Classic fights I've watched recently

[DrDuke]

Gary Mason vs Tyrell Biggs

Biggs was a waste of talent. He should have dealt with the likes of Mason easily. Biggs was doing his Ali-wannabe stuff more or less good through the first 5 rounds, although robotic and clumsy Mason still was able to land some decent shots. Biggs tired afterwards. He had some success in the folllowing rounds, but Mason started to score with harder shots. At the end of the 7th Mason threw a left uppercut - overhand right combo, which wasn't clean, but Biggs fell down with a bit delayed reaction. It wasn't even clear, if Biggs was more hurt or tired, but the fight was stopped.

[DrDuke]

Lennox Lewis vs Gary Mason

Lewis started very well, he was outboxing Mason from the range with the variety of punches. Robotic, but gutsy powerhouse Mason was continuing to walk forward and look for a big shot, despite that his right eye started to swallow. Lewis slowed down in the 4th and 5th rounds, but came back in the 6th. Mason was hurt in the 6th and 7th, but still kept coming forward. Yet Mason's eye was swollen badly and the fight was stopped in the 7th.

[DrDuke]

Lennox Lewis vs Mike Weaver

Weaver tried to rough it up early on, yet Lewis countered him with a great right hand. Weaver was wobbled and fought cautiously after that. Lewis was comfortably outboxing Mike until the 6th round, where Lennox countered Weaver's attack with the perfect 1-2 and scored a highlight reel KO.

[Onetimeonly]

Any idea why it wasn't a unification??, Zarate was WBC champ and Zamora was WBA, it was only scheduled for 10

It wasn't a unification because neither alphabet organization wanted to put their share of the bantamweight title at risk. Back in those days the WBA and WBC champs very rarely fought each other.

I'm guessing that the only reason Zamora and Zarate even fought is because there was tremendous public interest in seeing the bout. So, for the alphabets, the rational solution was to approve of this one as a non-title fight, and to reap their share of the profits.

Great swindlers that they are, how can they get a share of a fight they aren't sanctioning?

[DrDuke]

Lennox Lewis vs Levi Billups

Lewis was in total control, but still it was seen, that he was raw at that moment. Billups was more surviving than fighting, while Lewis was trying to put too much power into his shots. Lewis often stayed too close, swinged and took Billups' shots on the block. Instead Lewis should keep the distance, move his head more, jab more and time power punches rationally, making them less predictable. Anyway, it was barely possible to give a round to Billups and Lewis scored a confident UD win in a 10 round bout.

[DrDuke]

Lennox Lewis vs Glenn McCrory

Lewis roughhoused McCrory quickly. Lennox pressed forward since the start, by the end of the 1st round McCrory was cornered and forced to take Lewis' onslaught. Lewis landed a big right uppercut close to the round's end, McCrory somehow managed to stand. In the 2nd Lennox continued to batter McCrory. Glenn was trapped on the ropes fast, after a couple of good uppercuts he was finally down. McCrory stood up and attempted to fight back briefly, yet Lewis finished the job. McCrory went down again after a series of hard jabs and a passingly scored right hand, after what he was counted out, which looked more like a surrender.

[DrDuke]

Lennox Lewis vs Oliver McCall I and II

A one of the most bizarre rivalries at the high level, if not the most bizarre. Actually, everyone remember McCall's crying in the 2nd bout, but that was exactly what he was doing before the 1st one as well. Right before the announcement of the fighters McCall was nervously walking at his part of the ring and weeping. Anyway, Lewis underestimated McCall that night, he looked slow in the 1st round and early in the 2nd he got caught with a short left hook - right hand combo, while he was swinging with a one-two of his own. Lewis got up, wobbling but still in time, yet the fight was stopped, which caused a lot of argument from the observers.

During the 2nd bout Lewis was composed and determined. Lennox was keeping the distance with his jab and providing great follow-ups. McCall took some serious shots, especially in the 3rd round, where he totally failed in fighting back. After that McCall had the infamous mental breakdown, he demonstratively refused to throw punches in the 4th and 5th, cried before the 5th and exactly in that round the fight was stopped in favor of Lewis.

[Caractacus]

-1976-

[DrDuke]

Lennox Lewis vs Lionel Butler

The first fight of Lewis after the McCall loss and the change of a coach from Correa to Steward. Obviously, the least thing was an important move for the career of Lewis. Correa caused a stagnation for the young Lewis and Steward helped Lennox to reach his prime finally. Lewis was brilliant against Butler, he was keeping the opponent at bay with jabs, totally outboxing him. There were rounds, where Butler barely landed any significant punches. In the 5th round Lewis dropped Butler twice, with the second KD the fight was stopped.

[DrDuke]

Lennox Lewis vs Tommy Morrison

A crossroad fight, when both competitors were trying to regain their careers after hard times. Their fight could happen a couple of years ago, during the first Lewis championship reign, but Morrison lost a stay-busy affair and broke that possibility then. In the actual fight Lewis totally controlled the action. Morrison was prepared well, but still he wasn't able to find any keys to Lewis. Lennox kept his ranged, outboxed Tommy behind the jab, sent him down several times with short power punches. The fight was stopped in the 6th in favor of Lewis.

[DrDuke]

Lennox Lewis vs Ray Mercer

A great fight. A grueling affair for both. Lewis majorly controlled the action, vastly outworked Mercer, landed more and scored the biggest shots. Mercer showed an exceptional durability and gave a very tough fight to Lennox. Most of fighters simply wouldn't take the punches Mercer was able to take. Yet Ray didn't do enough for the win, Lewis clearly did that.

[Ambling Alp II]

This was my card on the bout.

Tim Witherspoon v Carl 'The Truth' Williams

Round 1: 10-9 Williams
Round 2: 10-9 Witherspoon
Round 3: 10-10 Even
Round 4: 10-9 Witherspoon
Round 5: 10-9 Williams
Round 6" 10-9 Williams
Round 7: 10-9 Williams
Round 8: 10-9 Williams
Round 9: 10-9 Williams
Round 10: 10-10 Even
Round 11: 10-9 Witherspoon
Round 12: 10-9 Williams

Total: 117-113 Williams

Actual scores were 116-112 for Williams and two scores of 115-113 for Witherspoon, which I simply cannot make a case for even if I was bending over backwards for Tim. Williams should have felt bummed on this one because he was robbed IMO.

Yet another close win for Witherspoon.
Always thought Williams had bad luck. Obviously the Holmes fight comes to mind. Really he was right up there with Witherspoon, Thomas, Page, Dokes etc. He just never had a WBS belt.

[DrDuke]

Lennox Lewis vs Shannon Briggs

An entertaining slugfest. Lewis started aggressive, but Briggs fought back and managed to catch Lewis with a hard left hook close to the end of the 1st round. Lewis was wobbled far backwards and saved by the ropes. Briggs followed with a decent flurry, but Lewis managed to stand his ground until the bell. In the 2nd round Lewis was more cautious, he started to break Briggs down and he succeeded pretty fast. Briggs looked clueless and tired already in the 3rd round, he went defenceless and was taking much punishment. In the 4th round Briggs was down. Later in the round Briggs scored some shots and tried to develop the success, while Lewis put his hands down, smiled, countered and floored Briggs again. That was a truly badass moment for the highlight reels. In the 5th Briggs continued to take a lot of shots. First he was down from the punch of Lewis, then he fell in exhaustment, when he tried to counter Lewis' onslaught with a swing. So, the fight was stopped not with a legit knockdown, but still it was a good stoppage, as Briggs was taking too many shots.

[DrDuke]

Lennox Lewis vs Evander Holyfield I and II

It was sheer Lewis' dominance in the first bout. Lewis was controlling the distance, moving and jabbing well. Holyfield was trying to find openings, but his attempts to make it a fight were mostly neutralized by Lewis' jabs and follow-ups. That was a one of the biggest robberies ever, but it's understandable, because the organizers simply planned to cash out with a dilogy for the undisputed heavyweight championship between the two stars of the sport.

In the second fight Holyfield made some adjustments, he worked the body more and he was harder to hit. Anyway, Lewis was controlling the action with the same display as in the previous fight. Lewis tried to sharpen his game in the 7th, for what he got caught and wobbled. It was the biggest shot of the dilogy, although later Lewis rocked Holyfield with a right uppercut, maybe Holyfield just had more of chin to look less bothered. Overall, Lewis was working more and he was landing more. That time the judges got it right.

[DrDuke]

Lennox Lewis vs David Tua

A completely one-sided fight. Lewis masterfully outboxed Tua, provided a shotout worthy performance. Lewis was keeping Tua at the end of his jab all night long. Tua was outside of his punching range and he wasn't able to break through the jab of Lewis. David scored only few single clean shots, majorly early on. Lennox simply outclassed Tua.

[DrDuke]

Lennox Lewis vs Hasim Rahman I and II

Lewis wasn't prepared properly for the first fight, he underestimated Rahman, he was heavier than usually, he was slower and less busy, he was trying to land big shots instead of boxing. Rahman landed a good right hand in the 5th, Lewis felt it, but didn't take it seriously, after what he smiled and let himself trapped on the ropes, where he blinked and took another right, which KOed him.

In the second fight Lewis was perfect, he was focused, fast, sharp, hard-working and accurate. Rahman was being outboxed and he was doing the same mistake of leaning backwards with dropping his hands forward as a reaction to Lewis' attacks. And that was Rahman's instruction from the corner, as it was clearly heard between the rounds. Lewis quickly calculated that mistake, he landed several left hook - right hook combinations through the fight and in the 4th round Lewis KOed Rahman with that combo, while Rahman was again trying to lean backwards with his hands going forward.

[Syntax Error]

Lennox Lewis vs David Tua

A completely one-sided fight. Lewis masterfully outboxed Tua, provided a shotout worthy performance. Lewis was keeping Tua at the end of his jab all night long. Tua was outside of his punching range and he wasn't able to break through the jab of Lewis. David scored only few single clean shots, majorly early on. Lennox simply outclassed Tua.

Tua was embarrassing in this fight.

Just consider he was the favourite in some quarters and Lewis made him look like a fat kid that happened to wander into a gym and ask someone how to teach him to box.

[DrDuke]

Lennox Lewis vs David Tua

A completely one-sided fight. Lewis masterfully outboxed Tua, provided a shotout worthy performance. Lewis was keeping Tua at the end of his jab all night long. Tua was outside of his punching range and he wasn't able to break through the jab of Lewis. David scored only few single clean shots, majorly early on. Lennox simply outclassed Tua.

Tua was embarrassing in this fight.

Just consider he was the favourite in some quarters and Lewis made him look like a fat kid that happened to wander into a gym and ask someone how to teach him to box.

It was so irrational to favor Tua in the Lewis bout. Tua had been outboxed in almost every his biggest fight, he just was able to pull a KO win in the majority of them. Izon, Maskaev, Ibeabuchi, Rahman - all of them outboxed Tua. Lewis was obviously a far better boxer than all those and he proved that by effectively neutralizing Tua in contrast to the majority of these guys.

[Woldemar]

Mario Iribarren (23-4-1,18 KO) .Cuban ,who fought at 154,160,168 pounds.

8 his fights

[DrDuke]

Lennox Lewis vs Vitali Klitschko

A one of my favorite fights ever. A competetive slugfest between the two behemoths. It was a close affair, but clearly the chances were equaled with Lewis being underprapared and aged. After the Tyson bout Lewis felt like he had accomplished everything and it indeed was so. However, Lewis should have still prepapared properly to his next bout, as he had decided to continue. Lennox entered the ring with his highest weight and was looking only for the big shots, like in the first Rahman bout. Both Lewis and Klitschko gave everything they had, showed a lot of heart and looked tired by the end of the fight. Lewis was gradually taking over, but obviously the cut he had managed to open on Klitschko accelerated the stoppage.

[DrDuke]

Evander Holyfield vs Michael Dokes

A great slugfest. There were constant exchanges of the variable stuff from the mid range. Holyfield had a speed advantage over Dokes, so he was gradually pounding his way to the win. Since the 7th Holyfield was hurting Dokes pretty badly. In the 10th Evander caught Michael with an excellent hybreed uppercut, Dokes wobbled back, Holyfield unleashed a barrage of punches on him. The ref stopped the fight, after Dokes had eaten a series of shots, yet Mike still rushed down. An explosive fight, so as its finale.

[DrDuke]

Evander Holyfield vs Alex Stewart

An excellent war. Stewart tried to box behind the jab, but Holyfield quickly dragged him into a fight. It was competetive, but Evander was winning with edge in speed and superior durability. Stewart was wobbled in the 2nd, but he took the 5th. Holyfield came back in the 6th with the sheer dominance, it was possible to score that round 10-8 despite Stewart managed to stand. Holyfield continued to outfight Stewart, while Alex had a cut over the right eye, which was getting worse and worse. In the 8th the fight was stopped on a cut, which saved Stewart from the further battery.

[Onetimeonly]

Lennox Lewis vs Vitali Klitschko

A one of my favorite fights ever. A competetive slugfest between the two behemoths. It was a close affair, but clearly the chances were equaled with Lewis being underprapared and aged. After the Tyson bout Lewis felt like he had accomplished everything and it indeed was so. However, Lewis should have still prepapared properly to his next bout, as he had decided to continue. Lennox entered the ring with his highest weight and was looking only for the big shots, like in the first Rahman bout. Both Lewis and Klitschko gave everything they had, showed a lot of heart and looked tired by the end of the fight. Lewis was gradually taking over, but obviously the cut he had managed to open on Klitschko accelerated the stoppage.

He was fat for Kirk Johnson. Not that you're wrong but a rare occasion when a late replacement is miles better.

[DrDuke]

Lennox Lewis vs Vitali Klitschko

A one of my favorite fights ever. A competetive slugfest between the two behemoths. It was a close affair, but clearly the chances were equaled with Lewis being underprapared and aged. After the Tyson bout Lewis felt like he had accomplished everything and it indeed was so. However, Lewis should have still prepapared properly to his next bout, as he had decided to continue. Lennox entered the ring with his highest weight and was looking only for the big shots, like in the first Rahman bout. Both Lewis and Klitschko gave everything they had, showed a lot of heart and looked tired by the end of the fight. Lewis was gradually taking over, but obviously the cut he had managed to open on Klitschko accelerated the stoppage.

He was fat for Kirk Johnson. Not that you're wrong but a rare occasion when a late replacement is miles better.

Yeah, it was less than a 2 week notice replacement. However, Klitschko wasn't proven and respected at that time. Hardly Lewis waited a much bigger challenge.

[Onetimeonly]

Lennox Lewis vs Vitali Klitschko

A one of my favorite fights ever. A competetive slugfest between the two behemoths. It was a close affair, but clearly the chances were equaled with Lewis being underprapared and aged. After the Tyson bout Lewis felt like he had accomplished everything and it indeed was so. However, Lewis should have still prepapared properly to his next bout, as he had decided to continue. Lennox entered the ring with his highest weight and was looking only for the big shots, like in the first Rahman bout. Both Lewis and Klitschko gave everything they had, showed a lot of heart and looked tired by the end of the fight. Lewis was gradually taking over, but obviously the cut he had managed to open on Klitschko accelerated the stoppage.

He was fat for Kirk Johnson. Not that you're wrong but a rare occasion when a late replacement is miles better.

Yeah, it was less than a 2 week notice replacement. However, Klitschko wasn't proven and respected at that time. Hardly Lewis waited a much bigger challenge.

Vitali was a more interesting fight to anyone. Johnson was terrible.