There are a lot of holes in this argument. For starters, some sports, boxing being one of them have athletes aiming for Olympic ambitions, most "major league sports" such as baseball, football etc. don't have this as an option. Secondly, had Tyson made the US Olympic team might that not have delayed his progress in the pro's? Of course it would have, but your comments seem to negate the very existence of the Olympics meaning something to athletes, when in fact most spend their entire childhood dreaming of winning a metal. Lewis received a silver in his first Olympic outing and choose to take another crack at it, and he earned gold as a result. This doesn't mean he's not as an elite athlete as a professional boxer, because in terms of accomplishments, it's probably just as hard, if not harder to win an Olympic gold metal than a boxing title, and very few, do both. But it is an excellent training background for heavyweights, as Ali, Foreman, Frazier, Holyfield, Wlad, and Lewis all have won Olympic metals. But Tyson didn't.
His 2 knockout losses to ordinary fighters in McCall & Rahman may have something to do with it. And the fact that he never faced Tyson or Holyfield in their primes, or Bowe (although that was more Bowe's fault)
1/. Lewis avoided all top fighters who was "At the Top of their Game" 2/. Lewis was stripped of every version of the title for refusing to fight the No1 contenders. 3/. Lewis was poleaxed by two mediocre journeymen 4/. Lewis never had a career defining fight because he avoided all the top fighters from 1992-2003 5/. Lewis footwork resembled that of a Camel 6/. Lewis boxing ability was nothing other than jab, right-hand. 7/. Lewis is a bit of a hero in Canada, but boxing fans dislike him for him avoiding all the top fighters. 8/. Lewis is an ATG Top 15 9/. Lewis only agreed to fight Tyson, knowing Tyson was addicted to Anti-Depressants, Alcohol, Cocaine & Cannabis. 10/. Lewis was a steroid abuser, gaining nearly 30lbs during the mid-late 90s
I disagree with point 6. He also had a good/great upper cut. I also disagree with point 7. I'm Canadian and I've always liked watching Lewis fight and I'm content with who he fought and when. Much of this so called avoiding had to with the machinations of one named Don King, who promoted Ali, Frazier, Foreman, Holmes, Tyson and holyfield, pretty much all of whom launched some kind of legal action against him. This is Tyson's opinion of him This content is protected This content is protected This content is protected You really can't blame a fighter for not wanting to let King get his hooks in them.
1 - If Lewis ducked everyone why did he sign to fight Holyfield o Nov 94 only for Holyfield to lose to Moorer. Lewis then signed to fight Bowe instead for March or April 95 but lost to McCall. While these fights didn't happen the fact he agreed to these fights suggests he never ducked them and we all know what happened with Lewis and Tyson with Tyson paying step aside money to fight Seldon and then vacating to fight Holyfield instead of Lewis. http://www.nytimes.com/1994/04/16/sports/boxing-holyfield-lewis-set-bigger-bouts-later.html http://www.nytimes.com/1994/06/18/sports/bowe-and-lewis-fight-is-on.html 2 - Lewis was only ever stripped of the WBA belt and this was a court order the WBA themselves didn't want to strip him it was down to King taking Lewis and the WBA to court. He vacated the IBF belt when King paid Lewis to dump the title and he only vacated the WBC title when he retired. 3 - Rahman was not a journeymen he was a fringe contender at worst. Journeymen don't usually win the heavyweight title and get 3 title shots with wins over current and future title holders. 4 - Lewis had his outbreak win over Rudduck. He had the draw with Holyfield which was significant as it will be remembered as one of the biggest robberies in boxing history it also defined his career in a way he got a lot of sympathy from his critics because of this fight. His fight with Vitali is still being talked about and debated over a decade after it took place. 5 - I'll agree his footwork could be sloppy at times even with Steward but it was effective when he used it. 6 - He had the left hook that took out Bruno, the uppercut that was so effective against Tyson, Vitali, Morrison and countless others. He had much more than just a jab and a big right hand. 7 - Don't mistake your dislike for everyone else's. 8 - Agreed definitely top 15 even his most ardent critics wouldn't have him outside the top 15. He's top 10 for most though. 9 - Tyson and King had the chance for the fight in 96 but vacated. Yes the fight was all about money, Lewis knew he wasn't a threat and so did Tyson. This fight was for the casuals not for the genuine boxing fans. 10 - Lewis never tested positive for anything and there were no rumours of PED use during or after his reign. Lewis turned pro at 231lbs and weighted 256.5lbs at his heaviest when out of shape. He maybe gained 20lbs at the most over a period of a decade or more, that's hardly a sign of steroid use.
The only thing I would add top that is the previous poster mentioning Holy / Douglas. Ffs Buster came into the fight with man ****s, a beer gut, loads of flab, and zero interest. If that was a defining fight in the 90's Muricans must be easily pleased.
McCall broke down in the ring because he saw what was in the other corner, and it wasn't the same weaker, lighter, younger Lewis that he had beaten 2 and a half years earlier.
-For the 3. In his prime. -For the 6.His defensive skill was step back and holding. (Basically in 100% pure boxing Tyson beat Lewis. Check the first round out with Lewis holding tactic.It wasn't boxing. It was an unfair wrestling-boxing. ) - About the 10. It's just an opinion.You can't prove it.. But i can imagine two answers (considering i think Lewis was very skinny in his amateur years.): 1.He's the one of the most talented athlete and bodybuilder ever.Who was into fighting,bodybuilding,training for skill and stamina etc. (But why was Lennox so skinny in 1988 in the O.G. ? The bodybulding wasn't a new thing in the 1980s. ) 2. I think he was a PED freak. (We can't prove it but i don't know his training program(too bad). Maybe it was the best program ever.)
Otherwise this "ducked nobody" about Lewis is very funny. I think Vitali Klitschko has another opinion. Plus where/who was Lewis in the eighties when Tyson/Tucker/Spinks/Holmes etc. were dangerous? He's older than Tyson.What was his problem ? The young Tyson could beat these fighters.Why was Lewis an amateur fighter in 1986 or 87 ? When Tyson and Tucker were and looked hopeless the brave Lewis fought them.Great.
How about the obvious. Lewis was an amateur fighter because he wanted to win an Olympic gold metal. Tyson wasn't able to make the Olympic team, but if he had, it may very well also been fighting as an amateur. You can't fault a fighter for wanting to achieve his childhood dream. Ali, Foreman, Frazier, Holyfield, Wlad and a host of others have won Olympic metals, why aren't they criticized? And is it a mere fluke that those who managed to win a gold metal often became champions later in the pro's, I personally think there's a connection between the two. It's highly unlikely that during his training for the Olympics he was able to foreshallow that Mike would became a holy terror as a pro. After all, Tyson never had the skills to even make the Olympic team, so who knew that Tyson would (a) become a holy terror and (b) would burn out in about 3 years? He likely, and rightly, thought that after he had won gold, he would then become a professional and let his career unfold. Had Tyson remained on top longer than he did, they certainly would have fought. But the idea that a fighter can plan for future events and know how things were going to unfold is ridiculous.
Another reason he doesn't have universal approval. His fans trying to redefine the term "aggressive" because they want to call him the "aggressor" in a fight where he boxed intelligently and let his opponent lead and make the mistakes.
I think Lewis was a top 5 all time great. I think he could beat anyone. He was that good. Why does lack of universal appeal? It could be a variety of reasons. I'll list the ones I have seen or heard. I disagree with some of them. Just listing them here... 1 ) Losing twice by one big punch early in matches 2 ) Living with his mother as the heavyweight champion of the world and owing a small poodle. 3 ) Having a big ego, referring to himself in the third person, not offering re-matches in the tough fights he won. 4 ) His lifestyle 5 ) Rumors about his ***ual preference 6 ) Fouling and cheating 7 ) Beating faded versions of Holy and Tyson 8 ) Failure to gain full acceptance among the USA fans 9 ) Playing it too safe in some fights 10 ) Being a sore loser and being in denial when he lost
What part of " At the behest of Don King The WBC bypassed Lewis " are you having trouble understanding?
