Why did america take so long to warm to lennox lewis

He was as hated as DHL, but then DHL did fight the very best, win, lose or draw. Lewis had six fans on ESB back then. Seems like there was good reasons why he was not well liked.
I read a few very good threads on that, recently.
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The only reason 'America' warmed up to Lewis was the hate for the Klitchko's.
That's ok, the Klitchko's were hated before any one could see them, back when they were 8 round fighters.
They were always number 2 and 3 on the hate list right after # 1, Lewis.

None of the three were Americans and two were white.

 

Lennox was good, but he was WAY overrated.

Lennox used essentially the same Emmanuel Steward "Fight Tall Style" that Wlad uses today, but Wlad catches endless **** over it while Lennox is regarded as some mythical beast.

Lennox completely ducked the Vitali rematch, which was ******ted based on the previous fight where Vitali was owning him prior to the cut opening badly. Lewis won the TKO fair and square, but he's lucky he was able to open that cut up, or he had a real chance of losing.

Lennox is a big, dumb sounding lummox who likes to talk about himself. Americans appreciate vain athletes if they have some style (Mayweather, Toney, Kevin Johnson). Lennox has no style.

I'm an American and I don't know any other fight fans who couldn't wait to watch a Lewis fight. I appreciate his ability and accomplishments, but I lost all respect for him when he was ducking K2, played the whole fiasco with the WBC and tried to get a rematch with Tyson. Tyson was obviously a shadow of a great champion and was fighting only because he needed the money. Pretty shameful of Lewis to try to get that fight instead of K2 who were upcoming and practically begging to get in with him.

There was nothing terrifying about Lewis. Nothing that made him fearsome, at least not to me. I'm sure he would beat my ass, but I wouldn't think twice about stealing his bike or ****ing his woman. Not like Liston, Dempsey, K2, Ali, Foreman or even worse.....Tyson. Those guys all had an obvious reason for you to fear them. Lennox wasn't fearsome.

Lewis = Candyass Champion

 

Americans doubt every fighter until they finally step up and face the top contenders. Just look at Ward. It took schooling Kessler for everyone to wake up to the fact that he is highly talented and skilled. Winning a gold medal did nothing. Americans didn't care about Lewis until he beat Holyfield. They knew he existed, yes, to a degree, but Holyfield was the litmus test.

 

because hes not american..simple...

 

ti jobene pider

thats what you are michigan dirrell cocksucker warrior.

i'm sorry for the rude language

 

No ****. He's the ONLY top level HW champ taken out early TWICE by ordinary fighters like McCall and Rahman when he held the title. The only great fighters he fought - Holyfield and Tyson - were past their best when he faced them, and he didn't face Bowe at all. Other than this, his opposition is pretty ordinary. He's not even the greatest HW of his era - that's Holyfield - let alone top five as some actually rate him!

 

For me it was his personality I just couldn't stand it. After Lewis retired I then began to fully appreciate his greatness.

 

errrrmmmm, mebbe cuz he wasnt american....

REALLY.... Its that simple


A deeper question is why it took so long for the Brits to accept him as THEIR fighter, after he moved there from Canada....
Wasnt till he was a solid champion till he was nationally accepted...

 

lemme change that to "Embraced"

 

lewis is a bit goofy and pompous maybe at times and he likes to laugh a lot at what he says, then he did good in the ring and the rest is history, plus hes a brit which doesnt help him in some peoples eyes

 

I like Lennox Lewis.

 

Active fighters have more haters, past fighters get rated higher. Grass is always greener on the other side kind of thing. Lennox was criticized for being boring and holding too much, now he is remembered for all of his knock outs.

Everyone talked **** on Vitali before his leave and while he was gone after a while people missed him. Just wait when both retire permanently, everyone will miss them and all the haters will be talking about how **** the current division is (which is will be)