Lennox Lewis... All Time Rating.

[Asterix]

Valuev vs. Lewis would be interesting - Lewis never fought anyone who wasn't smaller than himself!

:) Valuev doesn't have a glass chin like Lewis though - he's fought a lot of "B" and "C" level heavyweights but none have ever knocked him down.

Vitali Klitschko, Michael Grant and Henry Akinwande are all taller than Lennox Lewis, and he fought them. There might be more, but I think 3 is enough to prove that he fought people of all sizes. There are a bunch he fought who are the same height as him (6' 5"), too.

[Tunney]

Iwith Lewis Foreman wouldnt be able to bully or intimidate like he could do in his era, so i think Lewis would have a good chance.

The 1973 George Foreman would destroy Lennox Lewis.

[Mukel]

Iwith Lewis Foreman wouldnt be able to bully or intimidate like he could do in his era, so i think Lewis would have a good chance.

The 1973 George Foreman would destroy Lennox Lewis.

Thats your opinion and your welcome to it, but atleast put forward your reasoning for why you believe Foreman would beat Lewis.

[Tunney]

Iwith Lewis Foreman wouldnt be able to bully or intimidate like he could do in his era, so i think Lewis would have a good chance.

The 1973 George Foreman would destroy Lennox Lewis.

Thats your opinion and your welcome to it, but atleast put forward your reasoning for why you believe Foreman would beat Lewis.

Foreman was the hardest puncher I've ever seen, clearly more powerful than McCall and Rahman. If he could literally destroy great fighters with solid chins like Frazier and Norton, can you imagine what he'd do to someone like Lewis or Wladimir?

Unlike Tua and Tyson, George was tall and had the reach to get at the Achilles chin of Lewis. George could take a punch, so if he had to eat a Lewis jab or two along the way, that wouldn't have been a problem.

The 1988 Mike Tyson would have some trouble against Lewis, again because of the height and reach disadvantage, but I believe he would prevail.

[Mukel]

but lewis had great punching power, i dont care how solid someones chin is, theres no way he could just walk through or eat lewis's punches without being hurt, the people that troubled lewis the most were those with a good jab, and foreman didnt develop his till the latter of his career.

Shavers is probably the hardest puncher of all time, but just because you have incredible punching power, it doesnt mean your going to just KO your opponent, you have to be able to land, and Lewis when focused faced many dangerous opponents and was never hit with a huge bomb or anything close when focused.

Im not saying he'd walk through him, but Lewis had too many advantages.

[glahn]

There is an excellent video on youtube exposing the myth of Lewis' "poor chin".

I'd have him at 7-10 but that's without putting too much thought into it. It's an approximation. I'd obviously have Louis, Ali and Holmes ahead of him, but I think there's also a good argument for having Marciano, Foreman and Frazier ahead of him as well.

[Poncey]

This is what I f*cking hate about these forums - you have an opinion an how you rate a fighter - you get mocked for it - even more spineless is relying on other posters to feebly back up your OPINION and that is all it is - especially when you compare fighters from a different era.

I seriously do rate Lewis top 5 - in addition I rate Mayweather as one of the greatest fighters of all time.

Who's mocking? Its a boxing forum, theres people debating and questioning each others opinions, but nobody is getting mocked,
and nobody is relying on anyone from the posts ive read so far.

By the way, I agree with you on Mayweather, i believe too many people
refuse to allow modern boxers into their all time list and they cant justify it.

No way is Mayweather a top 10 GOAT right now. He needs to clear all good welterweights (by beating whoever wins the Cotto/Williams/Cintron/Margarito) 4 way Battle Royal and then capturing a Middleweight title.

Then he can be considered a top 10 fighter, easy.

I agree that most people look at some of the previous fighters with nostalgia, looking at a similar thread on Current Scene I'm baffled from some of their choices.

There seems to be a rule that any fighter post 86 cannot apply for the list.

[stujones]

Ali
Holmes
Louis
Johnson
Holyfield
Marciano
Foreman
Dempsey
Tyson
Liston
Lewis

-----------------
NB: Rankings based on ability and achievement - if it was just achievement - then Marciano, Lewis and other fighters below would move up the list - Tyson, Liston and Foreman would move down.

[observer1]

i would have him around the 10 mark.

1. Ali
2. Louis
3. Tyson
4. Holmes

will be Solid first 4.

Tyson was a mental midget at any given point. Lewis would push him back, clinch, cut him and then KO him. Everyone else with the tools/tenacity did so.

Not Really.

It was not Overnight he became Short and Start fightings Taller Opponents.

Almost every opponent was Taller than him, And he used any advantages he had being shorter to his best.

up until Lewis, he was no Longer a Devastating Opponent.

Realistically at that time he became a Slugger. A Bruiser. Just the Name Tyson was what Lewis Won.

[Raging Bull]

All depends on how you classify this. If it is best in era, most dominant etc then Louis, Marciano, Ali, Holmes etc all come above Lewis, however if talking who would win in a prime fight then no way a cruiserweight Marciano lasts 3 rounds with Lewis. Personally I think only a prime Ali, Foreman, Holmes and Tyson are in with a shout of beating him.

[yiddo14]

1.Louis
2.Ali
3.Holmes
4.Johnson
5.Marciano
6.Lewis

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=u4SQmxIP5Bk

Just a little something for those that don't know what having a glass chin realy means.
Seriously, if you think Lewis has a glass chin(been down only twice in his entire career)you really need to watch a bit more boxing.
Thats a lazy excuse for ranking him low down the all time pecking order.

I would prefer if if you said you rate him as low as 20 purely based on his colour or his nationality.It would certainly make more sense than citing his "glass" chin

On his night, Lennox Lewis could beat any heavyweight that laced up the gloves.

[yiddo14]

The 1973 George Foreman would destroy Lennox Lewis.

Thats your opinion and your welcome to it, but atleast put forward your reasoning for why you believe Foreman would beat Lewis.

Foreman was the hardest puncher I've ever seen, clearly more powerful than McCall and Rahman. If he could literally destroy great fighters with solid chins like Frazier and Norton, can you imagine what he'd do to someone like Lewis or Wladimir?

Unlike Tua and Tyson, George was tall and had the reach to get at the Achilles chin of Lewis. George could take a punch, so if he had to eat a Lewis jab or two along the way, that wouldn't have been a problem.

The 1988 Mike Tyson would have some trouble against Lewis, again because of the height and reach disadvantage, but I believe he would prevail.

Foreman had a the ability to take a punch, something you claim lewis doid'nt have.

Yet Foreman was down more times in one fight against Lyle than lewis was in his entire career.
He also got knocked out by the relatively light-hitting Ali.

ANY version of Tyson would get beat by Lewis.
Tyson would have only stood a 20% chance against any real great heavyweight.He simply was not tough enough to beat the likes of Lewis.

[Collins2000]

I'd love to know the lists of the gents who have voted for Lennox in the 11-15 option. Get real.

Sammy, I'd be more interested in meeting the ones who had him as #1.

What do you think of them, Sammy? Do they need to get real too?

[Twinkle Toes]

I'd place him around 5 - He was a very good fighter, avenged his two losses with emphatic wins, and beat every challenger in his era.

[Lightsoot]

Lewis was a very good fighter who perhaps suffers from the fact that his "signature" fight with a peak Riddick Bowe never materialised - not Lennox's fault, however.

Though Lewis was far from "chinny" it was arguably his weakest attribute but in his defence he did take some decent digs from Bruno, Mercer and Holyfield. And when on his game Lewis was a terrific fighter - Tyson, Tua Golota (who was still a major force at the time) and Ruddock were emphatically beaten, as was Rahman in their rematch.

In fact I can't recall a more accomplished boxer than Lewis when he was in top form.

[Scrap]

I had apathy foe Lewis, probably by being in the same gym for the 1st year seeing him warts and all. Reviewing him now, He was a great fighter not out of it in any company who is missed up there with the best. A Gem make no mistake

[Sammy Mendelson]

I'd love to know the lists of the gents who have voted for Lennox in the 11-15 option. Get real.

Sammy, I'd be more interested in meeting the ones who had him as #1.

What do you think of them, Sammy? Do they need to get real too?

Not to the same extent. It is not difficult to put together a reasonable argument that suggests Lewis could've beaten any heavyweight in history.

[stujones]

Lewis was a very good fighter who perhaps suffers from the fact that his "signature" fight with a peak Riddick Bowe never materialised - not Lennox's fault, however.

Though Lewis was far from "chinny" it was arguably his weakest attribute but in his defence he did take some decent digs from Bruno, Mercer and Holyfield. And when on his game Lewis was a terrific fighter - Tyson, Tua Golota (who was still a major force at the time) and Ruddock were emphatically beaten, as was Rahman in their rematch.

In fact I can't recall a more accomplished boxer than Lewis when he was in top form.

Ali, Holmes and Louis.

It would also depend on your definition - if you mean boxer as in Jab and mover - then probably on these three - but then the likes of Mike Tyson and Jack Johnson had their own skills which made them very hard to pin down and hard to beat.

[observer1]

i would have him around the 10 mark.

1. Ali
2. Louis
3. Tyson
4. Holmes

will be Solid first 4.

Tyson was a mental midget at any given point. Lewis would push him back, clinch, cut him and then KO him. Everyone else with the tools/tenacity did so.

Not Really.

It was not Overnight he became Short and Start fightings Taller Opponents.

Almost every opponent was Taller than him, And he used any advantages he had being shorter to his best.

up until Lewis, he was no Longer a Devastating Opponent.

Realistically at that time he became a Slugger. A Bruiser. Just the Name Tyson was what Lewis Won.

I'd be interested in seeing your criteria for Tyson at #3. I cannot see it.

He was beaten in his pomp and the way in which he lost set the scene for all his defeats. Angelo Dundee, when Tyson was in his prime, maintained that a big guy with a jab like a welter and a strong right hand could beat him and Douglas did this. Tyson never turned a fight, the uppercut versus Douglas saw Douglas watch the ref and rise at the right point.

Tyson showed his flaws against Smith and Tucker. He was very beatable even in his mythical prime, set roughly between his title win and before his Bruno fight by his selective fans. Longevity is a factor when rating the very best. Don Curry was a high ranker until he lost numerous late fights but we don't rate him up until the McCrory bout then show that fighter as an example of a great.

Lewis had his flaws but one defeat, McCall, was due to a punching flaw that he ironed out and the other was a huge shot. You could not formulate a plan for Lewis, especially when he was 'on', the way you could for Tyson.

i have Tyson There for a reason.

I used to think Tyson was some over-rated fool that Tabloids used to make money off.

When i learned about Boxing, how some Boxers were undoubted champions, some were just Paper champions, some boxers were under-rated and never got a shot.

I personally feel Tyson was more than met the eye.
I feel if Tyson back in the 86-88 period, along with the trainers who made him who he was, was enough to beat any opponent. If he stuck with his Guns and never Had the Troubles with his Wife/money/rape/wrong crowed along the years, he would certainly be one 1.

At first i rated Lewis when he Beat Tyson, but sad fact is, Tyson should have been KO's long long before round 8. Tyson was note even a shadow of his former self but managed to take a Beating and give it all he had left. this was 12+ years passed his best.

I think he deserves a little credit.

Of course, there will be those who disagree. Thats fine, but please see where i am coming from

[jamesmcdonnell]

Sorry to say this, but Tyson was rather hard done by in the Douglas fight. Douglas was completely and utterly out of it, and barely made it up before the count. The count was definetly slow and had it been even 1 second quicker, NO WAY would Douglas have made it up.

Tyson's life was already in freefall by that point, he was out of control, unhappy and unravelling. The truth was, given his history, he always would have come apart at some point. Even if Cus stayed alive, the seeds of foment were there, and he and Cus would have parted company at some stage.

Tyson was enormously physically gifted, with incredible speed and agility, as well as almost peerless power, and an incredible ferocity, matched by his ability to take punishment. Tyson was a very hard man to hurt, and it was easier to frustrate him than punish him.

Even past his best, Tyson was still a formidable fighter, but by the time he got to Lewis, he had no chance.

I think a prime Tyson against a Prime Lewis would have been one hell of a fight, but their primes were almost a decade apart, Tyson was at his best around the age of 22, and Lewis about 32-36.

I think Tyson had he got Lewis in his pomp, when Lewis was still green, would have made mincemeat of him, because Lewis had flaws that Tyson would definetly have exposed.

Having said that, Tyson rates lower than Lewis on my list, as his peak was too brief, and he never won a rematch.

[pundit]

#7 for me.

1 Ali
2 Louis
3 Johnson
4 Holmes
5 Foreman

6 Liston
7 Lewis
8 Langford
9 Frazier
10 Tunney

11 Marciano
12 Dempsey
13 Tyson
14 Charles
15 Wills

16 Jeffries
17 Holyfield
18 Corbett
19 Schmeling
20 Walcott

[jamesmcdonnell]

#7 for me.

1 Ali
2 Louis
3 Johnson
4 Holmes
5 Foreman

6 Liston
7 Lewis
8 Langford
9 Frazier
10 Tunney

11 Marciano
12 Dempsey
13 Tyson
14 Charles
15 Wills

16 Jeffries
17 Holyfield
18 Corbett
19 Schmeling
20 Walcott

My only problem with rating Liston so high, is that he didn't stay champion long.

It depends rather on whether you are rating them as fighters overall, or on their reign at the top?

Surprised you have Holyfield so low also.

Jeffries is one who is also hard to categorise for me, as he was an absolute brute of a man with a very modern style, but fought in an era without many standout heavyweights.

[stujones]

Sorry to say this, but Tyson was rather hard done by in the Douglas fight. Douglas was completely and utterly out of it, and barely made it up before the count. The count was definetly slow and had it been even 1 second quicker, NO WAY would Douglas have made it up.

Tyson's life was already in freefall by that point, he was out of control, unhappy and unravelling. The truth was, given his history, he always would have come apart at some point. Even if Cus stayed alive, the seeds of foment were there, and he and Cus would have parted company at some stage.

Tyson was enormously physically gifted, with incredible speed and agility, as well as almost peerless power, and an incredible ferocity, matched by his ability to take punishment. Tyson was a very hard man to hurt, and it was easier to frustrate him than punish him.

Even past his best, Tyson was still a formidable fighter, but by the time he got to Lewis, he had no chance.

I think a prime Tyson against a Prime Lewis would have been one hell of a fight, but their primes were almost a decade apart, Tyson was at his best around the age of 22, and Lewis about 32-36.

I think Tyson had he got Lewis in his pomp, when Lewis was still green, would have made mincemeat of him, because Lewis had flaws that Tyson would definetly have exposed.

Having said that, Tyson rates lower than Lewis on my list, as his peak was too brief, and he never won a rematch.

Never won a rematch in a fight in which he lost the first fight you mean. Cause technically he is 2-1 in rematch wins. He only had one rematch in fights which he lost the opener.

[fozzy]

I would always put Lennox and Holyfield in my top 5.

Seing Holyfield as a boxing legand in my eyes!!

[Poncey]

Even more laughable that we mostly think Lewis was a top 10 HW, yet ESPN don't even have him in there.

This list is fairly poor in places (why do boxing journalists insist on viewing pre 1950 fighters through such sentament):



http://sports.espn.go.com/broadband/vid ... Id=2491554