If Lewis never fought Ruddock....?

Robinson · Post by **Robinson** » 19 Oct 2007, 21:40

Hey guys I am curious to know how much Lennox's 'legacy'
would have been affected had he not demolished the then
very capable Ruddock ?

I only ask this as every time I talk about Lennox especially the 1990s version, they always without fail gloss over any faults he may have had by cited out his blowout win over Razzor Ruddock.

Does his pro's out weigh his con's during this period...

Thanks again guys..

Kym

Goodnight, Irene · Post by **Goodnight, Irene** » 19 Oct 2007, 22:43

I think his pros always outweighed his cons, it was just a question of by how much.

The Lewis that lit up Ruddock was actually several years short of his prime, he got better in the late 90's at a time when he was well into his 30's. In the grand scope of things, I don't know if it was that important to his legacy. It was important to his career, absolutely - put him on the international map - however that is something I believe would have happened one way or another. Lewis was just too talented & strong to remain obscure, it just so happens Ruddock was the particular mechanism for jolting his profile to another level.

Had it not been Ruddock, it would have been someone else, at some point.

Robinson · Post by **Robinson** » 20 Oct 2007, 02:25

..or if he lost to a very talented PRO Bowe...

dr_devious · Post by **dr_devious** » 20 Oct 2007, 06:35

Bowe might well still have ducked Lewis, the defeat at the Olympics had a fair bit to do with that imo. Also, Bowe probably wouldnt have had to chuck his WBC belt away either, the Lewis-Ruddock fight was a final WBC eliminator.

Syntax Error · Post by **Syntax Error** » 20 Oct 2007, 06:44

Decagon wrote:Maybe if Lewis hadn't knocked out Ruddock, Bowe might've fought him. Imagine Lewis's legacy if he won the title in 1993.

Bowe would never have fought Ruddock in 1992/3, he was too scared.

He had the option to go the WBC route & fight Ruddock, but he choose the WBA route, meaning an easier fight against Pierre Coetzer, leaving Lewis (who had no qualms), to fight the more dangerous Ruddock.

dempseyfire · Post by **dempseyfire** » 20 Oct 2007, 12:15

Ruddock had no defence, he would've lost to Bowe as well as Lewis.

MEISINGER · Post by **MEISINGER** » 20 Oct 2007, 16:25

SORRY GUYS RUDDOCK WAS A CONTENDER NOTHING MORE.
HE WAS NOT AMONG THE ELITE.

Syntax Error · Post by **Syntax Error** » 21 Oct 2007, 01:54

dempseyfire wrote:Ruddock had no defence, he would've lost to Bowe as well as Lewis.

I agree with you.

I thought the two Tyson fights were terrible performances from him (from both men), but there seemed to be this underlying feeling that Ruddock was now THE man, as he had gone 19 rounds with a one dimensional Mike Tyson, who was then out of the picture.

Bowe in all probabilty would have beaten Ruddock easily, if he wasn't a chicken.

Graham Brett · Post by **Graham Brett** » 21 Oct 2007, 05:58

Syntax Error wrote:
dempseyfire wrote:Ruddock had no defence, he would've lost to Bowe as well as Lewis.
I agree with you.

I thought the two Tyson fights were terrible performances from him (from both men), but there seemed to be this underlying feeling that Ruddock was now THE man, as he had gone 19 rounds with a one dimensinal Mike Tyson, who was then out of the picture.

Bowe in all probabilty would have beaten Ruddock easily, if he wasn't a chicken.

Ruddock rose to prominence with his butal 4 round KO of Michael Dokes.

He had shocking performances against Dave Jaco who stopped him, and ran like a theif against the much smaller Mike Weaver in 86

Ruddock was overrated.

dr_devious · Post by **dr_devious** » 21 Oct 2007, 15:47

Ruddock put in 2 great efforts against Tyson in 1991, the second one where he got his jaw broken was one of the bravest efforts in recent boxing history. The two fights with Tyson ruined Ruddock, and all he had going for him by the time he fought Lewis was the massive left smash. Late 80s - early 90s Ruddock was very much a top contender

dempseyfire · Post by **dempseyfire** » 21 Oct 2007, 16:34

dr_devious wrote:Ruddock put in 2 great efforts against Tyson in 1991, the second one where he got his jaw broken was one of the bravest efforts in recent boxing history. The two fights with Tyson ruined Ruddock, and all he had going for him by the time he fought Lewis was the massive left smash. Late 80s - early 90s Ruddock was very much a top contender

They were great "efforts" . . but Ruddock mainly showed he was good at taking a beating. Razor's defense was wide-open and he completely neglected the left jab. Strong athletic guy with a big punch but he never did anything excep knockout a few old retreads from the 80s (Dokes, Smith).

dr_devious · Post by **dr_devious** » 22 Oct 2007, 07:11

Ruddock did better than anyone bar Buster Douglas against Tyson in that era..............credit where credit is due.

dempseyfire · Post by **dempseyfire** » 22 Oct 2007, 09:19

dr_devious wrote:Ruddock did better than anyone bar Buster Douglas against Tyson in that era..............credit where credit is due.

I would say Tucker and Tillis gave Tyson more difficult/competetive fights. Ruddock may have landed some hard punches but for the most part he just took a whupping. Look at his face after the rematch!

dr_devious · Post by **dr_devious** » 23 Oct 2007, 06:42

Razor Ruddock showed hed got balls of steel in those 2 fights against Tyson.