Where do you rank Tyson among Lewis' best wins?

Discussion in 'Classic Boxing Forum' started by Big Ukrainian, Jul 1, 2019.


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  1. Big Ukrainian

    Big Ukrainian Boxing Junkie Full Member

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    Tyson from the Lewis fight was a shell of his former self. Everyone and their mother know it. But where do you rank a shell of former Iron Mike among Lewis best wins?

    The wins in Lewis' resume that I ranks clearly above 2002 version of Tyson:

    1. Holyfield
    2. Vitali
    3. Mercer
    4. Tua
    5. Golota
    6. Ruddock
    7. Rahman
    8. Bruno
    9. McCall (cocaine-addicted, but even those version of McCall would beat 2002 version of Tyson)
    10. Akinwande (awful fight but a win is a win)
    11. Tucker (yes, he was past prime but not shot like Mike was)
    12. Briggs
    13. Mavrovic

    There are only 3 fighters among Lewis' title defenses, with whom I'd favour 2002 version of Tyson - Botha, Jackson and Michael Grant. And Botha is still questionablem since he was winning against much better, 1999 version of Tyson, until he got caught. OK, may be Briggs would have fought a stupid fight like he often did and would have been caught early, but had he survived the first 3 rounds, he would beat that version of Tyson.

    PS: As for Lewis vs Tyson prime for prime, I think Lewis would have always been an extremely tough opponent for Mike considering his size, skills and especially his ability to hold. He wasn't any worse than Wlad in holding, he just used clinches not as often as Wald did. Considering that Mike had problems when tall fighters wre holding him (Tucker, Smith, Ruddock), he would have had his hands full with Lewis, who was much more skilled clincher than Tucker, Smith or Ruddock.
     
    Big Ukrainian, Jul 1, 2019
    Big Ukrainian, Jul 1, 2019
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  2. Big Ukrainian

    Big Ukrainian Boxing Junkie Full Member

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    Mistakenly posted this thread in the General forum. It clearly belongs to Classic
     
    Big Ukrainian, Jul 1, 2019
    Big Ukrainian, Jul 1, 2019
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  3. LeftRightDownThePipe

    LeftRightDownThePipe Well-Known Member banned Full Member

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    35 year old past prime Tyson is definitely up there for Lewis as far as his best wins. The Vitali fight wasn’t really a win for Lewis. It was more unfinished business and even Lewis knows that. That’s why he obviously gets so touchy when the fight is brought up. He gets even more touchy when asked why the rematch didn’t happen :)

    I think Rahman rematch and Tyson were his best wins. Throw in beating nervous breakdown McCall for his 3rd best win.
     
    LeftRightDownThePipe, Jul 1, 2019
    LeftRightDownThePipe, Jul 1, 2019
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  4. Boon

    Boon Boxing Addict banned Full Member

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    Tyson was very much over the hill when these two fought. Not being a "prime Tyson" fangirl.... He was completely shot at that stage of his career.
     
    Boon, Jul 1, 2019
    Boon, Jul 1, 2019
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  5. G Man

    G Man Boxing Addict Full Member

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    It meant as much as McBride's win over Tyson.
     
    G Man, Jul 1, 2019
    G Man, Jul 1, 2019
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  6. alangjk

    alangjk Active Member Full Member

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    Mike Tyson was like Kenneth J. Sullivan by the time he fought Lennox Lewis. A mere shadow of his former self. Nothing more than a name.

    Wouldn't be very high if I made a list.
     
    alangjk, Jul 1, 2019
    alangjk, Jul 1, 2019
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  7. G Man

    G Man Boxing Addict Full Member

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    If Lewis' win over the shadow of Tyson meant so much then we need to start bigging up Williams and McBride too.
     
    G Man, Jul 1, 2019
    G Man, Jul 1, 2019
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  8. NoNeck

    NoNeck Pugilist Specialist

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    Tyson was still top 5 in the division. It was kind of like the Golota fight, where there was uncertainty leading up to the fight but it seemed like a mismatch in hindsight.

    It was firmly behind Holyfield, Vitali, Rahman II and Ruddock. It was on par with or arguably better than anything else.
     
    NoNeck, Jul 1, 2019
    NoNeck, Jul 1, 2019
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  9. Eggman

    Eggman "The cream of the crop! Nobody does it better! Full Member

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    Tyson was clearly done, but Lewis needed it for legacy.

    He needed the tyson win on his resume. Remember most pundits and boxers were picking tyson to win, it was like like 70/30% tyson
     
    Eggman, Jul 1, 2019
    Eggman, Jul 1, 2019
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  10. Eggman

    Eggman "The cream of the crop! Nobody does it better! Full Member

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    Those who picked tyson

    Larry Holmes
    Evander Holyfield
    John Ruiz
    Riddick bowe (no surprise)
    Frank maloney
    Rahman
    Glenn mccrory
    Jon Saraceno

    Amongst many, many others
     
    Eggman, Jul 1, 2019
    Eggman, Jul 1, 2019
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  11. GOAT Primo Carnera

    GOAT Primo Carnera Member of the PC Fan Club Full Member

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    Thats absolutely the case. And as I agree with that list in hindsight of what level Tyson was at that stage, its a complete joke how many leech wanted to have a piece of "Iron Mike Tyson":

    - Vitali called him out
    - Even Roy Jones wanted some peace of legend
    - Ten years after Tyson retired, James Toney still wanted a peace of cake?

    Who else was calling for a shot legend with a name that time?
    Guess how many of that fellows would shout that name for having a fight with the 21 year old version....

    Lewis wasn´t the freshest as well. Tyson was like wearing concrete shoes.

    The screen on the left is like on .5 speed :lol:
    This content is protected
     
    Last edited: Jul 1, 2019
    GOAT Primo Carnera, Jul 1, 2019
    GOAT Primo Carnera, Jul 1, 2019
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  12. Eggman

    Eggman "The cream of the crop! Nobody does it better! Full Member

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    Yeah I remember watching it with my dad, and he was rooting for Lewis. Traditional dad, didn’t like tyson and his swearing, behaviour etc lol.

    But by the 6th round we were both willing mike to show something. It was sad
     
    Eggman, Jul 1, 2019
    Eggman, Jul 1, 2019
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  13. Oakland Billy Smith

    Oakland Billy Smith Active Member banned Full Member

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    Not very highly, as Tyson was a punching bag by that point....but it was still a fight that had to happen.

    I rate the Tyson fight behind Holyfield, Klitschko, and probably even Tua
     
    Oakland Billy Smith, Jul 1, 2019
    Oakland Billy Smith, Jul 1, 2019
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  14. Alphafighter

    Alphafighter Active Member banned Full Member

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    Even before the fight occurred vast majority of public opinion was that the fight was taking place too late
     
    Alphafighter, Jul 1, 2019
    Alphafighter, Jul 1, 2019
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  15. Big Ukrainian

    Big Ukrainian Boxing Junkie Full Member

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    Yes, a lot of boxers picked Tyson to win, but that was because they wanted him to win.

    Holyfield was still mad at judges decision in the rematch with lewis (which he thinks he won)
    Holmes always disliked Lewis
    Bowe downright hated him
    Ruiz probaly wanted to face Tyson in unification fight rather than Lewis - 2002 version of Tyson would have been much easier opponent and would have brought much more money to the table (had he beast Lewis).

    Among media experts Lewis was an overwhelming favourite to beat Tyson. Here are media picks from USA Today article:

    Media picks for Lewis-Tyson
    Reporter Affiliation Outcome
    Al Bernstein ESPN Lewis KO 4
    Ron Borges Boston Globe Lewis KO 6
    Tim Dahlberg Associated Press Lewis KO 9
    Bernard Fernandez Philadelphia Daily News Lewis KO 7
    Colin Hart The (London) Sun Tyson KO 3
    Mike Hirsley Chicago Tribune Lewis KO 7
    Kevin Iole Las Vegas Review-Journal Lewis KO 5
    Michael Katz Maxboxing.com Lewis KO 1
    Wallace Matthews ESPN Radio Tyson KO 1
    Joe Maxse Cleveland Plain-Dealer Lewis KO 5
    Edwin Pope Miami Herald Lewis KO 3
    Dan Rafael USA TODAY Lewis KO 5
    Jon Saraceno USA TODAY Lewis KO 6
    Lem Satterfield Baltimore Sun Lewis KO 5
    Tim Smith New York Daily News Lewis KO 2
    Steve Springer Los Angeles Times Lewis DQ 4
    Calvin Watkins Dallas Morning News Lewis W 12
    George Willis New York Post Lewis KO 10

    Source: http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/sports/boxing/stories/2002-06-07-tyson-lewis-cover.htm

    I've predicted KO3 win for Lewis and was shocked to see Tyson last that long against him.
     
    Big Ukrainian, Jul 2, 2019
    Big Ukrainian, Jul 2, 2019
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