lewis-holyfield 2

[fanman]

just rewatched it. a good fight. i scored it 9-3 to lewis. holy was very inactive, he landed some good shots, but they were few and far between.
lewis showed good skills, combinations, and a good chin also. holy showed a good left hook.
i know some claim this was a close one but im convinced it was a clear victory for lewis. lewis could box, he could punch, he had it all. i reckon only ali and holmes could beat lewis, mythically.

[SaadOffTheDeck]

I had it 6-5-1 Lewis, very close fight.

[gilgamesh]

I had it 6-5-1 Lewis, very close fight.

I always heard the second one was closer than the first one though I've never watched either fight.

[SaadOffTheDeck]

I had it 6-5-1 Lewis, very close fight.

I always heard the second one was closer than the first one though I've never watched either fight.

It was much closer, Lennox clearly won the first fight. He was a very smart fighter, he refused to engage Holyfield and boxed intelligently.

[dempseyfire]

I had it 6-5-1 for Holyfield. A score the other way for Lewis is fine, but it had lots of close rounds. Ultimately the record books are fine the way they are.

[Ezzard]

I had to 6-5-1 Lewis. But just to disagree with Dempsey... I didn't feel there were more than 2 or 3 close rounds. I thought it was pretty obvious who won the rounds...well most of the rounds...but it's been a while since I watched it.

[Ambling Alp II]

7-5 for Holyfield. Boring fight. About all Lewis did was paw with his supposedly great jab most of the fight. Holyfield wasn't a lot better; about all he did he was have little bursts now and then.
I thought there were several close rounds where almost nothing happened. Clearly the judges were giving all the close rounds to Lewis; it was a makeup call for the first fight.

[dempseyfire]

I had to 6-5-1 Lewis. But just to disagree with Dempsey... I didn't feel there were more than 2 or 3 close rounds. I thought it was pretty obvious who won the rounds...well most of the rounds...but it's been a while since I watched it.

There were lots of rounds in which Lewis threw and landed more but Evander pressed the action and landed the harder more effective punches. Round 3 is a perfect example. Lewis was winning a dreadfully boring round the first 2min 30 seconds by landing a few light jabs, but then Evander landed several hard shots in the last 30 seconds that shook up Lennox. So who wins the round?

[Ezzard]

I had to 6-5-1 Lewis. But just to disagree with Dempsey... I didn't feel there were more than 2 or 3 close rounds. I thought it was pretty obvious who won the rounds...well most of the rounds...but it's been a while since I watched it.

There were lots of rounds in which Lewis threw and landed more but Evander pressed the action and landed the harder more effective punches. Round 3 is a perfect example. Lewis was winning a dreadfully boring round the first 2min 30 seconds by landing a few light jabs, but then Evander landed several hard shots in the last 30 seconds that shook up Lennox. So who wins the round?

I seem to remember a clean sweep for Lewis for about 4 rounds (from memory) then Holyfield took over...and it looked like he was going to stream-roller Lewis...who began to look tired.

Then at some point Lennox landed a huge uppercut (around the 9th) and Holyfield pretty much went into his shell after that...barring the odd exchange. I'm convinced that it was that uppercut which turned the fight.

But it's all from memory.

[SaadOffTheDeck]

I thought that uppercut was earlier and Evander responded with bad intent, putting Lewis into a shell.

[Ezzard]

I give the fornicate up!

[SaadOffTheDeck]

I give the eff up!

I haven't watched it in many years, I just remember going back and doing a RBR scorecard on one of the blogs I wrote on. Two highly forgettable fights, but I recall Lewis getting the worst of it every time they engaged. Including that uppercut. I could be wrong.

[drunkenpiper36]

7-5 for Holyfield. Boring fight. About all Lewis did was paw with his supposedly great jab most of the fight. Holyfield wasn't a lot better; about all he did he was have little bursts now and then.
I thought there were several close rounds where almost nothing happened. Clearly the judges were giving all the close rounds to Lewis; it was a makeup call for the first fight.

It wasn't the best example of a crowd pleaser, but I didn't think it was altogether boring either. I can't remember who did the commentary for that fight, but they mentioned that Holyfield did some things in that bout that he didn't do in the first one, and throwing more to the body was among them. It was a gallant effort for an aging Evander and certainly closer than the first meeting.

[Ambling Alp II]

Holyfield was certainly better than the first fight; at least in this fight he at times showed flashes. However, he certainly did not look nearly as good as he did in his prime.

Lewis looked much worse this time. For whatever reason, he was over cautious.

As for the "uppercut" that was mentioned earlier in the thread, HBO showed it over and over in highlights. The fact that it is remembered says something about the fight. In a really good fight, there would have been dozens of these kind of punches. Lewis seemed to spent almost the whole time pawing with pity pat jabs with nothing at all on them.

I remember Lampley (who was a huge Lewis cheerleader) going on and on about how easily Lewis was winning, and saying he hoped the judges would not rip Lewis off again. I don't think Foreman came out and said it, but he seemed to think Holyfield deserved the win.

[dempseyfire]

It was the 9th round. It was being Holyfield's best round since the 7th, and Lewis landed an uppercut that shook Evander to his toes, but Holyfield in true warrior fashion came right back at Lewis. It was arguably the best punch of the fight, but I still gave Evander that round as he landed more clean shots and pressed the action.

[SaadOffTheDeck]

It was the 9th round. It was being Holyfield's best round since the 7th, and Lewis landed an uppercut that shook Evander to his toes, but Holyfield in true warrior fashion came right back at Lewis. It was arguably the best punch of the fight, but I still gave Evander that round as he landed more clean shots and pressed the action.

I knew it didn't put him in a shell. Like many before him, Lennox had a look of fornicate this after he tagged him.

[drunkenpiper36]

Holyfield was certainly better than the first fight; at least in this fight he at times showed flashes. However, he certainly did not look nearly as good as he did in his prime.

Seldom does anyone.

[dempseyfire]

Holyfield was certainly better than the first fight; at least in this fight he at times showed flashes. However, he certainly did not look nearly as good as he did in his prime.
n.

People forget when evaluating the Lewis rematch that in his next fight he got beat around by John Ruiz and received an atrocious gift decision. Although still champion he'd been on a fairly steep decline since the Tyson fights (and even then, the Tyson fights were past his peak, which I'd say ended following the Bowe rematch)

[SaadOffTheDeck]

That whole awful trilogy with Ruiz never produced a proper winner imo. I thought Ruiz clearly won the first fight, Holyfield knocked him out in the second and edged the third.