Ned Merrill wrote: ↑07 Jan 2018, 14:06
For me Lenny and Larry are both top-ten all-time great heavyweight kings. I suppose it comes down to preference as to where exactly in that top-ten (should you agree) you rank them. I personally go back and forth where I place them in that top-ten, especially when I try to measure their respective impacts on history.
Their careers speak to different ebb and flow. One had a slow and at-times, near invisible build towards contention, with a limited and less than storied amateur campaign. Holmes operated in the shadows of two ring giants, his climb often complicated by his promoter or marred by the outside interests and perception of the boxing media of the time. The other, Lewis, highlighted by an Olympic gold medal win over an American, was carefully followed and celebrated, if even begrudgingly, by the boxing media of the time. The pedigree was there and in time obvious, even if sometimes the performances were a little uneven, but the built-in story line, lay in the hope the man Lewis had beaten for Olympic glory, himself a very talented and high profile fighter, was ascending the rankings, showing impressive form.
To some extent, both Larry and Lenny wore the Black Hat. Larry for whipping remnants of Ali, Lenny for stopping Riddick Bowe for the gold medal. Both did it in front of the whole world.
Their styles, strengths and ring attributes aside (and they both possessed such in spades), their personalities and charisma (or lack thereof) aside, history suggests points that, depending on your preferred flavor, affect their standing within the hallowed halls of that ATG top-ten.
Both picked-up the WBC title based on a linear champ letting it go. "Letting it go" means a few different things, so it comes down to how you wanna stir the Kool-Aid. "Linear" can often be a bitch for some fans, but not all, as not all fans toe the line of idolatry.
Holmes won the WBC title from a guy like Lewis, in that it was an awarded or bestowed by a sanctioning body, to or upon a fighter/contender. Lewis was awarded the title for his thrashing of Razor Ruddock, but me thinks really, for his work back in 1988 at the Olympics, after Bowe opted to back-out on his face-to-face promise to whip Lewis, in the moments after defeating Holyfield for the World heavyweight title. This is conjecture on my part, but history suggests strongly that a garbage can got in the way of Riddick making good on his promise, and as such, Lenny got the green strap, even as Bowe held the linear title along with WBA/IBF plastic.
History and perception of it, often hint at different paths. History tells us Holmes became the "heavyweight champion" in June 1978. A critical review of that using the old school Ring Magazine approach (pre-revamp) suggests that in fact, Holmes became the linear World heavyweight champ in October 1980. Whatever. What isn't up for debate is that Holmes was terrific and mostly dominant. In the moments where he seemed to skid or appear less than perfect (Weaver, Shavers, Snipes, Spoon, Williams), he demonstrated that rare and glorious championship quality of finding a way to win and preserve his standing. Those moments hinted to us his true worth; how special the man actually was. Those moments of extreme duress gave us clues, if even in reverse, of his greatness.
In time, Father Time seemed to catch-up with Holmes, as did his poor relationship with the media, and its preoccupation with forming perception and denigrating a great whose only true sins were an acid tongue and having sent the ghost of great Ali into retirement. It didn't help that Holmes was open about his ambition to making the most money for the least amount of risk, circa 1985, as he closed-in on Marciano's 49-0 record, but the choice of a skinny light heavyweight champion as his step towards eclipsing that mark didn't sit well with many while threatening titlists such as WBC champ Pinklon Thomas loomed in the background.
History shows us that ring history was indeed made, as the first light heavyweight in history managed to upend a reigning World heavyweight king. I believe 13 men failed to do what Spinks did that fateful Fall night in 1985. Indeed, it was a September to Remember. Holmes never again managed to regain a major world title or the World heavyweight title, despite opportunities the next few years and into the next decade. But, a great fighter he was.
As for Lewis, he was awarded the WBC title in his first go-round before losing it off of a single punch to the underrated Oliver McCall. It matters not that I believe to this day, the ref was less than stellar in that fight. McCall flattened Lenny. Such is a matter of historical fact, with no blur or controversy.
Post-McCall, a re-tooled Lewis made strides whipping top-flight opposition and major world titlists. The real question is, when did the Steward-improved Lewis actually clinch the World heavyweight title? A review of his record indicates he won the vacant WBC title in his colourful rematch with the aforementioned McCall in February 1997, but using that old pre-revamped Ring Magazine standard of “the man who beat the man, who beat the man”, Lewis actually became linear World heavyweight king in March 1998, when he knocked-out Shannon Briggs. After that he successfully unified some plastic when he defeated Evander Holyfield in their rematch. In April 2001 he was stopped again off of a single punch, this time by the talented and underrated top-ten contender Hasim Rahman. Later that same year Lewis regained the linear World heavyweight title (and all the plastic that sometimes goes with it) when he knocked-out Rahman in their much anticipated rematch. In subsequent matches, Lewis fought high-profile bouts with former World heavyweight champion Mike Tyson and future champion (a topic deserving of its own debate) Vitali Klitschko. History suggests Lewis was a three-time heavyweight champion. Pre-revamp Ring Magazine suggests Lewis was in fact a two-time heavyweight champion. In either regard, Lennox Lewis walked away as champion.
From a historical perspective, the career arc of Lewis appears to hold more colour and perhaps merit, than does that of Holmes. But first glance fails to reveal the key details of era, career backing and exposure, and its affect on momentum and opportunity. It also doesn't offer insight into the schooling of Holmes, and his work with all-time greats Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier, behind the curtain. I submit that what Holmes failed to learn as an amateur, he learned with the schooling he received as an up-and-coming young heavyweight; learning his trade in the dark shadows of dank and forgotten gyms, against men of the varying high calibre and a few of the highest pedigree.
Consider the initial career losses of both men. Many point to Holmes having lost, if only by inches, to a natural light heavyweight, or to many fans, “the guy that lost in 91 seconds to Tyson”. But the reality is that Holmes was days away from turning 36 years-old. Previous ring greats such as Joe Louis, Sonny Liston, Ali and Frazier were but mere shadows of their former selves by that age. Also consider that Spinks was an all-time great at light heavyweight, not to mention a former Olympic medallist. Such pedigree should not be so easily dismissed.
Lewis' first loss was to an underrated talent with an unremarkable record, who I contend was a remarkable physical freak, with the ability to learn and up his game when it counted most. His second career loss came years later. Aging and of highly suspect conditioning, a less-than-focused Lewis walked into the heavy and well-timed punch of a talented top contender, the sort of fighter who, when on his game, could have given a good account of himself with most any heavyweight champion in history. In the rematch, Lewis demonstrated his pedigree (and at the other end of it, the lack of focus and preparation he had going into the 1st match) and obliterated Rahman in a manner that had been expected the first time. This was done at the age of 36, similar to Holmes, but remarkably, with an explosive sharpness and athleticism Holmes seemed to lack at that point. Ring mileage may have played a part for Holmes, but again one might think that having suffered two one-punch stoppage losses would have had a negative impact on the odometer (and maybe it did) on Lennox, but the fact remains Lewis turned back the clock at an age in a way no other heavyweight king before him ever did. After that, Lewis defeated arguably two all-time greats in Mike Tyson and the elder Klitschko brother.
I personally have a hard time ranking these two, relative to each other, in my ever-changing all-time top-ten. I'm sure there are a few of you who see it from a different, and perhaps more clear perspective, and I look forward to your feedback.