will Lennox Lewis get his proper due from the Americans at some point?

I think he's already started to get it tho he was criminally underrated when he was still fighting.

 

:deal

 

Gotta agree.

On here anyway - The Classic Forum genies and the General Forum spastics really give him his dues these days.

Definitely a case of "you only miss them when they're gone".

 

I'm not sure Tyson ducked Lewis.

I'd say that King wasn't prepared to let the fight happen without some form of guarantee that Lewis would become his.

In light of Lewis almost killing Morrison (his best performance for me :yep) I'd say King was, in a business sense, smart to hedge his bets by putting Tyson in with Holyfield.

Alright, Evander was supposedly shot, but was still a hero in the eyes of the public and would be up against the #1 baddie.... easy sell. In order to get back in Holyfield was more than prepared to give ground to King, I guess the only surprise is how badly Holyfield hammered Tyson so he had to threaten to retire in order to get a better cut for the return

I wouldn't want to think what Lewis would have done to Tyson back then but it wouldn't have been pretty..... something a mate of mine still won't accept. Apparently Lewis was at his peak in 2002 atsch

In answer to the question he's probably getting the due he deserves now, almost to the point that he's overrated..... just a shame that the really huge fights didn't happen quite when they could have..... obviously Tyson was a carcrash waiting to happen and Holyfield always got beat at the wrong time.

Britain's best ever, hopefully he's on Sky much more from now on.

 

Lewis is starting to get the credit he deserves. It's a shame he didn't get it when he was still active. As regards Lewis v Morrison all I can say is what a performance by Lennox, he looked to be having fun in there that night.

 

A fighter should stay independent.

It's better for them and boxing as a whole..... including the promoters actually.

If they actually had to bend their back, make a big fight and actually PROMOTE the bloody thing they'd make much better money.

As it is they just sit on their arse and collect a lump, then move onto the next one.

 

I miss big Lennox in the ring, Britains best by far. I think he is now getting his due respect from most quarters, something a lot of people predicted would happen as time passed. It's pleasing to see he regularly gets mentioned in ATG discussions on the forums on this site, which for me speaks volumes about how highly he is regarded.
At the end of the day he should be held in high regard, because when motivated Lennox for me was the complete h/weight package. I respect him loads because he done it his way, ducked no one and left at the right time.
His heart should never come into question, i just think he was very good at not showing he was hurt during fights, and you can guarantee Lewis would always get payback after being stung himself. The Mercer fight is a great example of his fighting heart, and lets not forget no one wanted a piece of Mercer at the time. Ray also give Lewis big respect for the shots he was able to take off him. The Klitschko fight showed Lennox's heart and resolve in a big way too, if you look at the fight reasonably. His ability to stay calm underfire is hugely overlooked, it is this calmness that maybe leads to people questioning his heart. At the end of the day you don't compete at the top level for has long has he did if you don't have heart.
The man had unbelievable self belief and confidence in his abilties, and fully expected a win everytime he entered the ring. This intimadated a lot of his opponents too. It was also this supreme self confidence that led to his only defeats. Thinking about it over-confidence was IMO opinion his only flaw.
Outside the ring Lewis is a nice and a very respectful man. Infact you could say too respectful for some people. Inside he was a cold, calculating and spiteful boxer. When motivated and feeling a little threatened eg; Ruddock, Golota, Rahman 2, these versions of Lewis for me would beat any heavy in history. A big statement i know, but one i will always believe. I'm not saying he is the best in history (maybe about 6th), but when in that frame of mind he would beat anyone.
The only problem i have with Lennox's career is like Beeston Brawler says, the Holyfield/Tyson fights should have been earlier when Lewis was probably an even better fighter himself, and the fact the Bowe fights couldn't be made in 93' and 96'.
Lewis is an ATG and rightly should be viewed has one. He won everthing has an amatuer and a pro, you can't ask more than that.
Britain will probably never see again a fighter with his success and longevity.
I too would like to see him on sky more aswell, after all he did fight on there channel for many years, and i thought it was a nice touch what he did with Bruno before the Haye v Harrison fight.

 

same here, lewis was a class act in the ring and with getting big frank up in the ring with him shows what kind of man he is......

pure champion, shame there isnt a few more fighters out there with lewis's class in and out of the ring.

 

deal Too true.

 

lol I lost track of what your thread was asking. Lewis had to chip away at the US bit by bit to get recognition, and the last 4 years of his career he made them begrudingly realise what a great fighter he was all along. The US recognition is there with Lewis, albeit has i said begrugingly still with a lot of Americans, which i understand because he did break the US monopoly on the division.
Being inducted into the IBHOF on your first year of eligibility is a big statement of recognition for the big man.

 

He gets respect, but in the "he's good but not as good as any of the american atg's" kind of way

 

I only became a fan in the last few years(im a brit)I think now the Americans are starting to realise how good he was,they miss him now.