We miss you Lennox

[Carbo]

When the news came through that Wlad-Haye was off I did what any man would do, I cried for a while then dug out my Lennox Lewis DVDs. Ended up watching a big chunk of the big man's career. His IBHOF induction is coming up, so that was also a good excuse to write about his glorious career, not that I need an excuse to talk about Lennox.

My girlfriend is a big Haye fan, she finds Lewis boring, we are working our way through that gulf, but she had to admit that Lewis' steady style is a cut above anything we have today.

Haye himself said that he would have to beat a stack of Wlads to match Lewis' achievements. The jacking in of the fight now means that Haye has a big hill to climb, and a tweaked timetable in which to climb it.

I hope he does it though, but Lewis is still the hallmark when it comes to British heavies.

http://www.boxingnewsonline.net/BN08/detail.asp?id=1165

I think you're awesome, Terry.

Lewis was, by my estimates, about 5 levels above what we have today.

When you look at the quality of his opposition, he was beating better guys than Wlad three times a year for about eight years.

I weep for the heavyweight division.

[ERIC GUY]

I miss them days as well

[banjo]

OK, voting for Belinda is fair enough, but he never fought the real Mike Tyson?! Tyson never fought the real Lewis.

You are right he never did fight the real Mike Tyson not that it would have mattered much anyway, if Smith and Tillis could last the distance with him I doubt Lennox would have had much trouble.

And yes I do miss him, the heavyweight division has turned into a soulless vaccuum since he retired.

[DavidPayne]

We should all meet up, watch Lewis-Butler, and cry.

I'm with you, Carbo, Lewis is the last of a dying breed. No one has come close.

Hatton lost focus in his defining nights in the US.

Calzaghe messed about when he should have been making a KO statement versus Jones.

Lewis showed what to do with a faded legend. Break him down and put him away, as he did with Tyson, defeating the ref in the process. Forget Cortez, Cotton is the poster boy for biased refs. At one point he looked like he was going to pick Mike up, thread his arms through Mike's armpits, and have a go himself.

Er, Lewis v Holyfield I - about 13-14 minutes in.

[streak]

holding and hitting mate...

I'm not a fan, but I respect his achievements.

[youngrell]

Great article, and I have to admit I was never a big Lewis backer, found him boring and it really blinded me to how good he was, I was always watching for the other guy to get him into a brawl rather than marvel at his skill.

I think the ease with which he beat his opponents is what put me off, always looked like he could go up a gear and just KO the other guy but kept safe instead.

Great career though, and I can admit now that I shouldn't have been so harsh on him back when he was active.

[youngrell]

Great article, and I have to admit I was never a big Lewis backer, found him boring and it really blinded me to how good he was, I was always watching for the other guy to get him into a brawl rather than marvel at his skill.

I think the ease with which he beat his opponents is what put me off, always looked like he could go up a gear and just KO the other guy but kept safe instead.

Great career though, and I can admit now that I shouldn't have been so harsh on him back when he was active.

I appreciate anyone who found him boring, as he could be, so no arguments there Youngrell. I edited a little bit out but the commentary used to always be based around what he was not doing, as opposed to what he was doing. Even Darkie and Jim were tough on him. These days a guy gets a huge fanfare, incessant praise, and a 10 mill purse just for throwing a decent shot.

I get the point though, he was an acquired taste. I quite like boring fighters, gives me a chance to relax, no need for sudden movements of any kind, just watch him club the guy down.

Lewis-Tua was a masterpiece, but Harold was giving Tua bits of the first half of the fight, how does repeatedly hitting a guy's right glove with a swiped left hook = 'positive aggression.'

After Lewis went Lederman said, I am not sure where, "Lennox would often walk past me in the corridor and not say a word, on the other hand Wlad and Vitali always stop to say 'hello'." I like Harold, but Lewis was not there to social network, he was there to do a job, and did it time and again. Vitali got insanely overrated after that Lewis bout, it was sickening, he got the praise that Lewis worked years to get. I am very annoyed just thinking about it. They chased Lewis out of the sport. Lewis could have battered Sanders and Williams every day of the week, and he wouldn't have got a fraction of the acclaim Vitali received.

Hatton and Joe went to the USA and took on big fights, fair play, but they wanted red carpet treatment, a big fanfare, and stacks of dosh, Lewis used to go over there and hammer people, no fuss, no seeking of praise for fighting abroad, he was one of a kind.

My fondest Lewis memory is the Mercer fight. Tough brawl. Lewis bruised up. Scores come in and Lewis actually cheers, looks excited, and raises his hands, then realises he has shown some emotion, and starts cooly nodding his head, I remember thinknig, "Yeah, he does care!"

I agree about Vitali, I re-watched Lewis v Vitali just this weekend gone and couldn't help but feel sorry for Lewis at the end when the crowd was cheering for Vitali as if he had gained a morale victory or something. Yeah, you put up a good fight and one prob 4 of the 6 rounds, but after 6 rounds look at your face, Lewis was gonna get you before the night was out. Vitali still gets loads of praise, I couldn't believe the hype after the Peter fight, Peter didn't even try!

Your last point is a great one, I think that's all people wanted from him was for him to at least look excited but that's what made him so good, he was there for business.

[Quixall]

It's quite funny that this thread should appear now.....

I was watching some of Lennox's fights a few days back on you-tube. I watched the Bruno fight again and one or two snippets such as the Ruddock, Rahman II and Tyson fights. I do miss Lennox, i used to watch all his fights and the guy was class, inside and outside the ring and i think we will have to wait an awful long time to see another heavyweight of his calibre, whether from this country or not. I personally thought that Both his fights with Holyfield were very close and over the two fights, i could'nt really sepearte them. I would also have liked to see Lennox fight Tyson, when Tyson was at his prime, but that was never going to happen, because the two fighters matured ten years apart, even though they were similar ages. Lennox fought and beat a lot of very good calibre opponents in Tua, Botha, Ruddock, Briggs, Rahman, Mercer, Bruno, aswell as his "status" fights with Holyfield and Tyson. I, like a lot of people, rate Lennox just inside the top ten of the all time greatest heavyweight list, which comsidering the other names involved, is quite an accomplishment.

[chris s]

When the news came through that Wlad-Haye was off I did what any man would do, I cried for a while then dug out my Lennox Lewis DVDs. Ended up watching a big chunk of the big man's career. His IBHOF induction is coming up, so that was also a good excuse to write about his glorious career, not that I need an excuse to talk about Lennox.

My girlfriend is a big Haye fan, she finds Lewis boring, we are working our way through that gulf, but she had to admit that Lewis' steady style is a cut above anything we have today.

Haye himself said that he would have to beat a stack of Wlads to match Lewis' achievements. The jacking in of the fight now means that Haye has a big hill to climb, and a tweaked timetable in which to climb it.

I hope he does it though, but Lewis is still the hallmark when it comes to British heavies.

http://www.boxingnewsonline.net/BN08/detail.asp?id=1165

I think you're awesome, Terry.

Lewis was, by my estimates, about 5 levels above what we have today.

When you look at the quality of his opposition, he was beating better guys than Wlad three times a year for about eight years.

I weep for the heavyweight division.

He fought Vitali at a week's notice. real man

[J]

TOP 5 AT heavy for me...man is a hero.

Yeah was preppaing for Kirk johnson with Vit onthe undercard and fat man bailed out and no hesitation...come on then Vitali!!


great fighter.

[Old bones Ian]

Someone will come along, might take 10 years , might take 2 years, but with all sport their is always another great one around the corner.

Best slugging match was versus Shannon Briggs.
Hard match made easy was Andrew Golota
This guy is the next big thing , oh maybe not versus Michael Grant
Best boxing display versus David Tua
Most brutal beatdown Justin Fortune

[Quixall]

Someone will come along, might take 10 years , might take 2 years, but with all sport their is always another great one around the corner.

Best slugging match was versus Shannon Briggs.
Hard match made easy was Andrew Golota
This guy is the next big thing , oh maybe not versus Michael Grant
Best boxing display versus David Tua
Most brutal beatdown Justin Fortune

I would say, to add to your list, the greatest knock out = Rahman II

[big lennox]

As was mercer in a tiny, tiny ring.

Lennox = all time great. Absolutely no doubt about it in my mind. He consistently beat the very best guys. Only name missing on his resume was Bowe. On a side note I find Bowe's sistuation very upsetting as he was bright and had mega amounts of talent + guts in the ring (see holyfield & golota fights) but now seems to be ravished by the effects of his career and weight problem. Very sad indeed.

[Autobarn]

Hated him at the time, used to really piss my mates off when I was at college. I got some right stick the weekend after Lewis-Holyfield 1. I was telling everyone, "Trust me, Evander has dropped Bowe and Tyson with left hooks, he'll do the same to Lewis, and Lewis won't get up." Or "trust me, Shannon Briggs hurt him, so Evander will eat him inside the distance."

[big lennox]

I think the evander that beat bowe in their rematch or bested tyson would probably have beaten lennox, truth be told.

[alexpaterson]

I like Lewis a great Britsh HW doubt we'll see the likes of him for a while dont want to see him comeback though tarnish his record or worse get hurt but money does speak also do think Tyson would of struggled with Lewis for a start but would KO him late

[Autobarn]

I think the evander that beat bowe in their rematch or bested tyson would probably have beaten lennox, truth be told.

i used to tell myself that, but when i went back over lennox's career, i just think the reach advantage, the size advantage, is a bit too much for evander. evander, whose record is 1-3-1 with the 2 best super size heavyweights of their time.

chatting about lennox again, it reminds me of the days when ppl actually were interested in boxing, when folk actually used to talk about the fights.

vitali win looks a lot better now, with vitali being an excellent (if inactive) heavyweight title holder, and the fact that lewis beat a top fighter after being hurt by him.

[Autobarn]

Don't be fooled by Holy's heart, he was patchy at best as a heavyweight. The 2nd Bowe win was hugely flattering, and he never really found consistency. His chief weapon, that left, would never catch Lewis off-guard, not with power enough to stop him.

As for Tyson, he never KO'd anyone of note late on, if he struggled with you early he either lost the fight, lost the plot, or went through the motions on route to a tepid win on points. Lewis would back him up, negate him, and then knock him out, but we have all been here before

glad someone has finally said this. in holy's apparent prime '90-92, when he would have apparently outsped, outgutted, outeverything'd lewis, evander blew out buster douglas, nearly had his head taken off by bert cooper, boxed poorly v an old larry holmes, struggled a bit with foreman. evander could be inspired but he'd look good one night, look terrible the next, fight masterfully and follow up by following totally the wrong strategy in the next

[dbf]

Great article, and I have to admit I was never a big Lewis backer, found him boring and it really blinded me to how good he was, I was always watching for the other guy to get him into a brawl rather than marvel at his skill.

I think the ease with which he beat his opponents is what put me off, always looked like he could go up a gear and just KO the other guy but kept safe instead.

Great career though, and I can admit now that I shouldn't have been so harsh on him back when he was active.

I appreciate anyone who found him boring, as he could be, so no arguments there Youngrell. I edited a little bit out but the commentary used to always be based around what he was not doing, as opposed to what he was doing. Even Darkie and Jim were tough on him. These days a guy gets a huge fanfare, incessant praise, and a 10 mill purse just for throwing a decent shot.

I get the point though, he was an acquired taste. I quite like boring fighters, gives me a chance to relax, no need for sudden movements of any kind, just watch him club the guy down.

Lewis-Tua was a masterpiece, but Harold was giving Tua bits of the first half of the fight, how does repeatedly hitting a guy's right glove with a swiped left hook = 'positive aggression.'

After Lewis went Lederman said, I am not sure where, "Lennox would often walk past me in the corridor and not say a word, on the other hand Wlad and Vitali always stop to say 'hello'." I like Harold, but Lewis was not there to social network, he was there to do a job, and did it time and again. Vitali got insanely overrated after that Lewis bout, it was sickening, he got the praise that Lewis worked years to get. I am very annoyed just thinking about it. They chased Lewis out of the sport. Lewis could have battered Sanders and Williams every day of the week, and he wouldn't have got a fraction of the acclaim Vitali received.

Hatton and Joe went to the USA and took on big fights, fair play, but they wanted red carpet treatment, a big fanfare, and stacks of dosh, Lewis used to go over there and hammer people, no fuss, no seeking of praise for fighting abroad, he was one of a kind.

My fondest Lewis memory is the Mercer fight. Tough brawl. Lewis bruised up. Scores come in and Lewis actually cheers, looks excited, and raises his hands, then realises he has shown some emotion, and starts cooly nodding his head, I remember thinknig, "Yeah, he does care!"

Excellent article as ever, and I am happy to see you contributing to Boxing News, well done. Your response here is definitely on point and I feel the same annoyance at Vitali recieving such acclaim for achieving so little. Lampley loved him, was it in the Johnson fight where practically shot is muck over a Vitali right hand?

Lennox may have lacked a personality but every fight he brought it, and the two times he didnt he was back to his best in the rematch.

[exittored]

LEWIS was probably the luckiest Boxer in History during his time in boxing!

TYSON went to Jail and came out a shell of his former self, by the time he faced Lewis he was just there for a payday! a Focused Tyson would have massacred Lewis between 1986-1992

HOLYFIELD was 37 by the time he faced Lewis and a good 5 years past his peak but was still competitive in the 2 fights against Lewis and yes i'll say it now, deserved at least a draw in the 2nd Fight. If they had faced each other around 1990-95 i would go with Holyfield all the way!

IKE IBEABUCHI went Crazy and was sent to Jail.......Would have pushed Lewis all the way if not beat him if they ever did fight

RIDDICK BOWE was only 20 compared to a 23 year old Lewis at the 1988 Olympics so was still very raw and young.....If that same Fight had taken place professionally 5 years later when Bowe had just beaten Holyfield, i would have gone for Bowe in a very close Fight.

The fact that LEWIS never faced a Peak Version of any of his 4 closest rivals will always leave a Big Question mark for me about his Greatness....a Very Good boxer though for sure.

[banjo]

The same Tyson who massacred Smith and Tucker eh?

Try again

[DG.]

Lennox is a legend.

[ERIC GUY]

Lennox was the man,

[exittored]

The same Tyson who massacred Smith and Tucker eh?

Try again

Pathetic!

Smith was a Veteran Fighter who just came to survive 12 rds by hugging and running from Tyson, at no time did he try to win the fight till he opened up in the last 10 seconds!

Tucker was a damn good Fighter with a great chin who used his height and reach advantages very well against Tyson to survive 12 rds but there was never any chance he was ever going to win.....plus the Punishment Tyson gave him finished him as a Top Level Fighter, he was out for over 2 and half years after the fight as Tyson had messed him up Physically and Mentally.....No Fighter was ever the same after facing a Peak Tyson!

[Autobarn]

LEWIS was probably the luckiest Boxer in History during his time in boxing!

TYSON went to Jail and came out a shell of his former self, by the time he faced Lewis he was just there for a payday! a Focused Tyson would have massacred Lewis between 1986-1992

HOLYFIELD was 37 by the time he faced Lewis and a good 5 years past his peak but was still competitive in the 2 fights against Lewis and yes i'll say it now, deserved at least a draw in the 2nd Fight. If they had faced each other around 1990-95 i would go with Holyfield all the way!

IKE IBEABUCHI went Crazy and was sent to Jail.......Would have pushed Lewis all the way if not beat him if they ever did fight

RIDDICK BOWE was only 20 compared to a 23 year old Lewis at the 1988 Olympics so was still very raw and young.....If that same Fight had taken place professionally 5 years later when Bowe had just beaten Holyfield, i would have gone for Bowe in a very close Fight.

The fact that LEWIS never faced a Peak Version of any of his 4 closest rivals will always leave a Big Question mark for me about his Greatness....a Very Good boxer though for sure.

you can't get elite names in their primes if they won't fight. don't forget he massacred dangerous/good fighters in their primes, such as grant, ruddock, golota - lennox battered some big, strong buys. whoever US writers tried to hype, lennox would show them up.

ibeabuchi was crazy - then he couldn't hold it together to become a champ. lennox was disciplined, mentally strong, and apart from the 2 losses, consistent. ibeabuchi was a bit lucky to beat tua, and we know what lennox did to tua.

tyson was great for 2 or 3 years (86-88) then went crackers, burned out, take your pick.