Why is Lennox Lewis considered a dominant champion?

Stop overreaching, you should uneducated , trying to make an argument when the issue is moot .... it is all about the money , period. Your position if you're even serious that Lewis ducked Byrd out of fear makes you sound foolish.

 

He wasn't super super dominant like Joe Louis or Wladimir Kiltschko but he was still what I consider a dominant champ.

 

Off course, in addition he is prettier and taller than Tyson, he also has a nicer wife. I think that your statement perfectly shows how you evaluate boxers and it is really typical of his fans. Best regards

 

With all due respect, that's revisionist history.
He shoulder the blame with Bowe for the fight not happening, as he was offered 3 million in 1992 (a career high purse at the time) or to wait a few months and get 9 million : Lewis declined.
He also declined a 11 million offer in July of 1993, opting to fight Bruno instead.
Eventually, they signed to fight in 1994 but Lewis lost to McCall.
By the way, Bowe losing to Holyfield scuppered the fight but it's far from the reality to say that Bowe "avoided him like the plague".

The Tyson/Lewis fight not happening was clearly due to the rivality between HBO and Showtime.
And it's not like Tyson didn't made offers, as he proposed at least 10 million (with some sources saying 13,5 million) at the original Seldon date, but Lewis refused and choose the step-aside deal instead.

I don't see when Holyfield/Lewis was supposed to happen, since Holyfield was mandated to face Moorer in 1994 and lost.
After that, they were both on the comeback trail and faced each other when they were champions. No duck at all.

 

They say the the cream always rises to the top. Well, in Lennox's case, as he sang in Sweet Dreams (Are Made Of This), he has many women who will attest to the stains that ordinarily occurred on the very tops of their outfits. Although, in fairness to posing this question, the very same stains normally made it to the bottom and all sides of the outfit as well. They were big stains.

 

Never said he ducked him out of fear. Not fighting your top contender because the money ain't right is still ducking.

 

If you would have told me back in say 2002 that Lewis would be remembered as fondly or as dominant as he seems to be today, I would have said no way. I remember his career quite clearly and he was not considered on the level of Bowe, Tyson or Holyfield during their primes. Lewis peaked late while the aforementioned guys already began to phase out. This fact coupled with the fact that the next truly dominant heavyweight Wlad, often fought a boring negative style has skewered the viewpoint of Lewis’s career into a remarkably favorable light.

 

What's funny, the same criticism Wlad got during his reign, Lewis was being hit with when being the champ himself. Boring, too cautious etc. It's in line with most champions not being appriciated when they're active. Happened to Holmes also as he wasn't Ali. But Ali was rated by The Ring Magazine as the 7th best heavyweight ever in 1975... Mike Tyson being at his highest peak in 1988 still had to prove a lot in the eyes on boxing pundits, who weren't as impressed as by "the champions of old". We definitely need to appriciate boxers more when they are on top.

 

Lennox Lewis remains the best of the modern, big heavyweights. I consider him top five ATG along with Jack Johnson, Louis, Ali and Holmes.

 

Just out of curiosity, why you have Johnson that high on the list?

 

Ring Magazine in 1975 was full of dung. By then everyone else had settled on Ali or Louis as the all-time greatest.

 

Nonsense. You have no real argument, so you're reaching.

Lennox Lewis was the most dominant champ of his era. One of the most dominant and successful heavyweight champion of all times. And he left the game on top.

People always want ONE MORE FIGHT to see someone lose. There's always another guy on the way up. That's why very few ever leave on top. And Lewis did, ripping the side of the face off a "prime" Hall of Famer Vitali Klitschko and stopping him in six.

Lennox Lewis had an excellent career. Arguably, the very best at heavyweight.

No, you didn't get to see Lewis end his career as a total washout has-been, like everyone else you mentioned.

Deal with it.

I have no idea how you rate fighters, if you think stopping a Hall of Fame heavyweight for Olympic Gold, stopping a Hall of Fame heavyweight in your final fight in defense of your world title, beating every man you faced as a pro in between, including 15 heavyweight and cruiserweight champions, and retiring on top as champion ...

Isn't GOOD enough.

 

Johnson dominated his era, held the title until he was 37. He was considered the ATG until Louis came along and was still number two until surpassed by Ali. I eliminate Liston from consideration because he gave up the title on his stool and then quit in the rematch. I eliminate Marciano because of his size and inability to compete with giant modern heavies. I think Johnson had the size, strength and defense to defeat Dempsey and Foreman and everyone else.

 

What about the guys like Holyfield, Frazier, Tyson and Wlad?

I'm not trying to pick a fight btw., I'm just really interested in your view point, as I have a lot of troubles where to rank Johnson and would love to see the argument to make up my mind.

 

I think you don't remember those times, you didn't watch Lewis live, you don't know the circumstances of his fights or maybe you didn't watch them at all..
His fight with Bowe in Seoul is a joke..People say he destroyed Bowe..but if so,.Riddick was destroyed a dozen times with Holy, with Tubbs, with Hide, with Golota. In each of these fights he was knocked out more than in Seoul,.in some a few times and yet people still think that Lewis destroyed Bowe even though he was a kid in Seoul..Not any ATG!! There were no Cubans in Seoul. Lewis avoided almost the entire 90's, when others were fighting wars he kept coming back, he was knocked out by McCall and fought Mavrovic and Phil Jackson.. He fought the No. 1 and lineal champion for the first time in 1999!!! 10 years after starting his career.. In his most impressive performance he defeated after 2 boring fights 37 year old, broken Hole who was then beaten by Ruiz in the same style.. Maybe you have something better than Lennox? Maybe inactive Mercer to whom he gave everything he had? What are Lennox's greatest fights? And don't tell me about Vitalij because I know who ruled in the ring and who wanted to keep fighting. Watch this fight. Lewis never defended a unified title, what heavyweight champion has given the belt to the #1 contender so many times without a fight? Lewis is a myth my friend but you can tell me about his best fights with prime Tyson, Holyfield, Bowe, Ike, Moorer, Holmes, Hide, Foreman, Wlad, Sanders, Byrd, Ruiz etc.