The Top 100 Greatest Boxers Pound per Pound of All-Time

[elmersalsa]

Lennox Lewis last two fights were eventual ones.

His long-awaited fight with the great "Iron" Mike Tyson finally came. But, this fight should have been at least 6 years earlier about 1996 or 1997. Or maybe in 1992 if Tyson never gone to jail.
It would have been a very interesting matchup no matter how you put it. Imagine a prime Tyson with trainer Kevin Rooney on his corner circa 1986-88 versus the Lewis with trainer Emanuel Steward circa 1995-2002? What would the outcome be?

In this fight, however, Tyson was younger than Lewis by 1 year. But, his return to the ring AFTER he came back from the rape conviction was a COMPLETE CIRCUS. The only good fight he had, he lost. And that was the first fight with the great Evander Holyfield. When Tyson got suspended for biting Holyfield's ears, he got suspended for a year. And when he came back, he looked worse.

There was no way with all the hoopla and propaganda before the fight that he was going to beat a champion like Lewis. No way! Tyson didn't bring NOTHING TO THE RING BUT HIS BAD MAN OF THE PLANET REPUTATION. But, Lewis wasn't concerned about that. In press conferences before the fight, Tyson talked so much he was a little imitation of the great Muhammad Ali, but in a savage mode. He at one time said that he was going to eat Lewis' children. Lewis at the time didn't have children in the first place. This wasn't the same Tyson neither physically nor mentally for a championship fight. This wasn't the 80s decade. Neither the early 90s. But a Tyson fight no matter what, bring butts to the seats of any arena of the whole entire world. You better count on that.

In a press conference, both had a scuffle with each other. Lewis got him with a right hand and opened a cut on Tyson. In the melee and all the wrestling, Tyson bit Lewis' leg. Oh my God! Not again!

Came fight night at The Pyramid in Memphis, TN and Lewis was sharp and ready, weighed in at 249 1/2 lbs. Tyson came at 234lbs. That was not Tyson's weight in his prime to begin with. And it showed. No speed. Slow head movement and no combinations. At least his warrior spirit and heart were still there. But, you cannot beat a man like Lewis with just heart.

In my view, probably The Lion from England won every round. If Tyson won a round it was a miracle. Lewis dominated him with the jab, and right crosses and wicked uppercuts. He looked like the Carlos Monzon of the heavyweights. His late trainer Steward wanted him to stop him much earlier. The American referee, Eddie Cotton, did the best he could for the fight to last as long as he did. He warned Lewis repeatedly about holding and putting his weight on Iron Mike. But, to put it nicely, Tyson was SHOT. The referee even deducted a point to Lewis for leaning on and hitting on Tyson's back. It was a total mismatch. Tyson wasn't throwing any punches. He didn't looked menacing. It was an ugly picture. Tyson's era was over in the 8th round with a vicious Lewis' uppercut. It was a knockout with Tyson on his back with both eyelids cut. The winner by knockout in round 8 and still the Real Universally Recognized Heavyweight Champion of the World: Lennox "The Lion" Lewis!

It was The Lion defining fight indeed. He looked terrific. Tyson came to congratulate him and said that he was sorry for all the things he said. It was just for the ticket sales.

Even though he was dominated by Lewis so badly, he still wanted a rematch? Would the public buy it again? I don't know.

[elmersalsa]

We never knew that The Lion's last fight would have been ended in controversy. Vitaly Klitschko of Ukraine, via Germany was the next challenger. It was a fight of two big mammoth heavyweights.

Lewis at 6'5" and 256lbs, came in to the ring the heaviest of his whole entire career. Klitschko, a 6'7" giant, came in at 248lbs. And for 6 brutal rounds, they gave us a show. It was a heavyweight slugfest. In round 3, Lewis opened a gash in Vitaly's left eyelid. It was a terrible gash above the eye. But, Vitaly was so determined to take the title to Ukraine. He showed a lot of guts for that fight. He was winning the fight in my view. At least he won 4 out of six rounds. After the end of the 6th round, Vitaly had another gash, this time under the left eye. The ring doctor had to stop the fight. My question was, "why?" Klitschko was winning the fight. He wasn't losing. I could understand if he was behind on points. The fight should have never been stopped. Lewis was gassing out. He was running out of gas each round passing by. Was Lewis in great shape? It seems that coming heavy at 256lbs was evident that he wasn't. But he showed a lot of heart also. He took Klitschko's best shots. For a guy that had the reputation of a weak chin, he held on. Lewis was declared the winner by TKO in round 6 and the crowd booed vehemently. Vitaly couldn't believe the stoppage either. He felt that he was winning the fight and maybe thought that he could have knocked out a tiring Lewis.

Was the stoppage the right stoppage? In the year 2004, Lewis at 38 years old, calls it quit and retired undefeated champion.

[gilgamesh]

I don't figure there's much controversy around his victory over Vitali really. I mean I guess there is with a small segment of the fan base, but for anybody using their brain it was a perfectly logical stoppage. Vitali's eye was about as badly cut as it gets.

He's frankly lucky he was allowed to fight for as many rounds as he did with the cut.

[oogiebe]

I don't figure there's much controversy around his victory over Vitali really. I mean I guess there is with a small segment of the fan base, but for anybody using their brain it was a perfectly logical stoppage. Vitali's eye was about as badly cut as it gets.

He's frankly lucky he was allowed to fight for as many rounds as he did with the cut.

Lewis was coming on; Vit's eye was perhaps the most horrible cut I've ever seen. No controversy.

[margaret thatcher]

Lol this topic again , dudes can't quit it

[oogiebe]

Lol this topic again , dudes can't quit it

We never get enough.

[elmersalsa]

In the year 2004, Lennox "The Lion" Lewis wisely retired for good of the art of the fisticuffs. He retired undefeated champion and beat every opponent that he ever faced. He was ducked by former Olympic victim Riddick Bowe when Bowe threw the just recent won WBC World Heavyweight title belt In the thrash can than instead facing Lewis again in the pros for the championship fight.

He was paid and ducked by the great Mike Tyson to step aside as the #1 contender of Tyson's recent won second title.

Lewis showed that with patience, discipline, will, grit, dedication, and determination a fighter could go very far. Thanks for his election of the late American trainer Emanuel Steward of the famous Kronk Gym in Detroit, MI that the Lion became one of the greatest heavyweights of all-time.

Steward polished him to his maximum potential. Steward with Lewis, only lost 1 fight out of 14 contests as his trainer. And that loss was because of Lewis' undoing and losing focus. Lewis surprisingly became the most dominant heavyweight of the late 90s and early 2000s decade. He is the LAST TRUE HEAVYWEIGHT. At last, England had the last laugh after years of tortures by American heavyweight dominance. Lewis made the people of England proud and to forget the early heroes of the heavyweight past like Tommy Farr, Brian London, Henry Cooper, Joe Bugner, Frank Bruno and others to nameca few. He was the British answer to the great Muhammad Ali.

Where do I rate Lewis in the heavyweight all time rankings? At position #10. And why?

He defeated Tyson and Evander Holyfield. But those two were way far from their primes when he fought them. Let's keep it real. And his two only losses, even though avenged, hurt him. Can we imagine the great Muhammad Ali losing to the likes of Hasim Rahman and Oliver McCall by knockout? In his prime? No way! No matter how he avenged the defeats, he should have never lost to them.

If he would have never lost, his world championship record would have read 17-0-1 with 10KOs at least. In a perfect and just world, his title fight record would have been 18-0, with 10KOs. And probably we would have to rank him very, very high in the heavyweight rankings if he would have come off undefeated. Forget about the great George Foreman! He didn't understandably wanted any part of Lewis. Neither Riddick Bowe. Those 2 were the top 2 fighters of the elite that the Lion of England didn't face. Lewis with an undefeated record would have been mentioned with the Alis, Rocky Marcianos, Jack Dempseys and Jack Johnsons. But those two losses were the only flaws.

[Ambling Alp II]

He did have a draw against Evander somebody or another I believe.

elmer could you give a in depth analysis of the big win over 214 pound Mavrovic? You seemed to have missed that one in your fascinating summary of Lewis' career.

Since Lewis had a huge weight advantage" I bet Lewis blew out this no name early.

[elmersalsa]

He did have a draw against Evender somebody or another I believe.

elmer could you give a in depth analysis of the big win over 214 pound Mavrovic? You seemed to have missed that one in your fascinating summary of Lewis' career.

Since Lewis had a huge weight advantage" I bet Lewis blew out this no name early.

What Mavrovic got to do with Lewis legacy?

[Ambling Alp II]

Well you talked about key fights like Grant, Botha, Lionel Butler and the great Glenn McCrory, so I though Mavrovic fight would be worth one of your detailed descriptions.

[oogiebe]

Well you talked about key fights like Grant, Botha, Lionel Butler and the great Glenn McCrory, so I though Mavrovic fight would be worth one of your detailed descriptions.

Mav reminds me a Usyk.

[Ambling Alp II]

I had never heard of the guy before the fight. He weighed less than 215. Since he was an unknown and Lewis had such a weight "advantage" obviously he was just crushed, right? Was hoping elmer could give one of classic descriptions of the fight. Always thought it was interesting that it seems that no one ever talks about this fight.

[elmersalsa]

I had never heard of the guy before the fight. He weighed less than 215. Since he was an unknown and Lewis had such a weight "advantage" obviously he was just crushed, right? Was hoping elmer could give one of classic descriptions of the fight. Always thought it was interesting that it seems that no one ever talks about this fight.

There was nothing great about that fight to talk about.

[elmersalsa]

When reviewing the great Lennox Lewis career, it was like he had two parts:
1. Before the fight with Oliver McCall
2. After the hiring of Emanuel Steward as his trainer

Before his fight with McCall, Lewis did not had sturdy legs. His balance was off and wasn't looking that strong besides his reach and 6'5" height.

After he hired Steward, he began to improve in many aspects. First, his balance. Second, he bulked more and Steward made him work on his upper body strength. He gained more pounds and muscle. Third. He had stronger and sturdier legs. Steward polished him to the best of his capabilities.

The late Emanuel Steward gotta be one of the greatest boxing trainers of all time. No question about that.

[elmersalsa]

Next?, at #83 is the great Abe Attell! The best featherweight of the 1900s decade!

[Ambling Alp II]

I had never heard of the guy before the fight. He weighed less than 215. Since he was an unknown and Lewis had such a weight "advantage" obviously he was just crushed, right? Was hoping elmer could give one of classic descriptions of the fight. Always thought it was interesting that it seems that no one ever talks about this fight.

There was nothing great about that fight to talk about.

So an unimpressive performance by Lewis?

[margaret thatcher]

People talk about that fight plenty considering Zelko was a relatively little known name and Len won about 10 rounds. He never dented Zelk but Zelk was fighting a bit of a survival/spoiler mode though.

Not really a big deal that fight, wasn't impressive but won handily. Now, if he was pushed a bit in an Olympic amateur fight when he was 20, before winning gold a few days later, that would be a huge blow.

[oogiebe]

People talk about that fight plenty considering Zelko was a relatively little known name and Len won about 10 rounds. He never dented Zelk but Zelk was fighting a bit of a survival/spoiler mode though.

Not really a big deal that fight, wasn't impressive but won handily. Now, if he was pushed a bit in an Olympic amateur fight when he was 20, before winning gold a few days later, that would be a huge blow.

Always wondered where Mav would've gone had he not been stricken.

[elmersalsa]

#83. Abe Attell:
Record: 72-9-17 (56NDs) with 38KOs
KO Pct is 53%
Career: 1900-17
World Titles Held: Two-time World Featherweight Champion (1903-04, 1906-12
Highlights: Two-time World Featherweight Champion that made 22 title defenses in 2 reigns. His second reign lasted 6 years and made 19 title defenses in the process. Fought over 154 professional bouts. Lost only twice in first 38 contests. Did not lose a fight in almost 4 years from Nov 19, 1904 to Sep 7, 1908. In tgat time frame, he fought 49 times, winning 25 times with 7 draws and 17 non-decisions. Did not lose in his next 50 fights after losing to hall of fame lightweight Freddie Welsh. That happened in the middle of his title reign. That happened from Dec 11, 1908 to Jan 18, 1912. He was 17-0-2 with 31NDs. Faced 10 world champions, beating 5 of them. (Record vs world champions is 11-4-7 (4NDs) with 5KOs). Fought 7 hall of famers, beating 2 of them. (Record vs hall of famers was 2-2-4 (6NDs) with 0KOs. Fought in 28 world championship bouts. Record in world title bouts is 22-2-4 with 9KOs.

Historical Impact: Attel is considered as one of the greatest featherweight boxers ever. In 1909, he and his brother Monte became the first pair of brothers in boxing history to become world champions. Monte was bantamweight king from 1909 to 1911. Also, Abe was the best featherweight of the 1900s decade.

Defining Fight: D25 Owen Moran...January 1, 1908...."Drew with British great in title defense"
Other Defining Fights: W20 Johnny Reagan, W15 Jimmy Walsh, W15 George Dixon (III), L15 Freddie Welsh, W10 Johnny Kilbane and L20 Johnny Kilbane (II).

Let's review the career of this little giant. The Little Hebrew, Abe Attell!

[elmersalsa]

No footage of the great Abe Attell. The ONLY FOOTAGE I see on YouTube is his last fight with Johnny Kilbane.

[oogiebe]

Attell was charged with game fixing in the Black Sox Scandal in 1919, but the charges were dismissed before trial. He also was suspected of other infractions including fixing fights, and using drugs during a fight.

[elmersalsa]

Speaking of the great Abe Attell, where would you rank him all time in the featherweight rankings?

[elmersalsa]

Abe Attell, The Little Hebrew, had an extraordinary career in boxing. He also faced these guys:
Jem Driscoll
Ad Wolgast

He drew with Battling Nelson.

He also beat George "KO" Chaney (W15), Charley White (W8), Frankie Neil (twice), and Harry Forbes (3 times).

[oogiebe]

What about his fighting style and things he did special in the ring?

[watsupdoc87]

Attell was charged with game fixing in the Black Sox Scandal in 1919, but the charges were dismissed before trial. He also was suspected of other infractions including fixing fights, and using drugs during a fight.

What drugs?