BoxRec

Lennox Lewis seemed to dominate the HW division for a long time, but when exactly was he in his prime?

Some say around about the time he sparked Ruddock out in 1992. This is a good shout, because he was 27 & at that age, you are in your physical prime.

Some say around about 1999 - 2003, when he was 34 - 38. He did have some impressive victories then, but he was too heavy & cautious for my liking.

I think he was in his prime between about 1995 & 1998, aged 30 - 33. He had some good victories during this period, seemed more willing to engage his opponents & had finally learned his craft, having improved from the Right hand happy slugger he was in his early days.

he had a long prime



1992-2002


but his peak was 1997

lennox was one of those fighters who still fought good well into his thirties, and alot of his good victories came in that time (his thirties)

BrocktonBlockbuster49 wrote:he had a long prime



1992-2002


but his peak was 1997

And unlike true heavyweight greats such as Ali, Louis and Marciano, he was bombed out twice in his prime by very average fighters. Making him, in my opinion, something much less than an all-time great.

i disagree with his prime.i don't think he was in his prime with mccall despite the impressive ruddock win.its convenient for the lennox knockers to span his prime for a decade to show 2 ko losses.look at lennox's physique and you can also see he was still maturing.

Getting fatter doesn't mean maturing.

Collins2000 wrote:

BrocktonBlockbuster49 wrote:he had a long prime



1992-2002


but his peak was 1997

And unlike true heavyweight greats such as Ali, Louis and Marciano, he was bombed out twice in his prime by very average fighters. Making him, in my opinion, something much less than an all-time great.

i agree, i mean to get bombed out twice?? especially by B level fighters?

The night he beat Ruddock. Lewis in that form would of given any heavyweight a good fight.

Decagon wrote:Louis had a couple of bad performances, as well. The Schmelling loss was at least as bad as the McCall loss, given how far past his prime Schmelling was. I'd also call his first fight with Conn a bad performance. If Conn had just jabbed and moved, he would have won the fight, but he traded with one of the greatest punchers ever.

Your points are valid. However, Louis was maybe a bit short of his prime when he lost to Schmeling; in fact he was only in his 2nd year as a pro I believe and, even though Max might have been past his best (though he did look very sharp which suggests he was far from past it) he was a far far better fighter than McCall or Rahman. Regarding the Conn fight, I'm not a big fan of IF. The fact is Louis KO'd him. If we want to bring IF and MAYBE into it, Lewis was getting a schooling from the limited Frank Bruno and IF Bruno had continued in that vein MAYBE he would have won. Every fighter has faults but I think the faults shown by Lewis' far outweigh anything we saw from Louis.

But Lennox avenged his two losses. so why is his legacy constantly bashed by those two losses?

ferroz wrote:But Lennox avenged his two losses. so why is his legacy constantly bashed by those two losses?

Er, because he DID lose badly and to 2 average fighters. Avenging them is all well and good but that's not the issue. If he really was a true great they wouldn't have happened in the first place.

Collins2000 wrote:

BrocktonBlockbuster49 wrote:he had a long prime



1992-2002


but his peak was 1997

And unlike true heavyweight greats such as Ali, Louis and Marciano, he was bombed out twice in his prime by very average fighters. Making him, in my opinion, something much less than an all-time great.

Thats Crap Spinks, Berbick and Holmes doesn't take nothing away from Ali's legacy does it?

The Mc Call stoppage was BS as well.

His blowout of Ruddock or Bruno was his peaK I WOULD SAY....

Max Molyneux wrote:

Collins2000 wrote:

BrocktonBlockbuster49 wrote:he had a long prime



1992-2002


but his peak was 1997

And unlike true heavyweight greats such as Ali, Louis and Marciano, he was bombed out twice in his prime by very average fighters. Making him, in my opinion, something much less than an all-time great.

Thats Crap Spinks, Berbick and Holmes doesn't take nothing away from Ali's legacy does it?

The Mc Call stoppage was BS as well.

Crap, Maxie? You do have a way with words, I must admit.

Just for the record, do you really think those losses of Ali's were when he was in his prime? I have to ask as there is nothing in your post for me to determine whether you are a knowledgable fan or just a nuthugger.

And maybe you could enlighten me on how the McCall stoppage was bullshit. Since when does falling into the ref constitute showing ability to continue?

walshb wrote:His blowout of Ruddock or Bruno was his peaK I WOULD SAY....

not Bruno... that was no blowout.. no way (lucky punch I say)