Lennox Lewis won me over as a fighter and a person. WIth his British accent and locks he had an appeal. He was a gentle outside and a pure monster inside the ring.I have yet to see a Heavyweight execute the jab the way Lenox did. I am wondering why Lennox doesn not get the same fan fair that some of the retired heavyweights get? If he had a personality like a James Tony or Benards Hopkins would he had been a bigger star? I do not think Lennox gets the respect that other fighters get. The humble card and the nice guy card plays great for Manny and Oscar, Shane and others but it seems Lennox was not in that conversation. Do people think that he left the sport early or does his personality not transcending? For what ever the reason I feel Lennox has been wrongfully forgotten about in the boxing community. I love you Lennox!

Clearly, you've never heard of, much less seen, any fights of Larry Holmes, huh?

As far as his fan fare is concerned, Lennox had the audacity to:

1. Possess a British accent--for the most part, Americans hate British accents (unless it's a hot broad), mainly b/c it sounds arrogant

2. Beat the brakes off Tyson

3. Not be terribly exciting...remember, he was in the Tyson era....people wanted HWs to destroy opponents, NOT be good boxers

4. Be confident in his abilities...see reason #1.

Sorry, never seen Larry Holmes fight I was probably wasn't even born when he was fighting. I am talking about of Lennox's era. i am not ranking him all time. And if you are judging him off of his accent then that is stupid. He was a gentleman plus he beat Tyson which I won so many bets on. Lennox did destroy his opponents. He lost to Hasmin Rammand ( I know I spelled that wrong) but then came back and took his belts by KO! And he represented his Jamaican heritage. Give me a break!

Larry Holmes ended Ali's career that I do know, I think they spared together.

lennox, much like the klitschkos, was a boring/reluctant to engage heavyweight. no one wants to see a guy with every advantage imaginable jab his way to victory. there were a few fights where he did what he was supposed to (blow his opponents out the water) but for the most part...he was too cautious for my liking. i think the big fights that would have really defined his career never happened and that isn't totally his fault. the mike tyson fight happened too late and riddick bowe chose to vacate rather than face lewis...and lewis in return chose to vacate twice rather than face byrd or ruiz. his victory over holyfield wasn't really impressive either in comparison to the bowe/holyfield trilogy. i guess at some point all fighters lose...but a guy in his prime and at the peak of his powers should not be losing by ko to guys like rahman or mccall. he redeemed himself against rahman...but the mccall debacle should have never happened.

I think the main reason is because of his upset KO losses to Rahman and McCall. While he could have potentially beaten anyone in any era, he also could have lost to just about any of the champions throughout history. Many of us have a hard time giving Lewis credit for the Tyson win b/c Mike was a shell of himself at that time and was just there for the payday.

Hasmin Rammand....HAHAHAHAHA. Did you just start watching boxing a couple years ago when Mayweather beat Mosley? He was an arrogant prick btw, but he may go down as one of the best. Prolly in that 10-15 range. Go watch some Larry Holmes fights...smh. Oh, it's Hasim Rahman btw.

Lewis blossomed late and was sort of embraced by Americans at the end of his run. I liked the way the guy conducted himself in and out of the ring. He would have been difficult for any champ of any era to beat.

Because he didn't bring star quality and was overshadowed by other big names.

Here's a break for ya:

He was KTFO (not lose on points or robbed by the ref, but QUEER street) by two guys he had ZERO business being KTFO by: Rahman (btw, google a name first...no name should be butchered that bad) and McCall. Moreover, many (myself included) believe he was gifted a win over Ray Mercer.

I like Lennox and KNOW he was an outstanding HW, but people (read: Americans) didn't like him for the some of the reasons I mentioned earlier. Here's a question for YOU: Exactly WHO did he "destroy"? His most important win, IMO, was the 2nd Holyfield fight and his most impressive may have been stopping Razor Ruddock (a guy who gave Tyson fits).

Gotta love research...

So you are saying that because he did not leave fighters in a coma that makes him a bad heavyweight? I love the way Lennox fought. Knockout are your thing not mine. He boxed and I loved the way he fought. Lennox took for guaranteed McCall and Rahman (thanks for the tip in spelling names ) which is why he came back against Hasim and did what he should of done in the first place. Second I disagree with the Mercer fight, I do.

As far as big punchers are concerned it is far too overrated. Pacquiao knock people out but now he has been exposed for the hype job that he is. If you can knock someone out but can't box for crap what is the purpose? To entertain blood lust fans. I will take the boxer any day. Lennox was a great champion and I know that people under value him for all the wrong reasons.

Lewis was like 6'5", 250lbs for the latter portion of his career and he had a huge right hand capable of knocking out almost anyone. Problem was in my view he fought like he was 6'5" and about 210 pounds and with a weak right hand. More or less I agree with what others said above... the guy had every physical advantage on his side basically: height, reach, weight, punching power, jab, etc yet he fought way too conservatively. That's why Americans didn't really embrace him and why they have not embraced the Klitschko brothers. 9 times out of 10 I'll root for the 6'1" 220 pound heavyweight against any of those guys when I know they have everything going against them physically going into the fight. The expectation is that a guy like Lewis with such gross physical advantages will blow out his opponents in spectacular fashion... but that's not the way he worked. It's fine that he fought that way; a win is a win - but that's why I was never a huge fan of the guy and probably why lots of others in the US share my perspective.

I'm am a HUGE fan of the sweet science. That's why I box myself but if your 6'5" 250 pounds and satisfied with going the distance with guys you have every physical advantage of them I'm sorry, I just cant appreciate what you do. Your a fucking heavyweight...not a damn welterweight. You suppose to be knocking fools senseless. Name one Heavyweight of the golden era that was beloved because he was great at putting on 15 round boxing exhibitions? Ali was a GREAT boxer but he was still taking fools out! I'm sorry but as a HEAVYWEIGHT your suppose to be cold cocking fools!!!

Agreed. Your first post about Lennox was too much of a love letter for me to in any way be associated with, but this one I completely agree with.

Before I respond, where did I say Lennox was a bad HW? **jeopardy theme music playing** Moreover, when/where did I type he had to knock fools out? **more jeopardy theme music**

I even went so far as to say, "I like Lennox..." All I pointed out, was why people may not view him as great. Moreover, if we're gonna downgrade Tyson from "great" due to a not so great HW era, then why does Lennox get a pass? Was he not of the same era? Again, his most heralded win was.....?????

You disagree w/ me about the Mercer fight? That's your opinion...however, youtube that fight again. Lennox lost that fight, my friend.

Lennox Lewis had 42 pro fights, with 32 KOs, 2 losses and 1 draw. I took a look at who is included in that list of KOs and TKOs and for me, he beat up some pretty, tough, dangerous heavyweights of the time, when they were at the top of their games. For example, Michael Grant (at the time he was very, very highly regarded), Shannon Briggs, as someone else said-Razor Ruddock, my main man Frank "it isn't cricket" Bruno, Andrew Golota, Tyrell Biggs, Tommy "the great white hope" Morrison. As far as Tyson, supposedly when they were amateurs they fought and Lennox beat the snot out of Tyson, but since they were amateurs that's just an interesting story, nothing more than that.
The circumstances under which he first lost to Rahman and subsequent demolishing of Baltimore's finest should show that Rahman was never on Lewis' level.
Lewis should never be compared to a Klitschko, just look at his level of opposition as compared to theirs. He fought David Tua at his prime and at his prime, David Tua was a bad S.O.B. Lewis beat the lord of the 'roids, Evander Holyfield twice, when Holyfield was at his prime.
Lewis is definitely a hall of fame heavyweight and one of the all time great HWs. I didn't say the best, but definitely up there. IMO he was better than Holyfield. Haha, yeah fuck it, I said it, he was better than Holyfield.

Not to be an asshole but you answered your own question there. Ali's bread and butter was 15 round boxing exhibitions. His most notable knockouts are Liston and Foreman...but other than that Ali is THEE pivotal "golden era" (your words not mine) boxer who scored (questionable)decision win after decision win. Ali knocked out, I might be a few digits off, around 10 opponents. And a large majority of them were crummy and substantially smaller than ali. the rest are technical knock outs.

your opinion is your opinion. but i do think it is a popular misconception that the bigger you are the more knockouts you should be able get. I see some of the reasoning behind it...but the bigger you are the more energy it requires to knock a head off, and the longer your legs the more difficult it is to balance and coordinate your body movements

thats why in the future, vitali is gonna get his fuckin due cause his KO percentage is through the roof

Cheesey....first and foremost, you know the drill: It ain't easy......

Now, back to the task at hand. Again, Holyfield & Razor Ruddock were the most accomplished victories (along w/ Vitali) on his resume, IMO. I agree, he beat some tough fighters, but how many of the aforementioned would you call "great....or REALLY good"? This is NOT to say LL isn't a HOF'r, b/c he IS, but I dont' want to exaggerate or downgrade one's skill.

You implied that with his physical gifts he should of destroyed people, Now Nasty Nas how else am I suppose to take that? You inference that he wasn't a good heavyweight because he did not kill his opponents. You said he had a boring style of fighting and what his physical gifts he should of being laying dudes outs.
Mercer did not beat Lennox. Lennox was a little off but he did enough to win the fight. While at work I will watch the fight tomorrow and further comment on it. When he beat Klitschko. He open up that dude's eye and mustered up enough to finish the fight. Then he retired. I believe if Lennox had a had a Tyson type of attitude people would be praising him. I realize that being a gentleman in boxing is no no. Shane Mosley is a nice guy but he knocked people out at the same time the nice guy thing makes him look like a punk especially when he is basically hugging and kissing touching gloves in every damn round (Pacquiao and tried to do it with Mayweather).

Lennox is a great champion. He did it differentl but like Frank ol blue eyes Sinatra he did it his way and that is what I dig!

I think that I'll start posting with my full name i.e. Greazy Cheesey... the ironic thing is that cheese and I don't really agree with each other, but when I first heard that word "cheese" and over the years saw the power it holds, how could I not end up legally changing my name to Cheesey1...Greazy Cheesey 1.

In the 90s and early '00s, those guys were undoubtedly some of the best that the HW division had to offer. Since Lennox Lewis, no one in the HW division has fought and beaten the level of opponents that he did. Yeah the Klitschkos can box and do some damage, but they just haven't fought the level of opposition that he did. Speaking of them, Vitali is going to fight Dereck Chisora. WTF? I'm glad that Chisora's showing people that Zimbabwe isn't all fucked up and can produce an internationally known heavyweight, but he's still an average heavyweight, who sometimes crosses the line into tomato can territory. I would love to see a prime David Tua fight Vitali, or Wlad and see what happens. Or Razor Ruddock, damn even an in his prime Michael Grant.

Lennox Lewis - Blah! He was Larry Holmes lite.

The reason why fans didn't gravitate toward him had nothing to do with his Jafakin English accent or his supposedly "gentlemanly ways". It's because dude was an incredibly arrogant prick. Now boxing has, and had, plenty of such folks but Lewis was the type of guy who acted like he was doing boxing a favor by boxing or as he put it "bringing class to the sport". He acted like if he wasn't boxing he would be out discovering the cure for cancer or advancing string theory physics so, we all should have been happy that he deigned to box and been grateful for for his presence,

Blah I say! GTFO with Lennox Lewis.

+1

Quick question: What are you talking about? I challenge you to find WHERE I implied, much less said any of those things. You've essentially combined 2 or 3 posters' responses and addressed them to my thread. LOL

Here's what I find funny, you initially used the word "destroy", but now are saying I'm somehow unfairly assessing Lennox (though I've done nothing of the sort), b/c I've implied (which I never did) he isn't "laying dudes out". <-----that would be comical if it weren't so blatantly hypocritical. All I asked was, "exactly who did he destroy?"**Side Note** Francois Botha was a complete destruction** Here's another question, "what does the word 'destroy' mean where you're from? Apparently, I'm using it wrong. Moreover, I never called him boring nor did I even remotely imply it. Help me out; how did you come to these conclusions?

Btw, I love how you praised Lennox for winning on "cuts", but was essentially behind on EVERY card up until the stoppage.

Anybody tired yet???

Nope, but that's because I just hired Angel Hernandez aka Angel Heredia as my new conditioning coach....(the old me would've said Alex Ariza, but no more as I now respect Ariza - let bygones be bygones).

Most of the criticisms of Lennox seem to be about his personality. The numbers don't lie and the level of opposition doesn't lie. Lennox "the Lion" Lewis. Yes mi bredda, or yes guv' (depends on where he is at the time).

Lennox by outboxing his opponents destroyed them. He put on a damn clinic is the ring. You stated that people ( I do not know if you inculde yourself in that category, I am guessing that you are) wanted to see knockouts. I said I like to see the the art of the sport, knockouts are great but to see someone break down an opponent that is a beautiful thing. That is what I meant by destroyed. Not big knock outs, again that is your thing. And being confident has nothing to do with an accent. Amir Khan was over confident and he went home titleless. And how was Lennox not exciting? Your argument blows me away. I am actually a little surprised. To each its own. And he beat Mercer

Buddy I think your missing my point. Unlike LL, Ali actually attempted to take his opponents out instead of playing it safe. Did he do it at a high percentage? No! Did he atleast use his advantages? Yes! Lewis was comfortable going an easy 12.

I understand the science of bigger men and the expectations so the break down wasn't necessary.

As far as Vitali getting is due...it's all BS. On paper it looks good but if you actually watched him fight you know he isn't a big KO puncher. He stops most of his opponents with an accumulation of punches. Of course they don't seperate it with TKO and KO percentage, they just put it all together so folks who never seen him fought will think he was a monster. Far Far from it but he is damn good.

NOW, I totally see what you mean. SMDH

I see, I need to actually highlight "sarcasm" for you. SMDH

Yep! Its like throwing a frisbee at a crossed eyed puppy and hoping for better results

Well - fair enough ill just agree to disagree about ali

as far as vitali goes, maybe it was not your intention, it sounds like you're inferring I haven't watched his outings - i have. lol.

I'm a fan so its not as if i don't have bias. That said, I personally dont care whether someone gets the job done through solid, heavy singular punches or an accumulation of punishment and resulting frustration - different strokes for different folks. I think vitali's ko % is more indicative of his skill and size than his power and aggression. His resume can easily be critiqued, its just that the criticism is the more subscribed to, and published; and I think there is more to be said about vitali than the often used tomato-can critique.

plenty disagree with me and thats fine. i'm not saying vitali is the BEST ever or anything of the sort, just saying it is rare to hear either get a fair critique and I think vitali eventually will get it after they leave boxing cause their presence is not appreciated by the majority of this era's fans.

THANK YOU and +1