OOTP Developments Forums - View Single Post

wildhawke11 · 03-17-2006, 10:52 PM

Below is a posting i did some while back on another site when a lot of guys were criticising Lennex Lewis.

On the way up it was other fighters who in fact did not want to meet Lewis, that's why he had to take on the best of the up and coming fighters. The truth is it was Riddock Bowe who was trying to avoid a fight with Lewis although they did meet in the amateurs and as someone here already stated Lewis stopped Bowe in the 2nd round. Even Don King who a great many sell there soul to, tried to get Lewis but the guy at least had the guts to tell him to go to hell or words to that affect.

Many call Lewis a boring fighter, and i agree on that one. But lets not forget the fight game is in fact not a game its first and foremost a business and a very hard one to be in. You get a totally different picture if your the fighter instead of being just the observer. A fighters job is to win fights first and foremost, Each fighter has different tools in his make up. To win a fight, and this is i might remind you is your prime objective. You maximise your strengths and minimise your weaknesses. Lewis has done this very affectedly over most of his career you have to agree. In all honesty ask yourself is it better to have the acclaim of Ali and be the shadow of the man you once were. Or be criticised as a fighter and yet walk away from boxing with your health in tact and a future to look forward to.

People say Lewis has a glass chin, i agree its not in the same league as Liston, Foreman Ali etc etc. But its not quite as bad as people make out. Its no worse then Joe Louis had, and Jack Johnson did not have the greatest of chins hence the style he used in his fights. Now if Lewis has such a bad chin, how come he has been down only 2 times in 14 years of pro boxing, and that includes i think about 18 championship fights. Yes, we know he was out in those fights but its still a pretty good record all said and done. Wonder how Joe Louis himself who was put down by some pretty average fighters would react if hit by some of the big guys that Lewis faced.

Marciano down twice but in Rocks favour they were flash KDs
Louis - double figures and lets not forget the fighters over that last decade or so were in most cases bigger and probably hit harder then the majority of Louis's opposition.
Ali 4 as a pro 2 or 3 times as an amateur
Holmes 4 i think
Tyson is it 4 or 5
Holyfield i think 5 or 6
Forman - 3 or 4 times by Ali, Young and Lyle
Liston, Frazier and quite a few more i could name.

Now why was Lewis the guy they say has a glass chin not knocked down more. Because he is not quite the mug some seem to think he is, he made most of his opponents fight not as they would want to. At 38 years of age and being inactive and far from the prime Lewis, he still managed to take Vitali best punches.

To sum up Lewis is far from the best HW but he brings to the table to compensate for a less then great chin enough weapons in his make up. (tremendous strength and power, good jab, fair speed and above all like Gene Tunney very intelligent in boxing terms) Even at his prime he might not have beat the best of the best, but nevertheless he would have been a very tough match up for a lot of them.

In all fairness to Lewis he has to be in the top 20 I place him myself just out of the top 10. Now just cast your mind back in history to the multitude of young men who did battle as pro fighter's in the heavyweight division. Even being ranked in the Top 50 or so is something to be proud of. I think a fighter who has earned himself the right to be in that Top 50 has the right to a little respect when it comes to the fight game.

At least Marciano, Tunney and Lewis all have something in common. There the only 3 fighters in History in the HW division to have at least beat once ever fighter that stepped in the ring with them. Lewis might not even make the top 10 on a lot of peoples list but don't underrate him, at his peak he would have been a good match up to say the least against many of the All time greats. Bigger is not always better, but as history proves in nearly all cases the good big man usually beats the good little man. Just look at the little men throughout history who have tried to take on men in a higher division. (and i dont mean like today when you can jump up a few pounds and win a Title)

I will agree that on a P4P he would have been in trouble with most of them. As i said on another thread, he had bad balance, was not comfortable with the smaller men at times, and did not have the greatest chin, but the truth is it was no worse then the Great Joe Louis had, but what he did bring into the ring was a fair jab, strength, great punch power, and like Tunney used his abilities to his own advantage and did not most times play into the other guys hands. That's why some of his fights just like Larry Holmes at times could be pretty boring. But again just like Holmes he achieved his objectives and won most of his fights, and believe it or not, that's the name of the game *winning*

I never have really liked Lewis as a fighter, and that's the honest truth, but i refuse to let my dislike of him cloud my judgement of him overall. Well, for what its worth My Boxing Friends that's how i read it.

03-17-2006, 10:52 PM	#9
wildhawke11 All Star Starter Join Date: Jun 2002 Location: united kingdom Posts: 1,952	In defense of Lennex Lewis Below is a posting i did some while back on another site when a lot of guys were criticising Lennex Lewis. On the way up it was other fighters who in fact did not want to meet Lewis, that's why he had to take on the best of the up and coming fighters. The truth is it was Riddock Bowe who was trying to avoid a fight with Lewis although they did meet in the amateurs and as someone here already stated Lewis stopped Bowe in the 2nd round. Even Don King who a great many sell there soul to, tried to get Lewis but the guy at least had the guts to tell him to go to hell or words to that affect. Many call Lewis a boring fighter, and i agree on that one. But lets not forget the fight game is in fact not a game its first and foremost a business and a very hard one to be in. You get a totally different picture if your the fighter instead of being just the observer. A fighters job is to win fights first and foremost, Each fighter has different tools in his make up. To win a fight, and this is i might remind you is your prime objective. You maximise your strengths and minimise your weaknesses. Lewis has done this very affectedly over most of his career you have to agree. In all honesty ask yourself is it better to have the acclaim of Ali and be the shadow of the man you once were. Or be criticised as a fighter and yet walk away from boxing with your health in tact and a future to look forward to. People say Lewis has a glass chin, i agree its not in the same league as Liston, Foreman Ali etc etc. But its not quite as bad as people make out. Its no worse then Joe Louis had, and Jack Johnson did not have the greatest of chins hence the style he used in his fights. Now if Lewis has such a bad chin, how come he has been down only 2 times in 14 years of pro boxing, and that includes i think about 18 championship fights. Yes, we know he was out in those fights but its still a pretty good record all said and done. Wonder how Joe Louis himself who was put down by some pretty average fighters would react if hit by some of the big guys that Lewis faced. Marciano down twice but in Rocks favour they were flash KDs Louis - double figures and lets not forget the fighters over that last decade or so were in most cases bigger and probably hit harder then the majority of Louis's opposition. Ali 4 as a pro 2 or 3 times as an amateur Holmes 4 i think Tyson is it 4 or 5 Holyfield i think 5 or 6 Forman - 3 or 4 times by Ali, Young and Lyle Liston, Frazier and quite a few more i could name. Now why was Lewis the guy they say has a glass chin not knocked down more. Because he is not quite the mug some seem to think he is, he made most of his opponents fight not as they would want to. At 38 years of age and being inactive and far from the prime Lewis, he still managed to take Vitali best punches. To sum up Lewis is far from the best HW but he brings to the table to compensate for a less then great chin enough weapons in his make up. (tremendous strength and power, good jab, fair speed and above all like Gene Tunney very intelligent in boxing terms) Even at his prime he might not have beat the best of the best, but nevertheless he would have been a very tough match up for a lot of them. In all fairness to Lewis he has to be in the top 20 I place him myself just out of the top 10. Now just cast your mind back in history to the multitude of young men who did battle as pro fighter's in the heavyweight division. Even being ranked in the Top 50 or so is something to be proud of. I think a fighter who has earned himself the right to be in that Top 50 has the right to a little respect when it comes to the fight game. At least Marciano, Tunney and Lewis all have something in common. There the only 3 fighters in History in the HW division to have at least beat once ever fighter that stepped in the ring with them. Lewis might not even make the top 10 on a lot of peoples list but don't underrate him, at his peak he would have been a good match up to say the least against many of the All time greats. Bigger is not always better, but as history proves in nearly all cases the good big man usually beats the good little man. Just look at the little men throughout history who have tried to take on men in a higher division. (and i dont mean like today when you can jump up a few pounds and win a Title) I will agree that on a P4P he would have been in trouble with most of them. As i said on another thread, he had bad balance, was not comfortable with the smaller men at times, and did not have the greatest chin, but the truth is it was no worse then the Great Joe Louis had, but what he did bring into the ring was a fair jab, strength, great punch power, and like Tunney used his abilities to his own advantage and did not most times play into the other guys hands. That's why some of his fights just like Larry Holmes at times could be pretty boring. But again just like Holmes he achieved his objectives and won most of his fights, and believe it or not, that's the name of the game winning I never have really liked Lewis as a fighter, and that's the honest truth, but i refuse to let my dislike of him cloud my judgement of him overall. Well, for what its worth My Boxing Friends that's how i read it.