Lennox Lewis (for the Oldies' / History buffs).

[Boxing Writer]

I think Lewis did more or less face fighters of equal ability to the 'big three.'

Henry Akinwande = Fury. Lots of arm entanglements.
Shannon Briggs = Wilder. Some stingers landed early but taken apart eventually.
Michael Grant = Joshua. A proper schooling!

Absolutely wrong comparison. Akinwande always fought scared, Fury, despite having a safety-first style, has really big heart. Plus he is more versatile fighter comparing to Akinwande.

Wilder/Briggs comparison is better, but they are still very different. Briggs had vey orthodox style and awful stamina. Wilder's style is more unorthodox and his stamina is good.

Joshua and Grant? Hell, they are COMOPLETELY different. AJ has way more power and skills comparing to Grant. He also has better defense, better chin (yes, clearly better), better killer instinct and much higher ring IQ.

[margaret thatcher]

Lewis was a hell of a fighter, and for now he doesn't get the credit.

He fought everyone and beat them all.

He'd comfortably beat the current top 3 and I agree, we are not in a golden age of heavyweights. Load of bollocks that is.

Could well be among what they label 'casual' fans, but among 'hardcores' he gets loads of credit, there is a large contingent who see him as the head-to-head GOAT and his struggles./non-impressive fights get ignored pretty regularly

[TheLeprechaun]

Lewis was a hell of a fighter, and for now he doesn't get the credit.

He fought everyone and beat them all.

He'd comfortably beat the current top 3 and I agree, we are not in a golden age of heavyweights. Load of bollocks that is.

Could well be among what they label 'casual' fans, but among 'hardcores' he gets loads of credit, there is a large contingent who see him as the head-to-head GOAT and his struggles./non-impressive fights get ignored pretty regularly

He didn't really struggle much did he. The second Holyfield fight and the Mercer fights were probably his toughest.Bowe was on top in the Olympic fight until Lewis caught him. I'd pick those versions of Mercer and Holy against anyone today by the way. McCall and Rahman landed lucky shots. Vitali caught him at the end of his career and Lewis was still the better man. Again, that version of Vitali would be number 1 today.

[margaret thatcher]

He had other fights where tested, like Bruno and Briggs, and certainly others like Zeljko, Tucker, Billups, Tyson, Jackson, etc that were nothing close to 40 second demolitions, you yourself have highlighted his sometimes stinking tendencies. Those losses still happened btw and it obviously wasnt just a 1 time thing

He was great and should definitely be picked over AJ, Fury, and Wilder, but I doubt he's doing them all in a minute

[TheGman]

LL is one of the best of all time but for entertainment I'd pick Moorer Holyfield Bowe or Tyson over his entertainment value but like i say LL is top 10 G.O.A.T

[Ricky]

Lewis is the greatest ever imo, but I'm not convinced he hits harder than Wilder. Different type of power i guess, probably similar to AJ, alot kf weight with vastly superior punching form. Wilder is something different, power that comes from velocity and whip, like a giant Hearns or something.

[stujones]

Lewis on his worst nights across the span of his career - lets have a look.

Mercer fight?
Bruno fight?
His 2 KO defeats.

Now - lets look at the so called big three.

Joshua - KTFO against a pie.
Fury - Pretty big struggle (if we are calling the Bruno and Mercer fights that) vs Wallin.
Wilder - Losing every round vs Ortiz before getting the punch in.

The problem is - we have to look at Lewis' whole career at these poor displays. With the "big three" - these happened in 2019 and either in their last or penultimate fight. Immediately after Lewis vs Mercer / Bruno his 2 KO defeats, no one was lauding the era a "golden era" or calling him the best ever at anything..... Yet the press seem to have forgotton these displays for Wilder vs Fury and I've not heard any pundit go "there's still question marks over Joshua" - Lewis had it throughout his career.

Fury's, my pick for being the best of the bunch, best performance was the fight he didn't win on paper.

Edit - Re the Bruno fight people seem to forget that momentum was with Lewis even before the KO - he lost the first 3 and a bit rounds but was establishing control. Yes got tagged in the 7th, but won the 6th and 5th and was generally looking the boss after a poor start.

[margaret thatcher]

Loads of people call Lenny an elite among ATGs and you have a sizable group arguing that head to head he was the best ever, he gets picked for 40 second blast outs of the top guys today, if anything boxing fans remember his best performances out of proportion and are very fair even perhaps generous in rating him

I have seen very few if any here or regular posters on forums saying that the guys around today are superior and would've beaten him, I certainly don't think many consider it a golden era of quality compared to Lewis, Holy, Tyson, etc

[ewenhay]

I think Lewis would beat the three of them 9 time out of 10. He always looked good against the bigger guys imo.

But the one time he turns up unmotivated/unprepared/complacent he likely loses.

[mickey1975]

I think Lewis would beat the three of them 9 time out of 10. He always looked good against the bigger guys imo.

But the one time he turns up unmotivated/unprepared/complacent he likely loses.

Twice.

[stujones]

Loads of people call Lenny an elite among ATGs and you have a sizable group arguing that head to head he was the best ever, he gets picked for 40 second blast outs of the top guys today, if anything boxing fans remember his best performances out of proportion and are very fair even perhaps generous in rating him

I have seen very few if any here or regular posters on forums saying that the guys around today are superior and would've beaten him, I certainly don't think many consider it a golden era of quality compared to Lewis, Holy, Tyson, etc

Bunce and Costello are calling it a golden era all the time.

[Noxy]

All this comparison across different eras is kind of hypothetical anyway like. The point is we have 3 top blokes and the potential for some classic match-ups is there. So where are they? Good on Fury for stepping up and forcing the pace, but it doesn’t stop there. We need Josh in the mix as well.

It’s not a golden era because of the lack of superfights. Maybe they‘ll happen. But as I‘ve said on here before, I‘m not waiting no more so I‘m not. I do still hope they happen though.

[tonyevs]

When Lewis’s back was against the wall so to speak he could be devastating .. Ruddock, Golota ...
but he could also be safety first and painful to watch .. Akinwande, McCall2 ..

However; he would absolutely destroy the top guys of today. Only the big punching Wilder would present any sort of genuine risk; Fury & Joshua would be one sided mismatches.

[oogiebe]

When Lewis’s back was against the wall so to speak he could be devastating .. Ruddock, Golota ...
but he could also be safety first and painful to watch .. Akinwande, McCall2 ..

However; he would absolutely destroy the top guys of today. Only the big punching Wilder would present any sort of genuine risk; Fury & Joshua would be one sided mismatches.

Not a fan of Fury, but he's a pain in the ass for any fighter to face.

[tonyevs]

To be fair we only seen Fury against two decent guys: Klitschko & Wilder .. Klitschko was past his best and safety minded which allowed Fury room; and Wilder leaves his boxing skills in the changing room before he fights.

[fanman]

Lewis proved himself great, very well.
The decision over holyfield to unify the division. Taking out an old Tyson. Getting past Klitschko at the end of his career.
Picked up a couple of losses to sub par opposition.
The big 3 all have their chance to create such a legacy, though they may not be quite as talented as LL.

[TheLeprechaun]

When Lewis’s back was against the wall so to speak he could be devastating .. Ruddock, Golota ...
but he could also be safety first and painful to watch .. Akinwande, McCall2 ..

However; he would absolutely destroy the top guys of today. Only the big punching Wilder would present any sort of genuine risk; Fury & Joshua would be one sided mismatches.

I think Joshua would be the easiest for Lewis.