Mike Samuels
Everyone has a say in the, what seem to be, never-ending trials and tribulations of Lennox Lewis and Vladimir Klitschko. Does Lennox need to starch the big Ukrainian giant to "cement his legacy?" Was Tin Mike not enough? The opinions of VARIOUS writers (including this badass one himself) have been put on the table and still, the FANS still will not rest! So it’s time for Boxings Baddest minds to come together and fire away! Go ahead and dive in, but do so with caution. It could get ugly!
I agree. I have followed Klitschko for the past couple of years. It may be very appealing for him to take a shot at Lewis, but he needs at least a couple of more fights that will challenge his chin and his ability to adjust. McCline would be that type of opponent. I would love to see that fight. I am not a pro-Lewis person, but he has done nothing but impress me over the past couple of years.
Thanks,
- B.
I wouldn’t bet my money on ever seeing Klitschko-McCline in the same, at least not anytime soon. McCline’s team is looking to build their fighter up and give him a test here and there, but nothing too dangerous. Either one of the Klitschko brothers would be too risky for the J-Dawg, or I would see them stopping him early. I mean, did you see how scared McCline was for the first half of the fight with Briggs? He has a lot of learning to do before he is tested by a number contender.
If Lewis is going to fight Vladimir it has to be none. Age is not on his side. Hell, by the time Lewis fights Klitschko (presuming he takes two more fights) he will have to switch from the small bottle of Just for Men to the month’s supply package. I think Klitschko is ready, but Lewis has the final say. And until he decides what he is going to do, the boxing world (at least the heavyweight followers) are all going to be held hostage. So hurry up, Lewis, get to business!
I really wish people would just drop the whole "Lewis only beats great boxers when they are past their prime" subject. So what if Tyson is past his prime, SO IS LEWIS. They guy is older than Tyson and damn near Holyfields age. Does Lewis for some reason have a longer prime? No, he doesn't. The fact is, Lewis beat both these men past their primes, but he is as well, so that pretty much cancels out that problem. Can't we all just face it that Lewis is a better fighter than both Tyson and Holyfield?!
- Chris Ludlow
It may seem like Lennox is past his prime, but like wine, he gets better with age. A boxers prime has a funny way of happening, and right now I would place Lewis in his ultimate prime. It is slowly fading though, as age will sooner or later get the better part of him. You could speculate as to who would have won if Tyson, Lewis and Holyfield all fought each other in the early part of the nineties, but what’s the point? I think Holyfield has had the better career out of Tyson and Lewis, but no matter what, when people want to see who is better they will look at the score, and it’s definitely in Lewis’ favor considering that he has beaten both Tyson and Holyfield.
We all knew Tyson was out of his prime, so Lewis destroying him was no surprise. When Holyfield fought Lewis he was actually considered to be getting his second wind in the sport. After all, he had just stopped the once immortal Mike Tyson. You see, Chris, the arguments can range from just about anything, but I agree with you for the most part – Lennox should be given his props. But his wins over Tyson and Holyfield don’t necessarily put him at the top as far as an overall career goes. Just think about it.
Mike, I would have to agree with you on your thoughts on Lewis. I don't
like the guy much at all but people need to give him a break. He is a good
champion. I just finished reading your mailbag, and enjoyed it quite a bit.
Some of the people need to get a little more educated on boxing before
running their mouth about all of the fighters. Can't wait to see the
rematch of Mosley and Vernon. I hope Sugar wins but not quite sure it will
happen. Vernon is a great fighter head butt or no head butt. I am also
looking forward to Nando and Oscar. I think Oscar will pull out a close
one. It is hard to pick a fight when you like both of the fighters. Either
way boxing will be a winner with these two getting it on. Do you think
Etienne will be much of a force in the upcoming years? I'm not sure. Fres
sure put a whoopin on him. Keep up the good work.
- Kyle Lindsey/Tulsa
It’s nice to see that you have an open mind. Believe it or not, I get a lot of crazy drops in my box, and your outlook is refreshing. Thank you for that. Lewis needs a break and I think he will get one. Like you, I don’t particularly like the guy either. Just something about him, I guess. Mosley and Forrest get it on this weekend and I have to say, this is one of the better fights of the year. I’m going with my boy, Shane-O. I just got a feeling he’s going to even the score this time ‘round. But with everything said, I hope that it is a great fight and not as one sided as the first classic. You are right when you realize you can’t count the Viper out. No way. The beating he put on the Sugar man was phenomenal. Let’s see if he can repeat the pounding on the 20th, eh?
Oscar and Vargas is probably the fight of the year in terms of hype. I’m pulling for De la Hoya. But Vargas is a hungry kid and a win over his childhood idol is something I KNOW he wants badly. So I KNOW he will be ready to go to war. What about Oscar? Well I’m not sure where his head will be, but hopefully concentrated on the Mexican warrior, or else it could be a short night.
The Black Rhino has A LOT of learning to do, but he’s a positive for the sport and very exciting. I think he will get better as time progresses. Who knows where he’ll be in two years – probably somewhere near the top.
Okay, this whole Lennox Lewis greatness thing is getting to me. His fans make him out to be one of the greatest boxers of all time." He has cemented his legacy", "No one can beat him", "His losses to McCall and Rahman were flukes, lucky, "He has beaten everyone and is the greatest heavyweight in history".
Lewis deserves credit and a place in boxing history. I am sorry to say that he has no right being included with the likes of Ali,Marcianno or Louis, those guys are legends-end of story. You can argue that he was the dominant fighter of the 90’s; but just how impressive was that record?
1990- Lewis's most active year 8 fights and 8 wins, 7out of the 8 with KO's. No notable opposition.
1991-4 fights and 4 wins with 4KO's. Lewis's first big name fight against ex-champion Mike Weaver looking for one last pay check. Also one last parting gift for Tyrell Biggs.
1992- 4 fights and 4 wins including a very impressive win over Razor Ruddick. Lewis's first win over a true top 10.
1993- 2 fights. A boring 12 round holding competition with Tucker were the fans should have been paid to sit and watch and a good KO over everyone's doormat Frank Bruno. Frank is a hell of a nice guy though!
1994- 2 fights. A lethargic 8th round KO over unknown Phil Jackson (who?) and of course the now famous KO loss to the mentally challenged Oliver McCall.
So here we have half of the 90's and what has Lennox done or proven? His one legitimate fight against Razor Ruddock and he looked great! But that is it! Not bad for a future heavyweight champ but definitely not the resume for consideration as an all time great. I really can't see anyone arguing differently. Lewis at this time is 29. Ali at 29 hmm lets not go there.
1995- 3 fights. 2 no names and Tommy Morrison. Lewis wins all 3 and disposes of Tommy Morrison in 6. A good showing against Morrison for Lewis but only par for the course. Nothing special about Morrison to say the least.
1996- 1 fight. Ray Mercer! A close and controversial fight. Lewis's toughest fight, no doubt. Lewis probably gained the most from this fight in terms of maturity, experience and insight into what it takes to win. This is a fight that Lewis needs to win by KO in the latter rounds to be considered as an all time great. Even with his great advantage in height, size and reach he can only squeak out a very close decision. Lewis also has both his eyes almost closed from swelling and is looking pretty rough. Give him credit for a going 12 and hanging in tough against a super tough opponent. Offers no rematch to Mercer.
1997- 3 fights. Regained his WBC title from Oliver McCall who was having a nervous breakdown in the ring and crying. I am not sure if he was in a mental hospital after that one. With McCall walking around in circles and talking to the voices inside his head the referee stepped in to stop this contest or whatever you want to call it.Henry Akinwande followed and with what happened there the fans should have been refunded and given free dinner for that pathetic display by both fighters. Lewis's final fight for the year was against Golatta and he looked very good. Give credit to Lewis for a 1st round pounding of Golatta. Gollata at that time was a top 10 and Lewis finished him quickly, good work.
1998- 2 fights. In both these fights Lewis was seriously rattled. In his first fight Shannon Briggs seriously hurt Lennox but his lack of experience failed to produce a KO. Give Lennox credit for having the experience to hang on and come back, but the only problem is that we are talking about Shannon Briggs an absolute nobody when we look at the history of boxing. The 2nd fight was against a relatively unknown Croatian by the name of Zeljko Mavrovic. Not only did Lewis never have this guy in serious trouble he took the harder shots and was rocked and hurt several times. Lewis managed to win a decision others thought should have been much closer.
1999- 2 fights and Lewis's claim to fame in the 90's. 1st fight Lewis won no question but what did he do to make people think that we have a special boxer in front of us, someone who is an all time great, and someone who can be compared with the greatest boxers of all time. Lewis needed a knockout for that to happen, but he himself came close to being KO'd in the 3rd round of their first fight. Again, for a guy who has tremendous height, size and reach advantage he did only enough to win the rounds. A smart fighter? Yes, absolutely. An all time great? Not in my books or many others. The 2nd fight, a virtual toss-up. Again what special skill or unbelievable boxing talent did Lewis display for people to think he is an all time great? Where is the proof? I have it on tape but I just can't see the brilliance of an Ali or the toughness of a Marcianno or incredible head movement or great footwork, where is it? ; Someone please show me.All I see is a very even fight between a Super heavyweight and a blown up light heavyweight with heart and deteriorating boxing skills.
So, here we have the 2nd half of the 90's and again I ask what the hell has Lewis done to include him along side the all time greats. This would have been like a vacation for someone like Ali. 11 fights in 5 years and then you have people arguing that you may be the greatest heavyweight ever.
To conclude, Lewis was/is a very good champion and I give him credit for being an intelligent and decent person who has done a good job representing boxing as it's heavyweight champion and Lewis has been blessed with great natural god given boxing attributes such as size, speed, reach, and power. Lewis deserves his place in boxing but just not with the very best.
- Dan V.
Great breakdown, Danny boy! I agree that Lewis hasn’t fought the same class of fighters as some of those greats you mention (Ali, Louis, Marciano), but that doesn’t mean he can’t go down as an all-time great. Lewis beat everyone that he faced in his era, so basically he pretty much dominated his era. So you have to put him as one of the top. Maybe not top ten, maybe not top twenty, but he’s around there.
I agree with most of your thoughts from the above article...I'd like to see Klitschko take another fight or 2 to prove he has heart. I think he has the mechanics to put any heavy-weight down for the count...I mean did you see the way he can lead with that left hook! Simply amazing to watch. My only concern is that I've never seen Klitschko "take" a 3/4 punch combination in the early or late stages of a fight. I think (and am hoping) that Klitschko takes a few more fights to show Lennox he has mechanics and heart AND he can attract a crowd hence $$. It'll be interesting to see how this unfolds...I just hope Lennox sticks around long enough to let it happen.
Yeah, we all hope Lewis sticks around. A lot of interesting things could happen. Lennox has the ball in his court. We’re all just waiting.
Lewis has a couple reasons to fear Klitschko. Number one being Klitschko is a lot younger than Lewis as you said and hes MUCH faster and more powerfull than lewis. The only fighter that lewis has faced that has the kind of speed and power that Klitschko has is Mike Tyson and has been said that Klitschko is even faster than tyson. now imagine a mike tyson right now at 26 years old six foot six and the power he has and you will come up with an image in your head of a ukranian giant of the name Klitschko. now lewis at 36 almost 37 has to be thinking about his health and his retirement. seeing how smart he is in the ring he has to be thinking about what could happen to him if he went in with the much younger, much faster and more powerfull Vladimir klitschko. Now ray mercer said that lewis hit harder than klitschko but then again mercer had never been put on the canvas by a head shot before the night he met klitschko in which he went down very quickly in the first round of a perfect preformance by the Ukrainian. My opinion of what could happen are, klitschko by KO or if lewis should win by stoppage due to cuts or by a decision. I don’t see lewis KOing him because of Klitschko great ability to move and slip punches in the ring. Stoppage due to cuts or by a decision. I don’t see lewis KOing him because of Klitschko great ability to move and slip punches in the ring.
Whoa there. Perhaps Lewis fears Klitschko, or maybe he just doesn’t see a point in taking a chance at damaging his legacy. After all, all of the Lewis haters are just waiting for him to fumble before he retires.
No way is Klitschko like Tyson. Well, not the Tyson of 26 (considering that he was behind bars in Indy), and certainly not the bad boy Tyson of ’88. Tyson provided more angles than Klitschko, bobbed and weaved, and attacked the body like a crazy man. Klitschko is a solid boxer, and right now I wouldn’t doubt that he could beat Lewis, but it wouldn’t be a landslide. It’d be close, and I’d put my money on Lewis if it ever happens.
Klitschko dropped Mercer, who has never been down (besides taking a knee) in his career. But he was also 41. The Ukrainian giant is certainly great for the sport and sooner or later he’ll be a champion. That’s for sure.
Dear Mike,
Thanks for your comments, The Fury goes on. While I appreciate your opinion, I totally disagree with it. Lennox is not a better fighter than Holyfield. Let me prove it to you and challenge you to prove me wrong.
On both fights Lewis has cheated with the help of his trainer Emmanuel Steward.
On the first fight, before the fight starts. Emmanuel Steward complained about Holyfield about wearing his protective belt two high in order to protect body punches having an effect.
The fact of the matter is that Emmanuel Steward had planned for Lennox to wear his protective belt too high so to protect Holyfield punches having an effect. This is clearly been seen when Lennox came into the ring. By complaining firstly this will disguise the referee from checking/watching Lennox protective belt.
This is the Game plan that Steward advised Lennox to play. You have a (natural) height advantage (No Boxing Skill) against Holyfield; this will allow you to jab from the outside, while Holyfield jabs cannot reach you due to your height.
Holyfield strongest point (Game Plan) is to work on your (Lennox) body. His body punches won't have an effect as you will be wearing your protective belt too high. (Illegal tactics - Cheating - ). You just keep jabbing and work from the outside, keep running away as soon as Holyfield fight too close, if you can't keep him away, grab, hold clinch and lean on him using your body weight, which will make him very tired.
The result Lennox fought very unimpressively kept running and Holyfield looked the better fighter as he was doing more work without a great effect (protective belt).
The fight was scored draw. Lennox start crying like a baby, You the media never mentioned how Lennox cheated as it was perfectly clear how he wore his belt, it made very obvious why E. Steward complained before the fight. Also, it was never said or proven before that Holyfield wore his belt too high, where are the facts that Steward based his complain.
Therefore Lennox never won the first fight, according the Judges it was a draw. If it was a fair fight without using any dirty tactics, Holyfield would have won.
Holyfield never complained as he is a great sportsman. He does his talking in the ring. Lennox complains, cries, cheats to get what he wants.
Second fight, Holyfield definitely won the fight. Lennox did more work but still couldn't have won as he fights cowardly using his natural height and reach advantage (No boxing skill). Holyfield did most of the hard work and fought bravely but it looked that Lennox is doing more work with his jab (counter punching) and due the fact that Lennox complained too much about the judges in the first fight. The fight was given to Lennox. Holyfield never lost. (Watch it again, Watch the unfairness)
First Fight a Draw, Second Fight Holyfiled won. (There are a lot of unfair things in boxing)
To proof my point to you further, look at the fight Lennox vs. Tua. Lennox used the same cheating tactics. He fought cowardly doesn't do any impressive work, relies on his natural Height, Reach, Counter punching from the outside, Holding or Running, and that’s the way he wins most of his fights. (He is boring as he does not show any skill).
Despite the fact that Holyfield does not enjoy the same natural advantage of Height, Weight & Reach, which was a natural disadvantage against Lennox, he definitely showed Boxing Skill which Lennox doesn't have or show.
Boxing Skill is what counts, not a natural advantage of Reach, Height, & Weight. Based on this FACTS the first fight was definitely the correct decision a DRAW and the second fight Evander should have WON.
Therefore I urge you, why don't you mention about Lennox tactics in your report, so the public can read it and get educated with correct & fair analysis of Lennox Lewis.
Because of the way Lennox fights (cowardly) he will never be regarded as a great champion or one of the greatest or the undisputed champion as he calls himself.
And definitely as you said, He just isn’t the same as Lennox Lewis, he is much better than Lennox (Based on the first fight a draw and the second 1-0 to Holyfield).
If you still got your doubts (I advice you to read the above again until you understand) what the Legend Evander accomplished against Lennox Lewis.
I await your comments.
- A Abraham
Thanks for your insight, but c'mon on, dude, you are digging pretty deep to find an excuse for the reasons Holyfield lost. I do not think that overall Lewis is a better fighter than Evander, because Evander was one bad mofo early in his career and fought damn near everyone. The only loss I really think he got whooped in was against Michael Moorer.
Lewis' belt may have been high, but that factor alone does not warrant the reason that Holyfield was schooled in the first fight. I agree that the second fight was close, as I had Lewis winning it by only two points, but the first fight was highway robbery when it was called a draw.
Cheating is a bit rough. Strategy is used in boxing. Kind of like the way Holyfield uses his head and never gets warned or points taken away. I have seen no-name boxers do the same thing, and they are disqualified on the spot. But Holyfield has a cushion, so to speak, because he is a legend of the game, and he knows how to play things to his advantage.
For instance, look at both fights with Tyson and his fight with Rahman. Watch the replays and you can see that he comes in straight with his head. But I don't discredit his wins over Tyson and The Rock based solely on the head butts. Just like you shouldn't get bent out of shape and say that Holyfield would have won had Lewis' protector been lower. That's a pretty low key escape method and I'm sorry, but I just don't buy it. There are too many holes.
It was Lewis' excellent counter punching and jab, followed by slick movement that beat Holyfield. Nothing else.
Oh, about Lewis being a coward. Would you consider Sweet Pea one, too, because of his style? PUHLEASE!
Mike Samuels can be reached for your comments at Tyson180@aol.com
