Why Did Lennox Lewis Duck Byrd, Wlad and Ibeabuchi?

Coulda Woulda...the fact is we can only speculate.

 

Not true. Byrd had a fanbase at the time regardless of what Lewis claimed. Byrd won an ESPN poll to be Lewis' next opponent. It was an 8 million dollar mandated defense with an HBO date. It had more money and prestige involved then Rahman I. It was better then the alternative of spending the rest of the year out of the ring and commenting on Byrd vs Holyfield.

Lewis would have, might have, we will never know as he declined to face the best defensive fighter during his reign as champion.

 

His fanbase at the time was that of a regular fighter you see on tv once in a while. In other words, yes he had fans, but he did not have any type of substantial fanbase, outside of some die hards. I was on board for this fight, and pretty sure i called lewis a chicken. I didn't care for his arrogance or his safety first style, especially for his size.

There wasn't a big call for this fight, outside a few, that I recall.

 

Byrd wouldn't be able to hurt Lewis.

A good big man beats a good little man.

 

Byrd would have been Lewis' first world class southpaw, also his quickest and most elusive opponent. Lewis was slowing down. There is intrigue.

 

There was more money in a Byrd fight then Johnson. As I've shown Lewis' comments regarding the accusation that the Johnson purse was withheld because it was tiny and the poor ticket sales..."I don't care about money."

 

What money? Byrd wasn't even a champion until 03, around when lewis retired. From 2000 to 2003, chris Byrd did little to actually separate himself from the other contenders. Aside from being excellent defensively, he didn't stand out from the other contedners.

Again, don't get me wrong, I wanted this to be made, but Byrd offered nothing, other than being a tricky defensive fighter.

 

I posted an article that states Lewis would have earned 8 million for defending his IBF title against Byrd.

For reference that would have been the same purse Lewis earned for defending against Tua.

He beat David Tua to earn his mandatory spot. Which is more then Johnson/Vitali, Botha, Rahman, or Tyson did prior to Lewis' defending against them.

 

Without the context of what was going on at the time, and I honestly can't say I recall all the happenings from 2000, involving other opponents.

I saw the article on the 8 mill, but it doesn't even say anything beyond that.

Byrd beat a Tua who had just lost to Lewis a couple fights before.

Anyway, no one cared much to see this. If you want to call it a duck, that's fine.

 

Lewis earned 8 million for Tua, and 6 million for Rahman I. The scheduled Johnson fight was said to be an unusually low purse and not disclosed to the public.

What more needs to be said? An 8 million pay for supposed easy work in Byrd doesn't seem like a bad deal in context. Certainly more than he earned as a guest commentator for Byrd vs Holyfield.

The money/fan base excuse just doesn't hold any water when fact checked. As Lewis said "money doesn't matter."

So? Byrd beat a fighter that was good enough for Lewis to defend his title against a few fights before.

Byrd won an ESPN poll as noted, beating out Roy Jones jr. The BBC posted fan comments that said they wanted to see the fight.

There was about as much demand for Byrd/Lewis as you were going to get for a Lewis title defense in the early 00s not involving Tyson.

 

Money always matters. Even when they say that. If it makes you feel better, sure, Lewis ducked a fighter that no one cared to see. Ducked a fighter who had about as much chance at beating lewis as I had.

Meh... Said my part. Funny thing is, 15 year ago, i'd have totally been in agreement. In hindsight, it was nothing to fuss about.

 

Lewis was set for life, he could afford to pass on an 8 million dollar payday and take an easier fight for less money.

If Lewis actually came up with a decent alternative to Byrd it would have been nice, instead he ducked Byrd to watch Byrd fight Holyfield on his promised HBO date in a fairly well publicized fight.

Do you hold wins over Vitali Klitschko and David Tua? I know only two men that do. And one refused to fight the other.

 

Both were good wins, I'll never deny that. His win over Vitali is a little less impressive, but vitali did quit in that fight, so it counts.

 

And I appreciate that.

No, in retrospect it didn't damage his legacy. Most Champions have a few black spots like this. Even Louis, who I rate as #1 HW of all time, ducked Franklin.

 

How would Lewis' resume look with wins over Byrd and Wlad?

Would he have had the best HW resume since Ali?