BoxRec

He says Lennox didn't have heart,cause he refused to fight again against Vitali,meaning that his lack of heart prevented Lennox to become a great fighter,all this according to Larry.
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Lewis is one of the best HW's of all time. He's definitely in the top10. However, Holmes was better than him &, prime for prime, would have beaten Lewis!

Holmes is one of my favorites but I disagree with him here.

Lewis showed great heart by overcoming McCall and Rahman in re-matches, Holmes never won his re-match with Spinks.

Nonsense Lennox had a massive heart, to come back from two huge k.o's like that and then beat them both in the re-match's

He beat Vitali fare and square first time round he had no need to do it again.
Some People seem to think that Vitali was robbed in some way, did you see the mess his face was in ?
he was beaten badly regardless of weather he was winning hte fight on the score cards or not.

skelp wrote:Lewis showed great heart by overcoming McCall and Rahman in re-matches, Holmes never won his re-match with Spinks.

It is easy to argue that Holmes should've won the rematch. One could even say that he shouldn't lost the first fight.

I do not think the fact he won rematches shows he had a lot of heart. He lost to B-level fighters (without taking too much damage) and he knew that the next time he should won without much effort (as he did). This was nothing similar to for example Holyfield rematching Bowe after getting beating of his lifetime or Ali vs Frazier/Norton.

But I do not buy Holmes' explanation either. He should understand not everybody is fighting into his 50's and it does not mean the lack of heart.

I'm surprised by how many people defend Holmes, the guy is one of the biggest assholes to ever grace this sport. He never gives any HW a modicum of credit and is a total jerk-off whenever anyone asks him about an ATG other than himself. I'm sure he wouldn't be too happy if Lewis said Holmes lacked chin because of how quickly Mike Tyson iced his ass. And don't give me that layoff shit either, Holyfield and others didn't blast him like a fuckin chump the way Iron Mike did, Tyson fuckin owned him and would have in his prime as well. I'm not sure whom I'd favor between prime Lewis and prime Holmes because I think while Larry would trouble Lewis with his stiff jab and movement, I also think Lewis' strength and size advantage, in addition to his monster uppercut could get him the W.

Rocky Balboa wrote:Lewis is one of the best HW's of all time. He's definitely in the top10. However, Holmes was better than him &, prime for prime, would have beaten Lewis!

holmes v lewis is probably the most intriguing HW fight i can think off.
ive often thought bout this one.

Lennox was the man. He fought just about everybody he could possibly fight. He fought the best of his era. And won for the most part. What on Earth is Larry Holmes talking about? He doesn't have heart, because he wouldn't fight Vitali in a rematch? A man he already beat? If he's going to be critical of Lennox, it should be for turning down like $30 million for a rematch with Vitali. (Or whatever it was.)

Larry Holmes has always talked bollocks about other heavyweights, especially Lennox Lewis. He was convinced Mike Tyson was going to destroy Lewis in 2002, and when I last spoke to him about five years ago, he claimed Riddick Bowe would dominate the division again once he was released from jail. I am not a Larry Holmes-hater. I rate him as the second-best heavyweight of all-time. But he is utterly graceless when giving his opinions on other heavyweights. Whether you thought Lewis beat Ray Mercer or not, and whether you thought he was going to lose to Vitali Klitschko or not, both those fights proved beyond any doubt that Lewis had tonnes of heart.

Diamond WEAPON wrote:I'm surprised by how many people defend Holmes, the guy is one of the biggest assholes to ever grace this sport. He never gives any HW a modicum of credit and is a total jerk-off whenever anyone asks him about an ATG other than himself. I'm sure he wouldn't be too happy if Lewis said Holmes lacked chin because of how quickly Mike Tyson iced his ass. And don't give me that layoff poop either, Holyfield and others didn't blast him like a fuckin chump the way Iron Mike did, Tyson fuckin owned him and would have in his prime as well. I'm not sure whom I'd favor between prime Lewis and prime Holmes because I think while Larry would trouble Lewis with his stiff jab and movement, I also think Lewis' strength and size advantage, in addition to his monster uppercut could get him the W.

Holmes has all the class of a bottom-rung street trash. Additionally, what a hypocrite this article makes him look.

This, from a guy who blackballed rematch-talk with anyone who gave him a difficult night

At the end of the day boxers are just boxers and they know how to box but they do not always know about boxers which is a big difference.

Whatever Holmes thinks about Lewis doesn't really matter they were both great fighters. I mean George Foreman thinks Lewis is the greatest heavyweight of all time.

Rocky Balboa wrote:Lewis is one of the best HW's of all time. He's definitely in the top10. However, Holmes was better than him &, prime for prime, would have beaten Lewis!

Yea right..Lewis would kill Holmes....

Larry should watch Lewis vs Bruno. Bruno hit him with some bombs and had him ready to go and Lennox got thru that to stop a big hitter. Although he didn't dominate Mercer, he showed great heart to win a disputed decision. I'd say the same with Vitali. Almost any other heavy would not have made it as far with Vitali as Lennox did after taking that kind of punishment, yet alone pull out the win. Although I think we nearly all agree Vitali was winning that fight, I think we can also say that Lennox was coming on at the time of the stoppage and won that fight fair and square. Vitali was a bloody mess and that cut was nasty.

Larry does a lot of hating but that might be because he was the man between Ali and Tyson, who are both ATG heavyweights.

I'd have to say that a prime Holmes vs a prime Lewis would be a good fight. Lewis was bigger and stronger, but he was slower, and I think he didn't always come in the best condition, but for Holmes he would be. Holmes was faster, moved better, and until he ran in to Tyson he always got up when knocked down. In a match-up between these two, in their primes, I'd go with Holmes, via SD/UD, after he pulls himself off the canvas once or twice (in a 15 rounder).

I mean George Foreman thinks Lewis is the greatest heavyweight of all time.

No,he doesn't.Check his website.

He was convinced Mike Tyson was going to destroy Lewis in 2002

Seriously,then he was the only one.
Do you have any proof that he made such statement?

I rate him as the second-best heavyweight of all-time.

If Larry is the 2 best in your list don't tell me Lennox is the number 1.

If we are gonna get technical about this, then I say Lennox Lewis couldn't carry Larrys jock strap!

chiricahua wrote:

I mean George Foreman thinks Lewis is the greatest heavyweight of all time.

No,he doesn't.Check his website.

Directly under that top 10 list it says "As you see, I didn't make the list..."

Grimm wrote:

chiricahua wrote:

I mean George Foreman thinks Lewis is the greatest heavyweight of all time.

No,he doesn't.Check his website.

Directly under that top 10 list it says "As you see, I didn't make the list..."

Hmmm...no, the person responsible for the site says "...i didn't make list..."
At the bottom says George's Top 10 Heavyweights
1. Joe Louis.
To be honest with you, number two is way off. Joe Louis is in a class by himself.

2. Rocky Marciano.
Just look at Rocky Marciano's record. Nobody beat him. You can't take that from him.

3. Jack Johnson.
A big brave cat, because he'd do whatever he wanted and get out of the way.

4. Muhammad Ali.
Put him down as the GREATEST MAN to ever box, and a hero bigger than boxing. Once Ali lost his speed, it only showed that he'd never developed a great defense.

5. Joe Frazier.
Only because he depended solely on his left hook do I rate Joe Frazier below Marciano. Marciano could hit with both hands.

6. Jack Dempsy.
Jack Dempsy's very name means strength and courage. Other than Joe Louis, there is not a name in boxing or in sports with more meaning.

7. Mike Tyson.
A phenomenon. What Mike Tyson was able to do with his speed of hand and punching power is as phenomenal as what Muhammad Ali did when he was Cassius Clay with speed of feet. Tyson deserves to be in the top ten; this is where I put him, the youngest man to become Heavyweight Champion of the World.

8. Sonny Liston.
If Sonny Liston truly had not lost his cool, had not underestimated a young Cassius Clay; and kept the same mind set that he had as a contender, history would have been a lot kinder to him. Sonny Liston could not believe Muhammad Ali was so fast and had so much courage. It just made him fall apart.

9. Floyd Patterson.
The First Two-Time Heavyweight Champion of the World.

10. Evander Holyfield.
For standing up to Mike Tyson.


I saw George defending this list on the Espn Classic,he also said that he would knock out Lewis inside 2 rounds.

You guys know by saying, "I didn't make the list" he's referencing the fact he didn't include himself in the top ten, right? Not that he didn't actually compile the list itself. He did.

Goodnight, Irene wrote:You guys know by saying, "I didn't make the list" he's referencing the fact he didn't include himself in the top ten, right? Not that he didn't actually compile the list itself. He did.

Exactly George did the list.

chiricahua wrote:I saw George defending this list on the Espn Classic,he also said that he would knock out Lewis inside 2 rounds.

- Big George made this list long before Tyson/Lewis. After the fight was stopped, he declared Lewis the best ever.

Facts are George says whatever he wants in the moment which include a lot of contradictions. That's just part of being Big George.

Anyways, Mr. Larry ducked the 12 rd Butterbean rematch, so it's not like there's much wriggle room left in those quintuple XXXXX sized shorts he sports to muster up a credible opinion. More amazing was that this was the first interview I've heard him in a long time where he doesn't have a spot where he runs off the rails on Big George.

Caught between the enduring popularity of Rocky, Ali, Tyson, and Butterbean, he's got a major inferiority complex.

What Lennox definitely had was a glass chin.

isn't there a bit of a difference between a glass jaw, vs not being quite quick enough to get out of the way?
I think he got clocked with a pretty serious shot didn't he?

who was the best fighter Larrry ever beat. Don't say Ali he was shot by that stage of his career. Larry gets too much respect around here at times. There are a number of heavyweights who would have achieved 48-0 v his opposition.

If a prime Holmes had to face 71 frazier, 88 Tyson, 92 Bowe or a 2000 Lewis, and won I would have no problem ranking him top 3 of all time.

In Reality

Frazier never lost to a b grade fighter, beat Ali, never relied SD of gifts lost only to Ali and Foreman, honestly think both Foreman and Ali would have beaten Holmes.

Tyson is a tough one to pick the actual fight only went four rounds. Tyson was at his emotional peak, Jimmy Jacobs still alive, thought he had married a perfect princess, and still had Rooney, Lott and Branski in his corner, always a difficult match for Holmes styalistically, actually thinking that the peak Tyson may have always beaten Holmes. It only went four rounds its not like Holmes defenders can use age, he fought for 12 more years after this and never got knocked down.

Holyfield, Holmes came on strong at the end of the fight here and although no threat to Holyfield did finish strong and last the distance. We now though that although Holyfield did not look that great that he could lift his performance when requried and was good at rematches, I think he would have won the Tyson rematch no problems. Yes a younger Holmes would have been better but Holyfield would have lifted his game as well.

Bowe: Was great for one night only, Larry may have won the fight. But I think November 13 1992 Bowe beats Larry.

Lewis: Again Larry might beat Lewis, but again Lewis is better than anyone Larry beat. Lewis avenged both defeats. Larry is not the one punch knock out type fighter, again Larry will get all the credit on this forum, but its stll a tough match for Larry anyway you look at it.

I also think that Joe Louis, Pre Zaire Foreman, Sonny Liston can beat Larry as well.

Theres 10 heavyweights head to head who are better than anyone Larry beat, I don't think Larry wins too many of these matches.

Holmes's style is awful for Lennox . . wins clear UD. Holmes never faced anyone as good as Lewis? Who the hell did Lewis beat as good as Holmes? And I'd rate the Norton Larry beat as clearly better than the 1999 Holyfield, who was 37 years old and clearly past his peak.

How the hell does Bowe beat Holmes? Bowe beat Holyfield in 92 b/c Evander fought an awful fight and tried to match Bowe punch for punch on the inside. Vs guys with good jabs and the ability to fight from a distance (Tubbs, Golota) Riddick looked awful. Holmes circa 92 would've even given Bowe a very tough fight and I wouldn't have counted Larry out in that one. I rewatched a few Bowe fights over the weekend and Riddick Bowe has to be one of the most OVER-RATED fighters ever. He deserved to lose vs Tubbs, looked like a rank amateur vs Hide, in the EVander rubber match if Holyfield hadn't been infected with whatever hepatitis he got from one of his many baby mamas, Bowe was going to be KTFO.