Why Lennox Lewis is no all-time great

I am constantly amused to see Lewis referred to as one of the atg Heavys.

Sorry...it simply isn't so. I will explain why, and if you chose to disagree, please refute the specific points I am about to make.

First of all, how many all-time great Heavys that you can think of have been knocked out by single punches? Not an accumulation, but a situation of one second the guy is fine, and the next second BANG, and it's down and out. Not many. But it happened to Lewis not once.....but TWICE. If there is another atg in ANY weight division that has had this happen to him, please name him!

And much more significantly, how can you call Lewis an atg when he BARELY managed to beat a 37 year old Holyfield over the course of two fights. In the 24 rounds they fought, Lewis MIGHT have won 14-10. Maybe. Some would say the true round count was 12-12. And this was a very shop-worn Holyfield, who had been through dozens of wars, including being knocked out cold by Ricick Bowe *4 years* earlier. And Lewis was widely regarded as being in his prime at the time he fought Holy.

And Lewis was MASSIVELY bigger than Holyfield, outweighing him by a good 30 pounds. For a guy in his prime to fight a 37 year-old, who was on the back end of a long career that had taken it's toll, who was a virtual midget by comparison, and only manage to fight him about even?? This is an atg??

Sorry. There is no possible interpretation of the facts that can lead you to conclude that Lewis belongs on the list of ATGs.

But Holyfield? He definitely belongs on the list.

 

Watch the fight....Holy took a LOT of punishment before getting KOd by Bowe. Anyway, this thread isn't about how good Holy was, it's about Lewis not being an atg. Saying that Holy wasn't good only STRENGTHENS that argument, as Lewis could barely beat him.

 

If you think Lewis "schooled" Holyfield, than one can only conclude that you didn't see the those two fights. I went to see both, and Holy was right there, punch for punch. Maybe.......MAYBE a slight edge for Lewis, but that's the most you could say. "Schooled"?? Don't make me laugh.

By the way, Ray Mercer beat Lewis without a doubt, and I was in the 3rd row for that one. They gave the fight to Lewis, as in boxing the decision often goes where the most money to be made is.....but anyone who was there knows that Lewis did not beat Mercer.