Correct me if I'm wrong but wasn't Holyfield considered the better heavy than Lennox through most of the 90s? Answer is Lennox though.
I figured it was a foregone conclusion that it would be Holyfield. Lennox had the better record only losing to two people whom he defeated in rematches emphatically but Holyfield fought and beat legends. He is the best or 1b best Cruiser of all time, plus he's shared the ring and/or beat Greats like Tyson 2x, Lennox 2x, Bowe 3x, Foreman, Qawi, Moorer, Toney, etc
Lewis. As a HW I have to give it to him, despite occasional lapses in effort. You add in CW & stop there, you may well be justified in picking Holyfield. But two (2) factors tip the balance back to Lewis. 1) Holyfield's erratic performances as he got older. I do not subtract too much for way past peak career, but if we are asking who was better over their whole career, that has to count for something. 2) PEDs. Without steroids & HGH, Holyfield would not have been as effective as a modern HW. I have no idea if he would have beaten Tyson either time. His strength made a big difference against many big guys. If part of your success is based upon cheating, it would be unfair to not penalize him for it.
Holyfield should have two losses against Lewis on his record. He lost to Valuev who was beat emphatically by David Haye who came up from cruiser also. Somehow loses and draws with John Ruiz who was the worst heavyweight champion in my lifetime, on par with Andy Ruiz. So much so that RJJ fancied moving up for an easy title at HW. Lost to Byrd, Toney and Bowe twice. Im not entirely sure that’s even a great career when you write that down and read it over. Whereas Lennox’s career is the all time best at HW. His resume is stacked, undisputed also. Holyfield has 10 losses how 5 people have voted Holyfield is crazy.
Tyson was the best hw of the 80s, Holyfield was the best hw of the 90s, Lewis was the best hw of the 2000s, Klitschkos were the two headed kingpin best hws of the 2010s.
Evander beat a who's who of everyone in the 90s. Lewis didn't beat him till he was washed up. At that point he didn't have wins over Tyson, Klitschko, and Rahman at that point. He aged like fine wine. Evander did more relevance in the 90s beating bowe , Douglas, Foreman, Ruiz etc, Mike was a stud in the late 80s you could even say stronger resume than Larry Holmes, beat him h2h. Klitschkos were around for a while, but in terms of relevancy /legacy/ dependency, wlad didn't emerge to the top till the next era after Lewis. Also too I could be wrong about the time frame for hasim has been Rahman.
Lewis beat everybody he ever faced including Holyfield, Tyson & Vitali + many more. Prime he would clean out the current division.
IMO Lewis, but just for nuance. Holyfield's Cruiserweight career should also be considered. Until Usyk came along, Holyfield was considered the Cruiserweight GOAT. I feel that Holyfield contributed to Lewis having a better career; thus extending his career. And Lewis became a legend because he defeated everyone he entered the ring with, retired as a lineal champion (like Rocky Marciano, and Gene Tunney), and is the last undisputed heavyweight champion.
