BoxRec

Do you agree?

1) Mike Tyson - sure, with hindsight, Tyson was way past his best, but most people forget this was viewed as a 50-50 match at the time. Considering Tyson still had the punch to cause Lewis trouble, Lennox boxed to perfection. The biggest name on lewis' record and the most emphatic victory.

2) Rahman - I put this at number two not for the level of opposition, but for the statement it made. They may be 1-1 in wins, but I don't think I've ever seen an issue of who the better fighter was put to bed so emphatically.

3) Holyfield - probably the best win on paper, given Holyfield was still a top fighter, but neither fight was very convincing from Lewis.

4) Ruddock - the arrival. As with Tyson, there's a lot of revisionist theory about this fight, but Lewis was actually the underdog. Those who were picking him said it would be on points. NOBODY expected him to blow away the guy who'd just hung tough for 19 rounds with Tyson. It showed he was a VERY serious addition to the world heavyweight picture.

5) Golota - when Lewis felt he had something to prove, he knew what was required of him. This was his answer to the critics who said he was fighting too cautiously. Golota would end up a nearly-man, but Brewster aside (when Golota was old), nobody did a job like this on him.

6) Mercer - controversial for some, but a solid win on paper and, more importantly, the fight that showed Lewis could get into the trenches.

7) Grant - the "next great heavyweight" absolutely destroyed by the current one. The win doesn't look as good now, seeing how Grant's career panned out, but is it possible this fight ruined him?

8) Klitschko - not a convincing performance, but a legit fan (even if some don't wish to admit it) and significant in that it was a great footnote to his career: he was about to bow out, but this showed he could still see off the young lions if he wanted to.

9) Mason - how many 14-0 heavyweights get in with a 35-0, WBC-ranked fighter, and trounce him?

10) Bruno - not a well-received victory at the time, but looks better now when you consider Bruno went on to win a world title and is generally more respected post-career than during it.

For me:

1. Tyson - Mike was shot, but many saw it as being a good matchup at the time, and Lewis fought a near perfect fight.

2. Rahman - Fantastic redemption, probably Lewis's best ever performance, although against a B level fighter.

3. Holyfield - A poor performance by Lewis, but it his strongest on-paper win, as Holyfield was still a top fighter, although past his best.

4. Ruddock - Destroyed a man who tested a near prime Tyson.

5. Golota - Many actually tipped Golota to win this one, and Lewis blew him away. Reduced in significance after Golota had the same job done on him by Brewster.

6. Tua - Despite this being a very boring fight, it was an absolute masterclass by Lewis against a man with an iron chin.

7. Morrison - Fantastic performance by Lewis, the start of his prime IMO. Morrison was never great, but this was truly a one-sided beating.

8. Grant - Demolishion job against a big opponent with a poor chin

9. Botha - Not a great opponent, but Lewis put on a great performance, never looked like losing, and finished impressively.

10= Bruno - Good come-from-behind knockout, in a fight where Lewis was clearly behind on points and not boxing all that well.

10= Klitschko - Stoppage win against a good, young, strong, big opponent when Lewis was overweight and his skills were faded. Lewis threw an absolutely monstrous right uppercut in this fight.

10= Mercer - One of Lewis's worst performances, but he did it tough against a good opponent and showed that his chin was better than most thought.

Wow, considering how deteriorated Tyson was by then, don't see how it can be called his best win. His most recognizable name, but please, most people with some knowledge of the sport beyond the Daily News knew Tyson was in for an ass-kicking.

Another question I would have to ask, would be... What do you think Lennox's top 10 toughest opponents are?

Both going in to the fight, and then in hindsight.

His greatest win in my opinion was his lackluster decision win over Evander Holyfield in the rematch, though he was robbed with a draw in the first go around. Holyfield wasn't quite his best, but he was closer to his prime than Tyson was.

The Tyson win just more or less solidified that Lewis beat practically everyone in his era, with the exception of Riddick Bowe. Tyson was the last piece of the puzzle, and if anything, it just showed that Lewis could beat the biggest draw in boxing history, though he was just a mere shell of what he once was. I'd place it somewhere in the lower part of the top ten meaningful wins of Lewis's career.

From then on out, it's a toss up, but I'd place Mercer after Holyfield, then Bruno, then Ruddock, then Morrison, then McCall, then Rahman, then Tua, then Golota, then Tyson.

The Klitschko fight was a joke Lewis won but he didn't beat him, the Grant fight might as well as been a farce, and who the hell ever gave Botha a snow balls chance in hell anyways?

Since I think Holyfield beat Lewis in the 2nd fight, I wouldn't call that a top Lewis performance. Here's how I'd list them.

1) Holyfield 1-Sure Evander looked lethargic in this fight just as he'd looked vs Bean and how he'd look vs Ruiz soon after, but he was still HW champ and Lewis survived an exciting 3rd round to clearly outpoint Evander down the stretch. To me this fight shows his clear positives and negatives as a fighter.

2) Ray Mercer-I scored this one a close win for Mercer, but I wouldn't have been upset with a draw. Either way, I like this fight for Lewis b/c he was facing a granite-jawed fighter with a good punch and when the going got tough (esp. in the 4th round) he showed he could stand his ground and slug it out if he had to. Also finely displayed a newly tuned uppercut with the aide of Steward. Besides Holyfield in the rematch I see Mercer as Lennox's best opponent he faced.

3) David Tua-Tua was seen as the next champ by most, and while he pretty much threw away any chance he had by coming into the fight at 245 lbs, Lewis still was able to control a hungry (in more ways than one) and dangerous contender over the distance.

4) Tommy Morrison-Morrison had major stamina and chin issues but still was very dangerous in the early rounds and could punch like heck. Lennox completely dominated him, never letting Morrison get set early, and finally stopping an exhausted Tommy in the middle rounds.

5) Razor Ruddock-His coming out party, Lennox wiped the mat with the much hyped Ruddock in under 2 rounds.

6) Frank Bruno-Came from behind to stop a determined Bruno

7) Tony Tucker-Survived a late surge from Tucker and like with Mercer showed he could slug it out if he had to

8) Hasim Rahman II-Rahman isn't a real world class fighter but I have to put it here b/c the final combination was just so nice.

9) Michael Grant- Lewis disposed of a pretender like champions should, even if he did it partially by holding Grant's head down with one hand and uppercutting with the other

10) Mike Tyson/Vitali Klitschko

oliverfennell wrote:Do you agree?

1) Mike Tyson - sure, with hindsight, Tyson was way past his best, but most people forget this was viewed as a 50-50 match at the time. Considering Tyson still had the punch to cause Lewis trouble, Lennox boxed to perfection. The biggest name on lewis' record and the most emphatic victory.

2) Rahman - I put this at number two not for the level of opposition, but for the statement it made. They may be 1-1 in wins, but I don't think I've ever seen an issue of who the better fighter was put to bed so emphatically.

3) Holyfield - probably the best win on paper, given Holyfield was still a top fighter, but neither fight was very convincing from Lewis.

4) Ruddock - the arrival. As with Tyson, there's a lot of revisionist theory about this fight, but Lewis was actually the underdog. Those who were picking him said it would be on points. NOBODY expected him to blow away the guy who'd just hung tough for 19 rounds with Tyson. It showed he was a VERY serious addition to the world heavyweight picture.

5) Golota - when Lewis felt he had something to prove, he knew what was required of him. This was his answer to the critics who said he was fighting too cautiously. Golota would end up a nearly-man, but Brewster aside (when Golota was old), nobody did a job like this on him.

6) Mercer - controversial for some, but a solid win on paper and, more importantly, the fight that showed Lewis could get into the trenches.

7) Grant - the "next great heavyweight" absolutely destroyed by the current one. The win doesn't look as good now, seeing how Grant's career panned out, but is it possible this fight ruined him?

8) Klitschko - not a convincing performance, but a legit fan (even if some don't wish to admit it) and significant in that it was a great footnote to his career: he was about to bow out, but this showed he could still see off the young lions if he wanted to.

9) Mason - how many 14-0 heavyweights get in with a 35-0, WBC-ranked fighter, and trounce him?

10) Bruno - not a well-received victory at the time, but looks better now when you consider Bruno went on to win a world title and is generally more respected post-career than during it.

Good list Oliver, I dont disagree that these are Lewis' 10 best wins

Tantum wrote:Another question I would have to ask, would be... What do you think Lennox's top 10 toughest opponents are?

Both going in to the fight, and then in hindsight.

Taking into consideration the stages in their career that his opponents were at the time Lewis fought them:

Going into the fight:
1. Ruddock
2. Holyfield
3. Tyson
4. Rahman II
5. Tua
6. Grant
7. Mercer
8. Golota
9. Tucker
10. Klitschko

Tyson and Holyfield were fading but it was hard to say how they would perform going into their fights with Lewis. Grant was a much better fighter before he fought Lewis than after.

In hindsight:
1. Mercer
2. Rahman
3. McCall
4. Holyfield
5. Klitschko
6. Tua
7. Ruddock
8. Briggs
9. Tucker
10. Golota

As for the original post regarding Lewis' top 10 wins, it depends on your criteria for "top wins". Just going by the quality of Lewis performances, I would say something like this:

1. Ruddock
2. Rahman II
3. Tyson
4. Botha
5. Grant
6. Golota
7. Morrison
8. Jackson
9. Briggs
10. Tua

Hard to know where to place Golota on these lists. Golota was so up and down. (Of course even when he was up, he would lose when fighting a good fighter). You could say that it was a great [perfromance by Lewis or a meltdown by Golota or both.

Since I think Holyfield beat Lewis in the 2nd fight, I wouldn't call that a top Lewis performance. Here's how I'd list them.

1) Holyfield 1-Sure Evander looked lethargic in this fight just as he'd looked vs Bean and how he'd look vs Ruiz soon after, but he was still HW champ and Lewis survived an exciting 3rd round to clearly outpoint Evander down the stretch. To me this fight shows his clear positives and negatives as a fighter.

2) Ray Mercer-I scored this one a close win for Mercer, but I wouldn't have been upset with a draw. Either way, I like this fight for Lewis b/c he was facing a granite-jawed fighter with a good punch and when the going got tough (esp. in the 4th round) he showed he could stand his ground and slug it out if he had to. Also finely displayed a newly tuned uppercut with the aide of Steward. Besides Holyfield in the rematch I see Mercer as Lennox's best opponent he faced.

3) David Tua-Tua was seen as the next champ by most, and while he pretty much threw away any chance he had by coming into the fight at 245 lbs, Lewis still was able to control a hungry (in more ways than one) and dangerous contender over the distance.

4) Tommy Morrison-Morrison had major stamina and chin issues but still was very dangerous in the early rounds and could punch like heck. Lennox completely dominated him, never letting Morrison get set early, and finally stopping an exhausted Tommy in the middle rounds.

5) Razor Ruddock-His coming out party, Lennox wiped the mat with the much hyped Ruddock in under 2 rounds.

6) Frank Bruno-Came from behind to stop a determined Bruno

7) Tony Tucker-Survived a late surge from Tucker and like with Mercer showed he could slug it out if he had to

Hasim Rahman II-Rahman isn't a real world class fighter but I have to put it here b/c the final combination was just so nice.

9) Michael Grant- Lewis disposed of a pretender like champions should, even if he did it partially by holding Grant's head down with one hand and uppercutting with the other

10) Mike Tyson/Vitali Klitschko

Good list, Dempsey. I don't always agree with you on everything, but I always respect your opinions and find them to be very soundly reasoned. In hindsight, apart from the name, and his Lewis's good performance, the Tyson fight doesn't have a whole lot going for it.

Lewis best three fights were Holyfield I, Ruddock, and Golota, followed by Tua.

Tyson was a celebrity fight.

Hey Alp, surely Zeljko Mavrovic slipped your memory when you wrote the hindsight list? 8)

Very subjective... I'll probably look at this list tomorrow and disagree with it... but here goes...

1) Holyfield-the best fighter Lewis ever faced
2) Rahman II
3) Tua
4) Tyson
5) Ruddock
6) Klitschko
7) Morrison
8) Golota
9) Grant
10) Mercer

Tantum wrote:Hey Alp, surely Zeljko Mavrovic slipped your memory when you wrote the hindsight list? 8)

Maybe he should be added to the list. Believe it or not, I never seen this fight. I think I have seen all of Lewis' other fights since he fought Ruddock. I missed it when it happened and they finally replayed it on ESPN Classic a couple of weeks ago and I missed it again.
Why is it that no one ever talks about this fight?

Ambling Alp wrote:

Tantum wrote:Hey Alp, surely Zeljko Mavrovic slipped your memory when you wrote the hindsight list? 8)

Maybe he should be added to the list. Believe it or not, I never seen this fight. I think I have seen all of Lewis' other fights since he fought Ruddock. I missed it when it happened and they finally replayed it on ESPN Classic a couple of weeks ago and I missed it again.
Why is it that no one ever talks about this fight?

I've never seen it either.

It goes under the radar because it was just one of those shitty mandatories that come around from time to time.

I remember seeing the Mavroivic fight, it was some what boring.
I have not seen much of Mavrovic, aprt from this bout.

Hitting the tire with a hammer or axe handle is a common wrestling
training method. Sean Sherk, former UFC LW champion does this.

My Greco-Roman coach who is from Poland does similar training.

Kym

It was posted on Youtube, but it's gone now.