him, Dr. Vitali Klitshko. He ran like a ***** from the rematch and he will never live that down. Can you imagine Sugar Leonard or Roberto Duran running from a rematch especially one that involved tens of millions of dollars in purse money? George Foreman called him out on his reluctance to rematch Vitali. Lewis also bitched out of a chess match with Vitali after bragging how great he was at the game. He knew he would lose.
This is reasonable. Lewis is a great fighter, but as you have suggested, he's grossly overrated by some. At HW, he's borderline top ten, at best.
No he retired because he was old by boxing standards, smart enough know when he was past his best and good and smart enough to have made enough money that he didn't need to fight on past his prime.