"lewis on his best night is the best hw ever/beats all others"

[jamamb]

here this quite a lot, but would like to know if this sections posters agree/disagree, and why

also keep in mind that wed be comparing him to the other hws on there best too

[banjo]

Disagree, I've heard it so many times but there's nothing to suggest he would, Lewis at his best was a very good fighter but then so was Holyfield, Bowe, Tyson, Holmes, Ali etc.

[Boxerbeetle]

I would certainly agree that Lewis at his very best would have a great chance of beating any other heavyweight in history at their very best. But the same can be said for many of the other great heavyweights - there’s not too much between them really.

Lewis could well potentially be the best of them all, but I personally wouldn’t say so.

[TheGman]

So what night would you class as his best night? For us to think he would be the best ever we would have to compare his best night to evander holyfields best or Muhammad Ali's best night or larry holmes best night ,lewis best nights ended early(michael grant andrew golota and razor ruddock the only other best night i could think of is a one sided best down of tommy morrison,now add evander holyfields best night(bowe 2,moorer 2,tyson 1,george foreman) and compare them,the same with the other fighters i mentioned. I did vote yes but voted too quick without really thinking about it and iv changed my mind,evander holyfield, larry holmes,mike tyson,muhammed ali all had better nights in the ring than lennox lewis,lewis was good but dont think he would beat any of these guys on their best night

[Coco]

I voted yes thinking it was him v the current crop, then again who else would have beaten him? Maybe Holmes?
Tyson wouldn't have got past the jab, Frazier neither, too big for Ali, too cute for Foreman and much too big for the likes of Dempsey, Marciano etc

[tobyh5]

Lewis could well potentially be the best of them all, but I personally wouldn’t say so.

I was actually looking for an option of "Potentially could beat....." as yep, with his size, strength, skillset he could on the RIGHT night beat any other fighter in history. Almost impossible to argue that.#

But if the thread is asking whether the best Lennox beats the best version of all other fights, the answer is probably not.

[ElJefe]

I'm a massive Lennox fan but still voted no. At his absolute best he'd have a great chance against anyone in history, no doubt. But if we're taking Lewis on his best night we've also got to take the others on their best nights. He'd beat some prime for prime but I'm not confident he'd beat them all.

[leejonesjnr]

Nah.
Lennox was awesome but realistically nobody would beat everybody else through the ages best v best.
In fact a boxers best ins' always the best version to put in against another boxer. Ive had the discussion before that the best of Ali wouldn't have beaten Foreman in Zaire, but the older, slightly slower, wiser version did.

[moogie101]

I went yes, obviously at the elite level anyone can beat anyone as has been repeatedly proven but more based it on my belief that Lennox with his size & skill was the greatest heavyweight we've ever seen.

[spudder56]

Lewis was a great fighter but to me the only one wo would’ve beaten him would be a prime Larry Holmes who to me was the best of all time and I’ve seen them all from Sonny Liston onwards

[Noxy]

Lewis was a great fighter but to me the only one wo would’ve beaten him would be a prime Larry Holmes who to me was the best of all time and I’ve seen them all from Sonny Liston onwards

Aye, Holmes was good. Even when he was getting on he was a handful

[spudder56]

Lewis was a great fighter but to me the only one wo would’ve beaten him would be a prime Larry Holmes who to me was the best of all time and I’ve seen them all from Sonny Liston onwards

Aye, Holmes was good. Even when he was getting on he was a handful

Yeah great fighter mate

[Stuarty]

Best of the modern era arguably but not best hw of all time. That's a bit of a push to say the least.

[Terry Dooley]

Head-to-head I'd also go for Holmes over Lewis, who is one of my all-time favourite fighters, and believe Holmes is the best fighter the division has ever produced. He was just such a good all-rounder.

[jamamb]

interesting responses...poll reasonably close

as for holmes, i feel like hes almost an odd man out in historical discussion. doesnt really get as many plaudits (or at least attention) as the ali/frazier/foreman group, but then kinda gets looked over and ppl kinda skip his reign to move onto the tyson/lewis/holy era.

[Counter-puncher]

Questions of Greatness aside I think stylewise Holmes is a nightmare for Lewis

[ewenhay]

Others have kinda summed this up really.

On his best night Lewis is capable of beating any other heavyweight.

There's a number of heavyweights though whose best nights reached higher levels than his best nights.

[Grilling Machine]

Holyfield, Tua and Tyson were all past their primes, but Mason, Bruno and Briggs were good wins. They're just not in the same category as Holyfield and Tyson were in the early '90s. Vitali's a standout win, I'd say. I also feel that McCall could've won their rematch had he not suffered a breakdown. It wasn't just the fight that did that to him — he was in a bad way in life.

Ali would've been over 15 (possibly Holmes, too), and I'd back him to outpoint Lewis. I think Holmes would've beaten him over 12 or 15, and the younger Tyson would've been a much sharper threat than the slower man he faced. I'd fancy any version of Foreman other than the Young one to win. Lewis' tactics improved a lot post-McCall, but his reactions were visibly slower by the late '90s. I think he had a great chance of beating Bowe, though. Shame he didn't fight Ibeabuchi, either.

Showing an ability to handle Ibeabuchi and Tua in '98 would've catapulted him in my estimations.

[TheLeprechaun]

If lewis had a chin I'd pick him over anyone at his best. The likes of Joshua and wilder have no chance. Well they have a very slim chance of landing one but they most likely would have went like grant. Its the really great fighters like Tyson, bowe (who was kind of beating lewis up in that Olympic final) ,holmes, etc who have iron chins and are definitely too good not to land something big at some point, even if they are losing, that I have trouble picking lewis confidently. Even Ali was spiteful and could hit when he wanted to and carried serious speed. Frazier at his best is going to land his left hand at some point you'd think. Foreman was chinny but ferocious even to the body.

Lewis is definitely a handful for all of them. He's got the power to finish it with one punch and champion level heart. Whenever you see a fighter badly hurt and running completely on instinct and still trying to get up and fight, that is world class heart. Lewis was never discouraged and always believed. No pre fight antics would have made him doubt himself. He was actually over confident

[TheLeprechaun]

Talking about chins, i don't think you can pick Joshua or wilder over iron chinned greats like Holmes etc. Holmes was able to take that huge shot from shavers and get right back into it. Lewis would never have got up in time. I even have trouble picking Lewis over fighters like shavers. Yes he was far better skilled but one clip and that's it. You know guys like holyfield would have got right back up and taken it to shavers.

[DrDuke]

I agree. Prime Lennox was near-perfect. He had size, which he could use. He had a great jab, a great intelligence. He wasn't afraid to be dragged into fight. He was a kinda ultimate boxer-puncher. Big, smart, highly skillful.

[Bard of Boxrec]

If lewis had a chin I'd pick him over anyone at his best. The likes of Joshua and wilder have no chance. Well they have a very slim chance of landing one but they most likely would have went like grant. Its the really great fighters like Tyson, bowe (who was kind of beating lewis up in that Olympic final) ,holmes, etc who have iron chins and are definitely too good not to land something big at some point, even if they are losing, that I have trouble picking lewis confidently. Even Ali was spiteful and could hit when he wanted to and carried serious speed. Frazier at his best is going to land his left hand at some point you'd think. Foreman was chinny but ferocious even to the body.

Lewis is definitely a handful for all of them. He's got the power to finish it with one punch and champion level heart. Whenever you see a fighter badly hurt and running completely on instinct and still trying to get up and fight, that is world class heart. Lewis was never discouraged and always believed. No pre fight antics would have made him doubt himself. He was actually over confident

Foreman was chinny? You mad?

[Ricky]

I think lewis is the hw goat, with Ali a close 2nd.

[coneye]

These sort of discusions almost always end up with personal favorites coming out on top ,, But for me , i would rate Lewis right up there , when at his best and switche on , he was very very good , but at there best , i think a young at his best Foreman stops Lewis he was a monster in his early days ferocious , meeting a super tough and super smart Ali took away his ferocity and confidence , Lewis did'nt have the chin to mix it with him ,, rope a dope style and would'nt of gone the 15 without getting caught by Foreman who was a tremendous puncher in his day ,,, Then theres Larry Holmes at his best , probably the best of them all ,,,, To be hnest the one fight i always wanted to see and could'nt pick a winner out of them was Lewiss and Riddick Bowe , it got talked a lot but never happenned and i think Bowe would of been favorite ,

But prime for prime ,best for best , Foreman and Holmes beat Lewiss easily ,, STYLES MAKE FIGHTS

[Jon Saxon]

. Foreman was chinny