Will Lennox Lewis make a good cornerman?

bennie · Post by **bennie** » 17 Feb 2004, 18:47

There's talk of Lennox being in Corrie Sanders' corner when the big South African meets Vitali Klitschko shortly, and thereafter in Audley Harrison's corner. Will he make a good cornerman? What can he bring to the table that would separate him from other cornermen?
You tell me.

hitman_hatton1 · Post by **hitman_hatton1** » 17 Feb 2004, 19:24

if the cornerman could get in there and help then yeah

but unfortunately your only as good as the fighter your training.

lennox was an excellent fighter himself and for me one of the best ever

and i'm sure he can teach em some valuable tips like thump that right hand into the left side of klitschko's face as much as possible and stick the nut in now and again

steve689 · Post by **steve689** » 17 Feb 2004, 19:29

I suppose only time will tell, whoever he helps put can only benefit from his experience and the big fight knowledge he can offer so it will probably be a good thing. If he does become a cornerman then it will only be a back seat role i would imagine, similar to the way the Klitschko's are with one another.

stujones · Post by **stujones** » 17 Feb 2004, 21:17

Can't see him being a good corner man, seems a little to quiet a personality. Sometimes of course the quiet cornerman works well, but inevitably a fighter will need a kick up the backside with plenty of F**** and other words to gee the fighter up.

He brings years of experience, and if he does a few rounds of sparring then that will be good, although I heard he was pretty ruthless in his sparring he'd have to change that.

I can't see him wanting to do it, also couldn't a real life Rocky V situation occur?

J · Post by J » 18 Feb 2004, 10:28

I dunno time will tell but I think he is one of the great thinking heavweights, if he can transfer his analytical dissections of his opponents, onto the new chosen few (I read he is also helping Audley out). I can see him being a great asistance , I mean anyone who has been at the top of the game for that long has gotta be able to impart a great of knwledge and experience AS LONG AS THE CHARGE IS WILLING TO LISTEN!
Whether his people skills are good enough to motivate and drive his fighters on, I dunno. I tell you what Ill get off the fence and say yeah I reckon he would make a good trainer and cornerman. Ill be interested to see what happens.

jamesmcdonnell · Post by **jamesmcdonnell** » 18 Feb 2004, 10:43

I reckon he will, because he is calm and fairly articulate, it depends on the situation I suppose, but I can imagine him being like Buddy McGirt, cool under pressure, and nice and easy in his explanations of what to do.

Plus, any cornerman who has been heavyweight champion of the world is likely to command a lot of respect from his charge.

Tim Witherspoon didn't appear to do quite so well with Woods, his advice seemed pretty simplistic, along the lines of relax and let your hands go.

stujones · Post by **stujones** » 18 Feb 2004, 14:59

Some fighters are just so naturally talented that they can't explain themselves probably, cause it came so innate to them that they themselves didn't know how they did it. I remember Jack Dempsey saying about one of his final fights saying words to the effect of "When I could see the opening and I drive my punch in, I knew my time was nearly up" - basically, everything was automatic - this might be the same with Witherspoon.

I remember when Spencer Oliver went to Ingle's gym (for a sky show) to work out there (after his accident). He found it hard to consciously change his style, because his excellent ringstyle was so innate, maybe thats why he's had mixed success when he dabbled into coaching.

Thats why, not always the best boxers make the best coaches (same with Footballers). Of course, Buddy McGirt is a major exception - but usually it appears to be the very good (i.e. Roach, Rooney) as opposed to the greats that make the coach.

overhand_right · Post by **overhand_right** » 18 Feb 2004, 16:54

witherspoons not the most articulate of geezers- just let him intheir hismelf, he knows what to do.

cant see a multi millionaire superstar like lennox trailing a fighter around and giving advice inthe corner, he doesnt need to. can you imagine holmes, leonard, hagler etc giving advice in the corner?

these guys are better businessmen than trying to get fighters who couldnt hang with them to do work.

stujones · Post by **stujones** » 18 Feb 2004, 18:31

What was Leonard's role with Tapia a few years ago (when Johnny was in his prime) - I thought he did some cornerwork then.

Also, wasn't there talk of him actually helping in Phillips corner for the Hatton fight, before the split.

steve689 · Post by **steve689** » 18 Feb 2004, 20:19

I always get the feeling that Witherspoon is desperate to just blurt out the truth to Woods and tell him like it is, but as long as he keeps the cheques flowing....