Lennox Lewis: Joshua Can Be Great - But Not Better Than Me

[Ruthless-RKO]

Lennox Lewis believes Anthony Joshua has the ability to become an all-time great heavyweight - just not to the level that he did.

In only his 19th fight as a professional, Joshua will on Saturday defend his IBF title and bids to win the WBA, IBO belts when he faces Wladimir Klitschko in front of 90,000 people at Wembley.

Klitschko succeeded the retired Lewis as the world's leading heavyweight and, along with the titles, is fighting to reclaim that position against Joshua, widely considered the favourite.

"Can he be an all-time great?" asked Lewis, 51. "Yes. Yes.

"He can do anything he wants. But saying it and doing it is two different things. We can say it but it's up to him to do it. Yes, the potential is there.

"Could he go on to be better than me? I don't think so. It's difficult for me to say another man is better than me.

"How I come to that conclusion is I look at my amateur career. I had an extensive amateur career which led into my professional career which allowed me to be better.

"He didn't have an extensive amateur career - it was only a short one. To me, there is a lot Anthony Joshua still needs to learn.

"As he goes on he will learn them but his trainers need to understand that too because each fight for him is a learning curve.

"You don't want to learn in important fights; you want to be prepared for them."

http://www.BS.com/lennox-lewis ... EsjIw.dpuf

[gilgamesh]

Joshua certainly has a long, long way to go before he's better than Lennox Lewis, but it wouldn't be an impossible thing to achieve. He'd have to have a hell of a career though to equal or better the career Lennox had though.

Can he be better than Lewis? Yes

WILL he be better than Lewis? I doubt it, but we shall see.

[Stuarty]

See what happens with Wlad. I don't think there's many people who would argue that Lewis would've chinned Wlad no problems.

[boxing_rocks]

Where is "we shall see" option?

[Ossyrules]

I voted no, but I think he has a good chance to be as good, but ultimately will lack the opponents to prove it

[ValMar]

Joshua certainly has a long, long way to go before he's better than Lennox Lewis, but it wouldn't be an impossible thing to achieve. He'd have to have a hell of a career though to equal or better the career Lennox had though.

Can he be better than Lewis? Yes

WILL he be better than Lewis? I doubt it, but we shall see.

[Kalan]

Lennox Lewis believes Anthony Joshua has the ability to become an all-time great heavyweight - just not to the level that he did.

In only his 19th fight as a professional, Joshua will on Saturday defend his IBF title and bids to win the WBA, IBO belts when he faces Wladimir Klitschko in front of 90,000 people at Wembley.

Klitschko succeeded the retired Lewis as the world's leading heavyweight and, along with the titles, is fighting to reclaim that position against Joshua, widely considered the favourite.

"Can he be an all-time great?" asked Lewis, 51. "Yes. Yes.

"He can do anything he wants. But saying it and doing it is two different things. We can say it but it's up to him to do it. Yes, the potential is there.

"Could he go on to be better than me? I don't think so. It's difficult for me to say another man is better than me.

"How I come to that conclusion is I look at my amateur career. I had an extensive amateur career which led into my professional career which allowed me to be better.

"He didn't have an extensive amateur career - it was only a short one. To me, there is a lot Anthony Joshua still needs to learn.

"As he goes on he will learn them but his trainers need to understand that too because each fight for him is a learning curve.

"You don't want to learn in important fights; you want to be prepared for them."

http://www.BS.com/lennox-lewis ... EsjIw.dpuf

Lewis says Joshua can be an ATG and do "Anything he wants." ... By "anything" he means anything but be greater than Lennox Lewis... LL sounds much like Joe Frazier comparing himself to Mike Tyson.. "Tyson is in NO WAY as good as me." ... Yup. That's why he matched his son Marvis against him.

It's easy for ATG fighters to overrate themselves and underrate contemporary boxers... This was true for all periods in fistic history.

Joshua has a better jab than Lewis ever had and has much better right leads and right counters.. His defense is a lot more solid than Lewis's.. AJ has never been taken out by right hands from slow Heavyweights who were lacking in many skills. Those weren't the only 2 fights Lewis lost. Vitali Klitschko easily outscored Lewis for 6 rounds, on all cards -- in a fight that should have been announced as a Unanimous Technical Decision Win for Klitschko. Despite blood flowing steadily into his left eye from foul blows, Klitschko out-scored Lewis by a solid margin in that fight.

Taking Joshua the way he is right now... He would knock the best Lewis out within 10 rounds... It'll likely come faster with Klitschko.

[Ossyrules]

Lennox Lewis believes Anthony Joshua has the ability to become an all-time great heavyweight - just not to the level that he did.

In only his 19th fight as a professional, Joshua will on Saturday defend his IBF title and bids to win the WBA, IBO belts when he faces Wladimir Klitschko in front of 90,000 people at Wembley.

Klitschko succeeded the retired Lewis as the world's leading heavyweight and, along with the titles, is fighting to reclaim that position against Joshua, widely considered the favourite.

"Can he be an all-time great?" asked Lewis, 51. "Yes. Yes.

"He can do anything he wants. But saying it and doing it is two different things. We can say it but it's up to him to do it. Yes, the potential is there.

"Could he go on to be better than me? I don't think so. It's difficult for me to say another man is better than me.

"How I come to that conclusion is I look at my amateur career. I had an extensive amateur career which led into my professional career which allowed me to be better.

"He didn't have an extensive amateur career - it was only a short one. To me, there is a lot Anthony Joshua still needs to learn.

"As he goes on he will learn them but his trainers need to understand that too because each fight for him is a learning curve.

"You don't want to learn in important fights; you want to be prepared for them."

http://www.BS.com/lennox-lewis ... EsjIw.dpuf

Lewis says Joshua can be an ATG and do "Anything he wants." ... By "anything" he means anything but be greater than Lennox Lewis... LL sounds much like Joe Frazier comparing himself to Mike Tyson.. "Tyson is in NO WAY as good as me." ... Yup. That's why he matched his son Marvis against him.

It's easy for ATG fighters to overrate themselves and underrate contemporary boxers... This was true for all periods in fistic history.

Joshua has a better jab than Lewis ever had and has much better right leads and right counters.. His defense is a lot more solid than Lewis's.. AJ has never been taken out by right hands from slow Heavyweights who were lacking in many skills. Those weren't the only 2 fights Lewis lost. Vitali Klitschko easily outscored Lewis for 6 rounds, on all cards -- in a fight that should have been announced as a Unanimous Technical Decision Win for Klitschko. Despite blood flowing steadily into his left eye from foul blows, Klitschko out-scored Lewis by a solid margin in that fight.

Taking Joshua the way he is right now... He would knock the best Lewis out within 10 rounds... It'll likely come faster with Klitschko.

Lol

Lennox jab is a proven world class heavyweight weapon. Joshua's isn't. So we can scrap that point.

As for technical decision Vitali shite, no, Vitali fought a great fight, but lost on cuts. Unfortunate, but that's part of boxing. For me the pendulum was swinging Lewis way in that fight anyway, but that's another story. The fact is Vitali had to be stopped on cuts or he was a round from having his face fall off. So we can scrap that point

How he'd knock out Lennox quicker than hed do Wlad is a big lol. Considering Lennox is superior to Wlad in just about every aspect of boxing. So let's scrap that point too

The gist of this article is basically Lewis rates Joshua highly, but as a fiercely competitive world class boxer, retired, doesn't have the mindset someone can be better than him. I don't read too much into this, especially the headline

[lillywhite14]

Ossyrules, absolutely spot on

Lewis has the mindset that comes with being a truly elite level athlete. When they see youngsters coming through they don't stand back in awe. They may congratulate etc but deep down, or not so deep in Lennox's case, it gets their competitive juices flowing. Lewis probably believes, in his prime, he could beat any man in history on any given night, just like ATG fighters should do.

[man]

everybody agreed back then that it was
a talent rich environment. no one thinks
that now. so unless some great prospects
enter, we will never know ...

[lefty]

Joshua isnt on Lewis's former level.

[Jip]

Lewis was beaten everybody. Like wlad lewis was beaten smaller guys like tyson. Holyfield. Tua. Rahman. All opponents between 5.11 and 6.2.

Once he faced a tall elite 6.7 opponent he started losing rounds and was on his way losing against vitaly.

Josh is better and much less stiff than vitaly and is better than both

[Jip]

everybody agreed back then that it was
a talent rich environment. no one thinks
that now. so unless some great prospects
enter, we will never know ...

Nonsense

[Ossyrules]

Lewis was beaten everybody. Like wlad lewis was beaten smaller guys like tyson. Holyfield. Tua. Rahman. All opponents between 5.11 and 6.2.

Once he faced a tall elite 6.7 opponent he started losing rounds and was on his way losing against vitaly.

Josh is better and much less stiff than vitaly and is better than both

Bit of history for you, but have a guess who Lewis first defended his belts against after unifying the division? If you know the answer, then tell there physical stats if you know them...

Yes Vitali won rounds vs Lewis, if only boxing was judged on if you won some rounds instead of the fight

[greg]

..what Lewis said was pretty much predictable: as his countryman he'd like the HW crown to be in Britain, in terms of legacy, greatness, etc..who'd like to have competitors?-.. the real answer is: it remains to be seen..

[Jip]

Lewis was beaten everybody. Like wlad lewis was beaten smaller guys like tyson. Holyfield. Tua. Rahman. All opponents between 5.11 and 6.2.

Once he faced a tall elite 6.7 opponent he started losing rounds and was on his way losing against vitaly.

Josh is better and much less stiff than vitaly and is better than both

Bit of history for you, but have a guess who Lewis first defended his belts against after unifying the division? If you know the answer, then tell there physical stats if you know them...

Yes Vitali won rounds vs Lewis, if only boxing was judged on if you won some rounds instead of the fight

Haha u non expert for sure. Wanna compare grant to aj hahahaha...a limited tall guy who later lost to manuel charr comparing to an gold medalist undefeated elite puncher who skills surpass anybody in the heavyweight division ? Haha

[Ossyrules]

Lewis was beaten everybody. Like wlad lewis was beaten smaller guys like tyson. Holyfield. Tua. Rahman. All opponents between 5.11 and 6.2.

Once he faced a tall elite 6.7 opponent he started losing rounds and was on his way losing against vitaly.

Josh is better and much less stiff than vitaly and is better than both

Bit of history for you, but have a guess who Lewis first defended his belts against after unifying the division? If you know the answer, then tell there physical stats if you know them...

Yes Vitali won rounds vs Lewis, if only boxing was judged on if you won some rounds instead of the fight

Haha u non expert for sure. Wanna compare grant to aj hahahaha...a limited tall guy who later lost to manuel charr comparing to an gold medalist undefeated elite puncher who skills surpass anybody in the heavyweight division ? Haha

Show me where I say grant is better than Joshua. You say he struggled vs tall fighters as he lost rounds vs Vitali. You're talking shite mate and are showing your lack of knowledge here.

Lennoxs pro career is pretty spot on. Beat everyone and if he had a weakness it was he overlooked opponents are a few occasions, and it cost him defeat twice. When focussed he was formidable.

You have a short memory. Or you only started following boxing last few years?

[Sequitorian]

Remember ... Joshua won the battle of Jericho ...

[Jip]

Bit of history for you, but have a guess who Lewis first defended his belts against after unifying the division? If you know the answer, then tell there physical stats if you know them...

Yes Vitali won rounds vs Lewis, if only boxing was judged on if you won some rounds instead of the fight

Haha u non expert for sure. Wanna compare grant to aj hahahaha...a limited tall guy who later lost to manuel charr comparing to an gold medalist undefeated elite puncher who skills surpass anybody in the heavyweight division ? Haha

Show me where I say grant is better than Joshua. You say he struggled vs tall fighters as he lost rounds vs Vitali. You're talking shite mate and are showing your lack of knowledge here.

Lennoxs pro career is pretty spot on. Beat everyone and if he had a weakness it was he overlooked opponents are a few occasions, and it cost him defeat twice. When focussed he was formidable.

You have a short memory. Or you only started following boxing last few years?

Read what i wrote...

I said lewis was beating smaller guys and once he faced a tall elite opponent he was losing rounds. Vitaly is tall elite. Grant is tall okay boxer far from elite ...u just overlooked the small but important word elite.

U from ireland..they were all saying shyte haha..was their for vac 1 week ago. Loved the breakfast and the fresh air

[Mexi-Box]

Lewis was beaten everybody. Like wlad lewis was beaten smaller guys like tyson. Holyfield. Tua. Rahman. All opponents between 5.11 and 6.2.

Once he faced a tall elite 6.7 opponent he started losing rounds and was on his way losing against vitaly.

Josh is better and much less stiff than vitaly and is better than both

Bit of history for you, but have a guess who Lewis first defended his belts against after unifying the division? If you know the answer, then tell there physical stats if you know them...

Yes Vitali won rounds vs Lewis, if only boxing was judged on if you won some rounds instead of the fight

Haha u non expert for sure. Wanna compare grant to aj hahahaha...a limited tall guy who later lost to manuel charr comparing to an gold medalist undefeated elite puncher who skills surpass anybody in the heavyweight division ? Haha

Are you kidding me? AJ was struggling with C- Dillian Whyte. Tyson Fury, Klitschko, and Povetkin would all smash Whyte.

[Kalan]

Lennox jab is a proven world class heavyweight weapon. Joshua's isn't. So we can scrap that point.

As for technical decision Vitali shite, no, Vitali fought a great fight, but lost on cuts. Unfortunate, but that's part of boxing. For me the pendulum was swinging Lewis way in that fight anyway, but that's another story. The fact is Vitali had to be stopped on cuts or he was a round from having his face fall off. So we can scrap that point

How he'd knock out Lennox quicker than hed do Wlad is a big lol. Considering Lennox is superior to Wlad in just about every aspect of boxing. So let's scrap that point too

The gist of this article is basically Lewis rates Joshua highly, but as a fiercely competitive world class boxer, retired, doesn't have the mindset someone can be better than him. I don't read too much into this, especially the headline

How long do you think it would take Joshua to KO 214-pound Mavrovic -- who had very poor skills and never beat a ranked Heavyweight??? Joshua would have Mavrovic knocked out in 5 or 6 rounds tops...if not a lot sooner.

And if Lewis's jab is world class, how come he wasn't able to use it to better effect vs Ray Mercer??? ... 42-year-old Larry Holmes out-jabbed Mercer very easily and so did Wladimir... Lewis got outjabbed by Mercer, but finally won on gritting it out -- and power-punch output.. Many thought Mercer won...

Saying Vitali's face was about to fall off is ridiculous, untrue, and pejorative... The damage was confined to his left eyelid and left cheek, but they were deep slashes and no legitimate punch slashes your eyelid and cheek up like that with little swelling... All the damage happened with a thumb strike and a holding and hitting palm slash in the first 20 seconds of the 3rd.. The first 2 rights Lewis threw in the 3rd were egregious fouls after he lost the first 2 rounds.. The cuts caused by those fouls should have meant a technical decision win for VK because he was winning on all scorecards after 6.

How was Lewis superior to Wlad??? Lewis was taken out twice with 1 punch so I don't think his chin was superior -- they both had problematic chins.. Lewis didn't move as well so his footwork wasn't superior... Wlad threw and landed more jabs at a higher rate so Lewis didn't have the superior jab... Lewis has no KO finishes with the left hook that equal Wlad's wins over Ray Austin and Kubrat Pulev.. Wlad fought more amateur fights but had fewer losses.. Wlad fought many more professional fights including World Title Fights and had many more wins.. Wladimir had at least 9 professional fights with southpaws and Lewis avoided southpaws his entire pro career.

Lewis certainly has a biased mindset that nobody is better than him... Reality is quite different because Joshua is better at everything -- and got there a lot faster than Lewis got there because of greater raw talent and mental focus... And he's a cleaner fighter who doesn't get fat between fights.

[Jip]

salute kalan. Spot on. Aj much less dirty than lewis was!!!

Lewis became famous beating ex cruiserweights like evander and old 5'11 tyson. Than finaly he fought a talented who was of similar height than him and he had imense problems.

Lewis is amongs the top 5 hw ever but truth is truth, he was lucky that during his peak tall elite guys like vitaly or aj werent around. Opponents as tall or taller than him and no small rahmans, small tua etc...

[493dart]

salute kalan. Spot on. Aj much less dirty than lewis was!!!

Lewis became famous beating ex cruiserweights like evander and old 5'11 tyson. Than finaly he fought a talented who was of similar height than him and he had imense problems.

Lewis is amongs the top 5 hw ever but truth is truth, he was lucky that during his peak tall elite guys like vitaly or aj werent around. Opponents as tall or taller than him and no small rahmans, small tua etc...

wow.......

1. he was famous before holyfield....maybe you are new to boxing?

2. similar height fighter that gave him "immense problems".........you mean Grant ????? or maybe Briggs ? Ruddok? Bruno ? Golata ?

3. Lewis is the GOAT heavyweight ----FACT !

[Lackeos]

I voted no, but I think he has a good chance to be as good, but ultimately will lack the opponents to prove it

He might lack the opponents to prove it, with a few caveats...
-He's got possibly past-it Wlad. That would be a hell of a start.
-I acknowledge Lennox's greatness, but he didn't have many elite scalps. There was past-prime Holyfield, extremely past-prime Tyson, David Tua if you call that elite. He had a lot of solid wins, but the quality of his best wins was far from unassailable.
-You don't know who is going to exist when Joshua is 35. 8 years ago, Terence Crawford was only 6-0 and nobody had a clue who he was. 8 years ago, Leo Santa Cruz was barely even a prospect; he was a 9-0 nobody. In 8 years, everything could turn on its head. Some nobody like Nathan Gorman, Nicholas Mazurek, or Darmani Rock could be the heavyweight king in 2025 after having beaten Fury, Wilder, Parker, Joshua, you name it.

[man]

everybody agreed back then that it was
a talent rich environment. no one thinks
that now. so unless some great prospects
enter, we will never know ...

Nonsense

that's not only not nonsense, that
is pretty much undisputed.