Where Do You Guys Rank Lennox Lewis?

My interpretation of it is that, after beating Tyson, Lewis came to the conclusion that he had no rivals and that he was levels above anyone else and that he could coast threw the next few years with minimal effort, getting easy paydays until he retired three or four fights down the line in 2005.

Fighting Vitali forced him to accept reality. There were still dangerous and legimate challenges out there for him and if he stayed active he would have to take them. Retaining his spot as the top heavyweight in the world would require more dedication and more training than he was capable of motivating himself to undertake at the time.

He held on in the hope that he could get another easy payday or two out of boxing, and if Johnson had beaten Vitali he would probably have stayed active until late-2004 at least, but Vitali becoming mandatory again meant that he had to have another tough fight if he stuck around and he wasn't interested in that anymore.

 

MAJR,

Hi mate,

These HW debates are my favourite, they throw up such a wide variety of opinions.

I agree.

I agree. I think the Vitali fight gave him a reality check.

Again, I agree.


Good post. :good

 

H2h the best

 

On his best day he would have beat all of the other heavyweights out there.

Ali would probably outbox/outthink him over 5 fights. ( like won 2, lost 3)
So, H2h, number 2 for me.

His resume is lacking a few names what makes him number 1.
Like Bowe ducking him(He would have beat Bowe) and beating Prime Tyson would have given his resume a much needed scalp for him to be judged solely on resume.

H2h though, skills we watched from Lewis is number 2 all time for me.

 

Right after Larry Holmes.

 

What a cruel ***** not your fault you have a tiny *****

 

global competition meaning Joe Louis didn't fight anybody from the USSR etc.


Generation regularly producing heavyweight competitors meaning 200lb+ 6' + sized men are more common these days than they were in the 30s etc. Making for a more numerous field of competitors. Sort of like the best chess player in London would most likely beat the best chess player in Galveston.