Why did some people pick Tyson to beat Lewis.....

Good LORD.

Ah! So he was struggling against his true feelings. That makes more sense.

 

Verry pertinent obvservation.

It wasnt just that people thought that Tyson had a punchers chance. Many people were blinded by Tysons aura and simply couldnt see that he was a shell.

I remember before the fight the Obsever called it "the biggest showdown between good and evil in a boxing ring since Louis Schmeling II".

In the aftermath some papers said that the win "cemented Lewis's status among the all time greats such as Louis, Marciano, Ali etc".

This fight is the one reason why I have no trouble understanding why people thought that Jim Jeffries could beat Jack Johnson.

 

Agreed. Even Steward was basically begging Lewis to end it after about 5 rounds.

 

Lewis ~ "I figured this wasn't the time to tell him I'd hurt my right hand."

 

Jeffries came down from 320lbs and didn't have a fight in 5 years, Tyson was still knocking out whoever he faced (which was mediocre to decent opposition), i hardly think this is comparable.

I think you'll find a much more likely reason why they picked Jeffries when you look at racism of the time and how well liked Johnson was among the evil whities.

 

Nigel Benn
Francis Botha

Picked Mike Tyson aswell..

 

Lennox Lewis fought under par, and still smashed Mike Tyson to bit's.

Lennox Lewis could of ended it in 3 rounds..

 

Actually if you look at Mike Tyson and Lennox Lewis's common opponents

Holyfield
Bruno
Botha
Tucker
Golota

all picked Tyson to win.

Razor Ruddock I believe called it a 50/50 fight. But I don't believe any of Lewis and Tyson common opponents picked Lennox, It was either Tyson or it was 50/50. Even the computer simulator on espn.com had picked Tyson winner by decision (unlikely but yes it was true).

It says alot about Tyson really. His aura led me to believe that he could have done it and I for some reason I didnt feel nervous going in. Thank God I'm not a gambler I would have been taken to the cleaners. I must have rewatched a tape of Lewis Rahman several times probably to lull myself into believe Mike Tyson still had the goods. Even the weight of 234 didnt throw me off, perhaps it was wishful thinking. But I was far more confident with this fight than I was with the 2nd fight with Evander.

 

Very simple. I don't know much about boxing. I did not regularly follow the sport in 2002 (nor do I now). I did not know how good Lewis was or how limited Tyson was at his best and especially in 2002. I equated a fighter's fame or lack of it (in Lewis' case no offense) with how good / reliable he was to win the fight. I superficially thought big puncher, elite fighter + someone who has been KO'd by one punch = Tyson win. How wrong I was. The lesson I learned from that fight is to judge a fighter by his recent track record and to never count on a single punch / puncher's chance.

As for other fighters / "experts" picking Lewis / Tyson: they are not the most academic of people. They do not necessarily make statements with a carefully, deeply thought out basis. They speak what's in their heart. This is not a knock on them. This applies to a lot of people, especially sports fans. The other day I saw a Fox presentation where the newscaster quoted Sonia Sotomayor's Berkeley line but unprofessionally, blatantly, unintelligently left out the last few words of the line "who has not lived that life". His conclusion was not very careful or academic but cursory and that's what some sports fans did in 2001. They only saw what they wanted to see. I never saw Lewis' skills until the actual fight.

Besides, a lot of fighters are biased / fans. That Brit you mentioned was probably a Tyson fan who wished Tyson the best and was pulling for him.

 

He was Tyson's former sparring partner ,when Tyson was at the peak of his powers.He was also a Lewis KO victim.

 

On paper it was a no brainer, yet even guys like Holyfield & Tszyu picked Tyson :-(.

The most amusing prediction was Frank Maloney, after he was sacked by Lewis, started being quoted as saying Tyson would ko Lewis in 5 rounds atsch.