BoxRec

I can picture Lewis doing a whole lot of holding, leaning, & jabbing --- his would be an extremely guarded, low-output, defensive gameplan, which would frustrate Foreman's efforts to line him up to lower the boom for a time...but only for a time.

Foreman KO3 Lewis. That's my bet.

BarryWashington wrote:I see two possibilities:

The first possibility: Lennox starts being strategic, however; Foreman starts to get inside and starts to land big shots on Lewis. I don't see Foreman knocking out Lewis, but; I could see Lennox going down by TKO within 4.

Post Script: I've watched a substantial amount of Lennox's career; can someone tell me why Lennox is credited as having a "weak chin". His TKO loss against McCall was controversial and in my opinion was over protective on the referee's behalf. Lennox was hit with a counter right hand, was a little bit on queer street, but managed to get up at the count of 9. I think the referee should have let the fight go on. The match against Hasim Rahman had a lot to do with Lennox not training seriously and being caught flush by a big right hand. I'd imagine that almost anyone that was standing opposite to Rahman receiving that would have went down hard as well. Lewis managed to trade big shots with Mercer and rarely stepped back because of that. I think his chin problems are a tad over exaggerated.

The second possibility: Lennox watches Ali/Foreman and tries to replicate what Ali did to Foreman (obviously Muhammad was more agile than Lennox, but; I'd argue that Lennox was equal in tactics and was a smarter fighter than Muhammad.) Lennox might not be able to win by KO/TKO, but he could cruise his way to a jab session and win by SD/MD.

Regardless of my opinion it is a very interesting match-up.

Lennox Lewis did not have a weak chin, but if you look at most people's all-time heavyweight lists, his is certainly near the bottom. True, he did only get knocked down twice in his career, and both times by huge punches, but many great heavyweights would have got up from the same punches. His chin was decent for a heavyweight, but below-par for a Hall of Famer. Foreman is a harder puncher than Rahman or McCall, he certainly could have put Lewis down for the full count.

I can't see your second scenerio happening, as Ali took a lot of punishment from Foreman and was able to counter him due to his very quick hands. Lewis was faster than Foreman, but his speed was not in the same league as Ali's. Lennox would have to execute a good fight plan to win this one, and I could see him doing it. He would need to throw a lot of stiff jabs and stay on his toes, like in Rahman II. He was just as strong as Foreman and would not be physically bullied. Foreman was not hard to hit and Lewis had serious power when he commited to his punches and I can see Foreman being put down a couple of times in the mid rounds before eventually being stopped around the 8th. However, anything but a prime and focused Lewis gets stopped by Foreman, no question.

Lewis had two ways of dealing with big punchers. Sometimes he blasted them out early and other times he boxed cautiously.

Against the better boxers (Ali, Holmes, Johnson, Tunney, etc…) I think he’d do well. Ali, Holmes and Johnson usually enjoyed being the bigger man and this time they wouldn’t be. Holmes didn’t like right hands and Lewis has one of the best. Johnson is unlikely to be able to do as he likes with Lewis on the inside and he’s facing difficulties on the outside. Ali would also have problems with such a big skilled HW.

Lewis had problems with his chin but it wasn’t a glass chin. Even when he didn’t get KO’d he was obviously messed up by Briggs left hook. Lennox also couldn’t fight at a fast pace. Even in his prime he would be gassed if he fought 3 rounds at a quick pace.

Jack Johnson

Johnson is the greater fighter IMO. I think Johnson is all too often overlooked. But I think his uppercut would be ineffective against Lewis and his physical advantages would be gone. I think Lewis can take a close decision.

Gene Tunney

Lewis would hate this fight but I think he’d eventually get the win. I’m not sure Lewis ever faced anyone with great movement so he would struggle. And although Tunney would probably be outpointing him Lewis would eventually get to him.

Jersey Joe Walcott

He’d hurt Lewis at some point but would succumb to a KO.

Ezzard Charles

Could again fluster and outbox Lewis. Would set a hot pace and at his absolute best he could prevent Lewis from landing cleanly enough to stop him. Over 10 rounds Ezzard could win this fight. Over 15 you’d think Lewis would get to him but it’s close.

Floyd Patterson

I think Lewis would look to walk through Patterson.

George Foreman

Got to go with Foreman. Not because of the ‘glass chin’ but because if George used his jab as a weapon he could drive Lewis back. I also think he could recover from Lennox’s big shots. I don’t think Lennox could do the same.

Joe Louis

Louis would seriously enhance his stock with the younger fans. He’d KO Lennox. His right hand was just too good for someone who caught right hands.

Joe Frazier

Lewis would employ Foreman’s tactics with the same effect. He had a great uppercut and could have Joe out of there early. BUT if Joe Frazier goes past the first 4-5 he would stop Lennox around 10…

Larry Holmes

50-50 fight.

Muhammad Ali

52-48 fight

dempseyfire wrote:He loses to Johnson, Ali, Holmes by decision amd Foreman Louis, and Frazier by KO.

Beats Tunney, Patterson and Moore.

I could see him and Walcott splitting fights. Ditto with Charles. I see the trouble a past-it Evander gave Lewis and I think Charles and Walcott at their best could definitely beat him via smart in and out boxing, sharp counters and movement. But Lewis could also turn the tide with one big right hand or uppercut at any time.

Nicely put
I really feel the bruno fight aside (when lewis basically pulled it out with one punch against a guy who once hit stayed hit) , Lewis doesnt handle pressure too well, and was the forerunner of the overcautious style u see the klitchkos use

Arguably an old holyfield outboxed him in one of their fights.Mercer also outboxed him using pressure tactics imo. Bruno to a lesser extent was doing it for 6 rounds.

I think the old timers would do a lot better than some modern day boxing fans think. Not many of these guys ever fought intimidated. They might have felt that way but they didnt fight like it and they would have put Lewis under pressure thats for sure.

I think Lewis is the kind of guy who faced with a Joe Fraiser breathing down his chest and forced to fight a full 2 or 3 minutes a round would have clutched and held for life and been gasping for air like he was against Rahman the first time.

I personally think the James Toney who beat Holyfield would have beaten Lewis, and so would have far more conclusively Ali, Louis,Holmes,Norton and Foreman 1991 and maybe even earnie Shavers on a good day. Frasier and Tyson 1988 would likely have kayoed him with relentless pressure. I think a Riddick Bowe circa 1995 cajoled into the fight would have beaten him too.

mugabi wrote:I personally think the James Toney who beat Holyfield would have beaten Lewis, and so would have far more conclusively Ali, Louis,Holmes,Norton and Foreman 1991 and maybe even earnie Shavers on a good day. Frasier and Tyson 1988 would likely have kayoed him with relentless pressure. I think a Riddick Bowe circa 1995 cajoled into the fight would have beaten him too.

James Toney!? Oh my.

Is that a typo?

The Great John L wrote:

mugabi wrote:I personally think the James Toney who beat Holyfield would have beaten Lewis, and so would have far more conclusively Ali, Louis,Holmes,Norton and Foreman 1991 and maybe even earnie Shavers on a good day. Frasier and Tyson 1988 would likely have kayoed him with relentless pressure. I think a Riddick Bowe circa 1995 cajoled into the fight would have beaten him too.

James Toney!? Oh my.

Is that a typo?

Nope i definetly see james being competitive. James at that time had no fear and he has fought and stood up to so many big punchers and HW's like samuel peter and Rahman and Ocquendo to name a few.Plus lennox fights at a slow pace and that suits james! Lennox didnt want to fight chris byrd and toney is as slick as byrd but more cocky!

mugabi wrote:

The Great John L wrote:

mugabi wrote:I personally think the James Toney who beat Holyfield would have beaten Lewis, and so would have far more conclusively Ali, Louis,Holmes,Norton and Foreman 1991 and maybe even earnie Shavers on a good day. Frasier and Tyson 1988 would likely have kayoed him with relentless pressure. I think a Riddick Bowe circa 1995 cajoled into the fight would have beaten him too.

James Toney!? Oh my.

Is that a typo?

Nope i definetly see james being competitive. James at that time had no fear and he has fought and stood up to so many big punchers and HW's like samuel peter and Rahman and Ocquendo to name a few.Plus lennox fights at a slow pace and that suits james! Lennox didnt want to fight chris byrd and toney is as slick as byrd but more cocky!

Big punches have nothing to do with it. Your examples aren't very good, because Toney always had trouble with a good jab, and the HW version had trouble getting past Rahman's, Peter's, and Oquendo's jabs. Lewis would have toyed with Toney.

The Great John L wrote:

mugabi wrote:

The Great John L wrote: James Toney!? Oh my.

Is that a typo?

Nope i definetly see james being competitive. James at that time had no fear and he has fought and stood up to so many big punchers and HW's like samuel peter and Rahman and Ocquendo to name a few.Plus lennox fights at a slow pace and that suits james! Lennox didnt want to fight chris byrd and toney is as slick as byrd but more cocky!

Big punches have nothing to do with it. Your examples aren't very good, because Toney always had trouble with a good jab, and the HW version had trouble getting past Rahman's, Peter's, and Oquendo's jabs. Lewis would have toyed with Toney.

I dont think Toney had difficulties with the jabs of peter or rahman. he arguably split 2 fights with the wild swinging peter, and he didnt lose in 3 fights with rahman or ocquendo.

Anyway that aside you overrate Lewis's jab a hell of a lot and seem to forget he was totally outjabbed by Frank Bruno (was almost being shut out on one card) and Rahman the first time and mercer as well who backed him up and snapped his head back almost anytime he threw a jab!

too many people speak of Lewis having a great jab, when old man holyfield slipped it all night long to get through and smash left hooks on lewis in one of their fights, can you call it an ali jab? or a larry holmes jab? or a sonny liston or foreman jab? Hell no! It was a good jab which he showed demolishing tommy morrison and lionel butler and intimidating henry akinwande b.

But Its also easy to think lewis had a great jab if you watch him beat a shot and meek tyson or a lazy Tua or overmatched botha.

Toney is a different class of defensive fighter . He would slip lewis jab all night long and smash right counters in his face.

Lewis did not have a great jab by any stretch of the imagination!

mugabi wrote:I dont think Toney had difficulties with the jabs of peter or rahman. he arguably split 2 fights with the wild swinging peter, and he didnt lose in 3 fights with rahman or ocquendo.

Anyway that aside you overrate Lewis's jab a hell of a lot and seem to forget he was totally outjabbed by Frank Bruno (was almost being shut out on one card) and Rahman the first time and mercer as well who backed him up and snapped his head back almost anytime he threw a jab!

too many people speak of Lewis having a great jab, when old man holyfield slipped it all night long to get through and smash left hooks on lewis in one of their fights, can you call it an ali jab? or a larry holmes jab? or a sonny liston or foreman jab? Hell no! It was a good jab which he showed demolishing tommy morrison and lionel butler and intimidating henry akinwande b.

But Its also easy to think lewis had a great jab if you watch him beat a shot and meek tyson or a lazy Tua or overmatched botha.

Toney is a different class of defensive fighter . He would slip lewis jab all night long and smash right counters in his face.

Lewis did not have a great jab by any stretch of the imagination!

Anyone objective knows that Rahman beat Toney in their first fight, mostly due to the jab. And he split two fights with Peter, huh. And that's impressive? Do you think Peter has a good jab? The only time it looked any good was against Toney.

Sorry, but the Bruno that fought Lewis had a much better jab than anyone that Toney fought at HW. Lewis would have shut out Toney. Toney would barely been able to hit him.

Wow, I can't imagine a scenario where Toney wins a round against Lewis.

Yep, Lewis wins close to every round against Toney, possibly even stopping him late - he would dish out more punishment than Toney has ever taken in any of his fights. Also, Toney does not have one punch KO power at heavyweight, so Lewis would not even have to fight particularly cautiously. The stylistic matchup is not one that Lewis would relish - like Byrd, Toney would make Lewis look silly at times, but the result would not be in doubt. Plus Lewis would have a 8 inch height advantage, 12 inch reach advantage and be at least 25 pounds heavier while still being clearly the slimmer man in the ring.

Remember that the Holyfield who lost to Toney was a shell of a fighter, who not much later failed to win a round against Larry Donald.

The Great John L wrote:

mugabi wrote:I dont think Toney had difficulties with the jabs of peter or rahman. he arguably split 2 fights with the wild swinging peter, and he didnt lose in 3 fights with rahman or ocquendo.

Anyway that aside you overrate Lewis's jab a hell of a lot and seem to forget he was totally outjabbed by Frank Bruno (was almost being shut out on one card) and Rahman the first time and mercer as well who backed him up and snapped his head back almost anytime he threw a jab!

too many people speak of Lewis having a great jab, when old man holyfield slipped it all night long to get through and smash left hooks on lewis in one of their fights, can you call it an ali jab? or a larry holmes jab? or a sonny liston or foreman jab? Hell no! It was a good jab which he showed demolishing tommy morrison and lionel butler and intimidating henry akinwande b.

But Its also easy to think lewis had a great jab if you watch him beat a shot and meek tyson or a lazy Tua or overmatched botha.

Toney is a different class of defensive fighter . He would slip lewis jab all night long and smash right counters in his face.

Lewis did not have a great jab by any stretch of the imagination!

Anyone objective knows that Rahman beat Toney in their first fight, mostly due to the jab. And he split two fights with Peter, huh. And that's impressive? Do you think Peter has a good jab? The only time it looked any good was against Toney.

Sorry, but the Bruno that fought Lewis had a much better jab than anyone that Toney fought at HW. Lewis would have shut out Toney. Toney would barely been able to hit him.

anyone objective???

I dont have any bias or lack of objectivity in my opinions. I say it as I see it. Just like you. Lewis is a fellow londoner but i dont have bias towards or against him

Disagreement is great for forums it is what leads to debate. But lets be mature about this and not question peoples objectivity for no reason. Say what you want and let others make up their mind based on the evidence we both put forward.


Heres one more flaw in your argument you state " Sorry, but the Bruno that fought Lewis had a much better jab than anyone that Toney fought at HW". But was it really that much better than Rahman who i saw toney beating?

Also guys dont forget im talking about the toney of 2003-2004 not the slightly aged guy who was robbed against peter and rahman.

You still think Lewis had a great jab

Lewis would have KO'd Toney mid rounds

Heartbreak_Kid79 wrote:Lewis would have KO'd Toney mid rounds

After winning every minute of every round.

Regarding Lewis never beating a top heavyweight...

-Vitali Klitschko (Who was prime, when Lewis was 37, though Vitali admittedly gave him trouble)
-David Tua (Who was a prime, 37-1, hugely hyped puncher)
-Evander Holyfield (In 1999 Holyfield was in his mid-30's, Undisputed HW Champion and ranked P4P #3 by The Ring at the time I believe...and in most top 10 P4P lists at the time)

If you analyse the climate before each of these fights I think you'll find a lot of people predicting wins for these guys over Lewis. They were all very tough fights at the time.

Razor Ruddock, Andrew Golota, Ray Mercer (Although controversial) and Tony Tucker were all still all very credible wins. I believe Lewis suffers in the eyes of many for not being in enough wars. Floyd Mayweather is another guy who receives less credit for wins based on a low-risk approach.

I strongly believe focused Lewis would have a good chance of beating any HW in history. He had all the tools and certainly didn't lack heart or have a bad chin.

Shazam! wrote:Regarding Lewis never beating a top heavyweight...

-Vitali Klitschko (Who was prime, when Lewis was 37, though Vitali admittedly gave him trouble)
-David Tua (Who was a prime, 37-1, hugely hyped puncher)
-Evander Holyfield (In 1999 Holyfield was in his mid-30's, Undisputed HW Champion and ranked P4P #3 by The Ring at the time I believe...and in most top 10 P4P lists at the time)

If you analyse the climate before each of these fights I think you'll find a lot of people predicting wins for these guys over Lewis. They were all very tough fights at the time.

Razor Ruddock, Andrew Golota, Ray Mercer (Although controversial) and Tony Tucker were all still all very credible wins. I believe Lewis suffers in the eyes of many for not being in enough wars. Floyd Mayweather is another guy who receives less credit for wins based on a low-risk approach.

I strongly believe focused Lewis would have a good chance of beating any HW in history. He had all the tools and certainly didn't lack heart or have a bad chin.

Depends what you mean by, "top." Unquestionably, Lewis defeated multiple top-ranked Heavyweights in their own time, & I can't see a case which says he never beat a single, "top" (as in very good or better) Heavy contender, but that second list is pretty short.

He beat a lot of guys with good records. Frank Bruno, Henry Akinwande, Tyrell Biggs, Michael Grant, plus coming back from a KO to convincingly beat someone (Rahman and McCall) is no mean feat. He beat a lot of credible fighters.

To me Holyfield, Tua and Klitschko were excellent wins if you look at the profiles of those fighters at the time. Holyfield was near prime and is a top 10 ATG HW. Klitschko was prime and could well go down as a top 20 ATG. Tua isn't quite there but his 37-1 record including many dominating KO's had him pegged as the next Mike Tyson at the time. If he hadn't been demoralised by Lewis he could have gone on to do much bigger things and may have ended up being a top 20 ATG. Of course this is just speculation but I still think those wins, factored in with Mercer, Ruddock and Tucker were all very impressive. He proved he had the measure of Bowe in the 88 Olympic Final also. To me, it seemed as if he was more than capable of defeating every HW he faced, past or present.

P.S. I know there are some who don't agree. Please feel free to debate sensibly. Thanks.

Shazam! wrote:He beat a lot of guys with good records. Frank Bruno, Henry Akinwande, Tyrell Biggs, Michael Grant, plus coming back from a KO to convincingly beat someone (Rahman and McCall) is no mean feat. He beat a lot of credible fighters.

To me Holyfield, Tua and Klitschko were excellent wins if you look at the profiles of those fighters at the time. Holyfield was near prime and is a top 10 ATG HW. Klitschko was prime and could well go down as a top 20 ATG. Tua isn't quite there but his 37-1 record including many dominating KO's had him pegged as the next Mike Tyson at the time. If he hadn't been demoralised by Lewis he could have gone on to do much bigger things and may have ended up being a top 20 ATG. Of course this is just speculation but I still think those wins, factored in with Mercer, Ruddock and Tucker were all very impressive. He proved he had the measure of Bowe in the 88 Olympic Final also. To me, it seemed as if he was more than capable of defeating every HW he faced, past or present.

P.S. I know there are some who don't agree. Please feel free to debate sensibly. Thanks.

I agree with your general sentiment on Lewis. However, I can't agree with your takes on nearly every fighter you mentioned. Holyfield wasn't, "near-prime." He was, at best, past-it, & at most, washed-up.

Tua was never going to be anything special, & has proven himself, endlessly, to be hopeless against mobile targets. It was definitely a solid win, but the second coming of Tyson this lardbucket was never going to be. Klitschko was a better win, but he's so over-rated today, it's hard to gauge him with any real accuracy on the whole. Mercer, Ruddock & Tucker are indeed all very solid victories. I thought Bowe was robbed blind in the Olympics (maybe the only time Ferdie Pacheco & I see eye-to-eye?), but he got the gold, I guess. Not saying he would or wouldn't have won, but that stoppage was ludicrous.

I would not call him, "more than capable" of beating any Heavyweight, past or present. Cat just simply wasn't ever that good. However, he is a genuine all-time great, hovering in-&-around the top-ten in division history, which is high praise.

Goodnight, Irene wrote:I agree with your general sentiment on Lewis. However, I can't agree with your takes on nearly every fighter you mentioned. Holyfield wasn't, "near-prime." He was, at best, past-it, & at most, washed-up.

I would say that Holyfield was closer to past it than washed up, but clearly I would say that he wasn't near prime.

Goodnight, Irene wrote:Tua was never going to be anything special, & has proven himself, endlessly, to be hopeless against mobile targets.

I think that might be just a little harsh. Tua beat a number of the better HWs of his era (late 90's) and was clearly a world class HW and one of the best in the world at that time. And while he was definitley challenged by movers, he did get lucky against the relatively elusive Oquendo, so he wasn't completely hopeless. Of course, Fres wasn't exactly the second coming of Tunney, so I'd say Tua was almost hopeless against movers. Certainly more hopeless than Foreman who fought a much more aggressive style, but George certainly had a similar weakness.

Goodnight, Irene wrote:I would not call him, "more than capable" of beating any Heavyweight, past or present. Cat just simply wasn't ever that good. However, he is a genuine all-time great, hovering in-&-around the top-ten in division history, which is high praise.

Well stated. I have him at #10, but the 10-12 group is all very close.

I think when focused he showed that he had the beating of every fighter he faced. A great contrast in those fighters also.

You look at the early 90's victories against Tucker and Ruddock (KO 2 rounds, he went 19 with Tyson) which are impressive. It's pretty much acknowledged in the boxing world that Lewis was the #1 HW contender in the early 90's and that Bowe ducked him.

Then the mid to late 90's where he beat Mercer, Briggs, Holyfield (I'm sorry but not to acknowledge Holyfield's longevity as a top top fighter is unfair imo, especially as the guy was undisputed champion and was ranked p4p #3. It's much like Calzaghe's victory over Hopkins this one).

Then you have the 2000's, where he beat Tua, then Tyson (though admittedly a shell of himself) and finally Klitschko.

Simply put, Lewis was among the top three Heavyweights from about 1992 until his retirement in 2004. He beat the best of his division, past, present...and future. That's a long time with which maybe two or three heavyweights in history can contend....Muhammad Ali being the undisputed king in this area.

Lewis was just a guy who proved he could adapt, change his style and overcome any obstacle. That's why there's such a strong argument got a focused Lewis being trouble for any heavyweight in history. And he was certainly never dominated or outclassed in the way that other top 10 HW's have been.

Muhammad Ali got embarassed toward the end of his career. Joe Frazier got completely dominated against George Foreman. Larry Holmes got demolished by Mike Tyson. As much as some may dislike him, this never happened to Lewis.

Some may say that Lewis wasn't in the same amount of wars as other guys. But isn't not getting hit part of boxing?

Shazam! wrote:He beat a lot of guys with good records. Frank Bruno, Henry Akinwande, Tyrell Biggs, Michael Grant, plus coming back from a KO to convincingly beat someone (Rahman and McCall) is no mean feat. He beat a lot of credible fighters.

To me Holyfield, Tua and Klitschko were excellent wins if you look at the profiles of those fighters at the time. Holyfield was near prime and is a top 10 ATG HW. Klitschko was prime and could well go down as a top 20 ATG. Tua isn't quite there but his 37-1 record including many dominating KO's had him pegged as the next Mike Tyson at the time. If he hadn't been demoralised by Lewis he could have gone on to do much bigger things and may have ended up being a top 20 ATG. Of course this is just speculation but I still think those wins, factored in with Mercer, Ruddock and Tucker were all very impressive. He proved he had the measure of Bowe in the 88 Olympic Final also. To me, it seemed as if he was more than capable of defeating every HW he faced, past or present.

P.S. I know there are some who don't agree. Please feel free to debate sensibly. Thanks.

Your general sentiments about Lewis are fair and balanced with the slight exception of Holyfield in 1999/2000 being any where near his prime. He was definetly well past his prime at this point.

Anyway I cant disagree with too much of what you say about Lewis. His record overall is very impressive. The way he went out against Klitchko actually in a tough hard exciting fight which he won and took at short notice was the best way for him to go out, beating the guy who would be the heir apparent. As you mention Ali did not go out like that and a lot of other great HW's ended up going washed up and old.

But your mistake is thinking that records and "doing it on your terms" makes one fighter neccesarily better than the other. I agree Lewis is a top 15 HW but his record and the names on it flatter him imo.

Yes he beat Bowe in the olympics but that doesnt really mean much in the pro ranks.Jorge Luis Gonzales kayoed Bowe in the amateurs and like Lewis was constantly calling him out. When they did eventually meet Bowe demolished him. The Bowe of 92 and 95 may well have
had the beating of Lewis. We will never know.

Lewis best victories came at the right time. He beat a shot Holyfield. He beat a totally shot Tyson. Although we didnt know it at the time he beat a shot Ruddock too. Tua was one of his best wins.

I really like Lennox and think he was a true HW champion and is a legend. But I wouldnt even dream of thinking he could beat an Ali, Foreman, Louis,Holmes,Frazier or Dempsey in their primes.Its likely if he had fought in the 1970's he would have been knocked out by the odd earnie shavers or ken norton here or there as well given his lapses against hot and cold but unexceptional fighters in Mcall and Rahman and i couldnt in clear conscience have seen him beat Larry Holmes from 1980 to 1985 or Tyson from 86 to 89.

I don't think you can say Ruddock or Holyfield were 'shot' when Lewis fought them, although EVander was not anywhere near his prime and well past his best (Evander's prime ended after the Bowe rematch IMO, and you could even argue after the first Bowe fight).

Shazam! wrote:Regarding Lewis never beating a top heavyweight...

-Vitali Klitschko (Who was prime, when Lewis was 37, though Vitali admittedly gave him trouble)
-David Tua (Who was a prime, 37-1, hugely hyped puncher)
-Evander Holyfield (In 1999 Holyfield was in his mid-30's, Undisputed HW Champion and ranked P4P #3 by The Ring at the time I believe...and in most top 10 P4P lists at the time)

If you analyse the climate before each of these fights I think you'll find a lot of people predicting wins for these guys over Lewis. They were all very tough fights at the time.

Razor Ruddock, Andrew Golota, Ray Mercer (Although controversial) and Tony Tucker were all still all very credible wins. I believe Lewis suffers in the eyes of many for not being in enough wars. Floyd Mayweather is another guy who receives less credit for wins based on a low-risk approach.

I strongly believe focused Lewis would have a good chance of beating any HW in history. He had all the tools and certainly didn't lack heart or have a bad chin.

Where does he place for you amongst the greats?

Ok, I know a few people disagree with the Holyfield thing but I still think that's a great win. Holyfield was not the sort of fighter who deteriorated quickly. He kept himself in fantastic condition (legally or not!) and his chin was still there...if you watch the Lewis fights and the Bowe fights then admittedly he is a little slower and throws fewer punches but no way is there a dramatic difference in the fighters. I think if you watch the Lewis fights, they weren't his best but he still gave a heck of a lot. He was that sort of fighter. Still an exceptional one at 36, very difficult to beat and I think Lewis's victory over him is at least comparable with Calzaghe's win over Hopkins.

I don't like all-time lists. The climate back in the 40's and 50's, the 70's and the 90's was totally different. If Lennox had fought in those eras he would have (like he always did) adapted and probably evolved into more of a slugger.

However, while I wouldn't put him above Louis or Ali, I do think he would defeat Frazier more often than not. Foreman I can't say for sure. And Foreman has a great legacy. I personally am not a big fan of his boxing style. He was made to look amateurish by Ali. Something which you couldn't say about Lewis, who had the ability to modify his style depending on the challenge at hand.

I think Lewis's legacy will continue to grow in the same way that Larry Holmes' has.