lol agahahah good fuckin one man! I say mike tyson is the best not boxer but fighter using boxing to fight, look at him he is 5'1 and knocked everyone out, look at Hollyfield, Lewis these are very big guys, by the time Tyson fought Lewis he used alot of drugs and was not the same anymore, and say what you like but Tyson rly could have beaten Hollyfield he was always more determined to win, and that made him lose his discipline when Holly-molly headbutted him. such a small fighter for a heavyweight, unstoppable and relentless, huge spiritual and physical preparation,said he never studies his opponents just trains for 10 rounds. fighting like Achilles he always says that the spirit makes you a great fighter. most exciting style of all time
I respect Lewis, but this is B.S. Beating Tyson in 2002 means absolutely nothing. Beating him in 1985-1989 would mean everything. Even if Tyson was one-dimensional (which he is not), nobody could cope with his speed, agility, head movement and power. Tyson knocked people out because they couldn't see his punches coming. Tyson threw a 3 punch combo and the opponent didn't even see one punch coming. Prime Tyson also had excellent chin. Tyson didn't jab, every punch he threw had mean intentions. He was like a raptor hunting down big and slow dinosaurs. He was not a staller, he never coasted to victory, he fought to finish the fight as soon as possible. He is everything the boxing is not today. He was one of a kind.
Corsa15DT Marciano would have destroyed Tyson , lewis was past the prime when he gave Tyson a boxing lesson my friend ,lewis prime would have knocked out Tyson prime.
Tyson was the heavyweight champion while lewis was still in the olympics lol. How do you duck someone who is 0-0 as a pro and Tyson was 37-0 as a pro? And Tyson lost the year Lewis went pro lol. Lewis acts like he beat the prime Tyson.
I know. As intelligent as Lewis is, he's also a one pompous prick pretending to be the best there ever was. Lets not forget who put him to sleep on more than one occasion. He refuses to acknowledge M. Tyson's skills because he's jealous that Tyson is the one generations to come will be learning/talking about as being the youngest champ in history and famous KO king, not him.
+Cory Flavell Absolute rubbish, Tyson didn't duck Lewis for one minute. Tyson was contractually progressing with frank Bruno at the time. Your trying to tell me Mike Tyson was scared of Lewis? Absolutelyno chance, think youll find its Lewis who waited and waited and waited. Fighting a bankrupt, overweight, slow, past prime Tyson makes more sense for Lewis. Every boxing fan should know Lewis vs Tyson in their Prime= Lewis gets Knocked out in 4 rounds
Im not 100% sure Lennox would beat a Prime Mike Tyson..... it took him 8 rounds to beat a terrible version of Tyson way past his prime.... Tyson at 23 was fast , great stamina , great chin , fast hands and bombs...he would only need to land once
Tyson never had great stamina. Besides Lewis could have ended that fight way earlier he punished Tyson for his behaviour. So that theory goes out the window. Both fighters had slowed down. Lewis had bombs in his hands also. He finished the same opponents as tyson quicker & in more devastating fashion.
tony bennett Yes Tyson did used to have good stamina when he wont the undisputed world title he was going 12 rounds easy with the likes of Bonecrusher Smith & Mitch Blood Green , when Lewis beat Tyson he was out of him prime by a good decade even Lewis said after the fight Tyson peaked at 19 ... Lewis finished Razor Ruddock quicker, but Tyson finished Bruno quicker...that comes down to styles...if you want to talk about it like that Tyson had more 1 round finishes at the top level then anyone... a 22 year old would have to fight a 33 year old Lewis for them both to be at there prime.... Heavyweights tend to reach there peak in there early to mid 30s , Tyson was a freak of nature who peaked at 19 - 23 before going to prison.... he didnt box a single round for 3 years in prison...while guys like Lennox and Holyfield remained active. Prison ruined Tyson
Khaos969 Are you for real you have just hit the nail on the head. Tyson went all 12 rounds with Bonecrusher who Marvis Frazier beat hardly impressive & 10 rounds with Mitch fucking green. If that had been Lennox neither man would have lasted near those rounds. It is a known fact stated from Tyson own mouth he had severe asthma problems. That is why he always tried to finish fights as early as possible. You can never say this fighter would have won over that fighter when the fought Tyson was second best end of.
I dont care what anyone says, Tyson in his prime would kill Lewis at his best. Plus he's not fooling anyone, he was scared shitless of Vitali and Vitali was winning every single round of that fight before he got the cut. he was lucky to escape that fight due to stoppage and quickly retired right after so he didnt have to do it again.
+Rhyme Oddysey Tyson always struggled with Big heavyweights, even in his prime, James smith, mitch green, Jose ribalta, tony tucker, james douglas all took him the distance, Even if tyson won every round he couldn't dominate them like he could the smaller heavyweights, Lewis was bigger, stronger, heavier and far more skilled then any of those guys just mentioned, So if Tyson at his pinaccle, couldn't k.o bonecrusher smith, how would he ko lewis
look at it this way, vitali klitschko was winning every round against lewis before they stopped the fight due to a cut. lewis retired right after even though he promised a rematch. Tyson in his prime would have had a very good shit at vitali and would have definitely made it a much closer fight than when klitschko was whoopin lewis BiggieBigLnPac
Rhyme Oddysey oh please, both k brothers would of slaughtered Tyson, People seem caught up on this four year stint that Tyson had in the 80's, he really wasn't that impressive because 90% of the guys he fought where bums. He even lost to a bum (James Douglas)
You probably haven't watched the Lennox Lewis documentary here on youtube, where it becomes clear that Lewis and Tyson were sparring frequently when both were younger and Tyson only won once (in their first encounter when he overwhelmed an unprepared Lewis with his animal ferocity - after that it was all Lewis. That's why Tyson and lots of others ducked Lennox all the time. Why do you think he paid him 4 million bucks NOT to fight him?).
Tyson was in bad shape and lost many fights to low-class heavyweights. If Tyson was mentaly and physically preped like the twenties. Then no chance for any boxer in the ring. Most ppl dont agree with Lewis.
Lara Ilara stupid you are go look at the fight it was abvious. Lenox ducked Vitali after promising him rematch. Fight was stopped for a medical reason Vitali was winning cards can tell. On top of everything after lenox saw how he whipped Kirk Johnson he slowly walkes to sunset Larry Merchants words. Ohh lets not forget What Manny Steward Lenoxs trainer said lol whn he was training Wladimir. One way or another Lenox would of folded. Before u attack me get ur facts together.
Ellier Dov amir khan was winning before canelo blew him out. the "medical" reason you mentioned was caused by a punch from lewis. vitali was in his prime and lewis was washed. lets not just look at score-card because we have to also look at the damages. be honest! are you seriously going to rank vitali over lewis in terms of greatest of all times?
hhahaah KO vs stoppage come on, yes I would and not just me. Lenoxx Trainer and many more, watch Vitali VS Kirk johnson you know what I am talkin about. And if you had any brain you wouldnt compare any other division to heavyweights, Diff ball game, As of all time greatest ROCKY MARCIANO is.
Tyson was a very limited fighter. He had power & speed. Had no stamina past the 5th round. Your simply wrong Lewis knew how to dea\l with Tyson he was not hard to figure out. Holyfield beat him pretty easy also.
"At my worst I beat Vitali." Prove it. You could just as easily say pre-prime Vitali dominated near prime Lewis. What is a fact is Vitali dominated Lewis in that fight landing 157 punches to Lewis's 102, and Vitali beating him on the score cards but two rounds. Lewis promised Vitali a rematch, then thought better of it when Vitali knockout out his next opponents in only two rounds. The look on Lewis's face after the fight was of a badly beaten man. Vitali retired Lewis.
David Keir lewis was 38 years old and took the fight on short notice and if the fight had continued klitchko would have never been able to fight again. lewis won they had to stop it = tko keep dreaming
+Toon Talk with Mina & Moby Wrong, Lewis was actually training for a world heavyweight fight, and his opponent got injured, so Vitali took the fight with only 10 days notice. Vitali landed over 50% more punches against Lewis, and won twice as many rounds as Lewis. Lewis was rocked and hurt twice, and was the more tired at the end of the fight, Lewis was ready to get TKO'ed. Lewis promised Vitali a rematch after the fight, but after Vitali knocked out his next opponent in only 2 rounds, Lewis chickened out. Vitali dominated Lewis so bad he retired. Vitali retired Lennox Lewis.
+David Keir I respect Lewis as a hell of a fighter. But he's definitely changed his story. The fight before Vitali (against Tyson) he was talking about how he aged like fine wine and was just getting better. Then, after his poor showing against Vitali, he starts talking about how he was at his worst. Can't have it both ways.
+David Keir "'At my worst I beat Vitali.' Prove it." ???????? He did prove it. Did you not see the fight? "You could just as easily say pre-prime Vitali dominated near prime Lewis." -- Yeah, you can say those words. Nothing is stopping from saying stupid stuff. ---- "pre-prime Vitali" ------ He was 31 years old. That is prime. That was the last fight he lost. ---- "dominated" ------ WHAT? It was 4 rounds to 2. [should have been 3 -3] All that means is he won one more round. 6 rounds to 0 is dominating. Lewis turned the tide anyway. Lewis was landing huge uppercuts in the 6th while slapped his punches. Vitali was done. ---- "near prime Lewis" ------ Again, WHAT?!? Apparently you have never seen the man fight before. He was in great shape against Tyson and he has no where near prime. In his fight against Klitschko he was, as Jim Lampley put it, "flagrantly out of shape." "What is a fact is Vitali dominated Lewis in that fight landing 157 punches to Lewis's 102, and Vitali beating him on the score cards but two rounds." -- LOL "but two rounds" It was 4 rounds to 2. He only won one more round and Lewis has doing the heavy damage late while Vitali faded. "Lewis promised Vitali a rematch, then thought better of it when Vitali knockout out his next opponents in only two rounds." -- 1. What was he supposed to say when the disrespectful knuckle-head was bugging him in the ring after the fight? 2. Lewis doesn't owe anyone a thing. -- "Vitali knockout out his next opponents in only two rounds." ---- Thanks for mentioning that, because, it proved that Lewis at his worst beat a prime Vitali. "The look on Lewis's face after the fight was of a badly beaten man." -- Do you know what confirmation bias is? Because, you need to look it up. -- Oh the sweet sweet irony, did you see Vitali's face? He had the look of a man who had been through a train wreck. "Vitali retired Lewis." -- Lewis beat all best heavyweights of his era and he beat the best one of the next era, when he pounded Vitali's face in. And he did it when he was a his worst. Class Dismissed ! *mic drop*
Even Mike Tyson way past his prime still Lennox is scared he hugged him the whole fight and u r asking me what if he fought 1988 Tyson with Kevin Rooney ? Two letters KO
I seem to recall that Tyson kept whining at the Ref during his fight with Lewis... I also recall Tyson was saying; 'I Can't! I Can't!' when his corner were telling him to take the fight to Lewis... You're obviously ignoring aspects to favour your guy.
Jackal Fox right..tyson said that..I heared it too...he was not able to punch...he almost stand in the ring like a Heavybag and take 8 rounds hard punches...no movement no skills....this fight i dont really interested in this fight..i want to see fighters in grteat shape and not someone who fight just for the money...tyson was out of prime still few years and no real fighter anymore and not Interested at the Title..just the money to pay his liabilities...Lennox talking to big...he is not so a great champion like Tyson was...
Martin Klobschinsky All Boxers talk big, Ali did, as did Frazer, Foreman, Lewis, Tyson etc., it's a natural aspect of the sport. To say Lewis was not a great champion like Tyson was, that's just utter bull shite. At least when Lewis had a championship fight he didn't try to bite his opponents ears off, head-butt, break their arms, throw a tantrum in the middle of the ring (and during weigh-ins and press conferences) and probably most importantly, he didn't fight just for the money like Tyson did. Now, take that into account and think again about Lewis not being a great champion like Tyson was.
Tyson is the toughest of all time....there was noone betta than him. Take the Tyson of 1985-1990 or 1995-1996, he wouldve whupped anyone but women,drugs, relationships n especially Don King screwed him ova. Lennox is good but he doesnt realize that he didnt fight Iron Mike, he jus fought a depressed neurotic lunatic
"If you push him back,he doesnt know what to do"--Lennox Lewis @3:00 said it...Buster Douglas did it,heart problem Holyfield did so as did Lewis during Mike's early,mid and twilight years...otherwise we are cherry picking or curve fitting fantasy predictions which wernt reality...im sure Foreman and Vitali would have done the same...heck Ruddock also pushed Tyson around but couldnt even last the 2nd round against Lewis.
Absolute nonsense Lewis was destroying him the further the fight was going on, his punches were landing big time in his face. The fight would have been over within a round or two anyway.
***** And yet you`re making uncertain assumptions also. You use likelihood based on pure speculation without any evidence , your entire premise is based on fatigue and a claim to know better than a professional trained doctor. My claim is backed up by evidence in terms of the way the fight was going in the last few rounds and the fact that Klitchko`s face was a bloody mess. A boxer with Lewis power was going to do far more damage regardless of his fatigue. You can buy what you like.
***** I`m not making any claims of absolute fact or certainty at all, I`m making a claim of probability given the evidence of what was happening in the latter rounds. Lewis was increasingly breaking through Klitchko`s defense with piledrivers to his head, given the damage to Klitchko`s head already its highly unlikely he would`ve survived much longer. You`re simply claiming that through fatigue Lewis power would be reduced and Klitchko`s endurance would be fine. The power generated by Lewis in his punches regardless of fatigue is incredible and their was no evidence of reduced power. Some doctors do let fights go on too long, this doctor stopped it when it needed to be, if anything it should`ve been sooner. If he hadn`t it would only add to the probability of Lewis getting in more piledrivers and knocking him out and causing permanent and extreme damage to Klitchko`s eye and brain. Nothing is guaranteed, the probability, given the evidence, is the .issue.
***** A split nose and a split eye are totally separate issues, if you can`t see properly you have no chance of avoiding piledrivers from certain angles, piledrivers he was consistently receiving toward the end of the fight and piledrivers that caused the split in the first place along with the rest of his mashed up face. Its not my problem that I didn`t see any power drop in Lewis punches because there wasn`t any, again Lewis punches are devastating even when tired. You make a claim of absurdity even though the fact is his eye and face as a whole was shot and Lewis was continually landing heavily, the doctor knew it was time or the damage would be untenable. What happened before that time in terms of points gained is irrelevant, what is happening in the moment is the only thing relevant and that is why Lewis won the fight and Klitchko lost. No one had knocked Klitchko out before because no one had punished him like that before. The division was full of journeymen up until he got so old Fury beat him. Lewis was of a much higher standard than Klitchko`s future opponents, not even comparable. there aren`t too many improbabilities for you to accept the reality, you simply refuse to. You have a good day also.
Lewis is great, amazing boxer for sure. Tyson was a one dimensional fighter, but that one dimension in his prime would have knock him out easily, we all know it. You lose speed, head movement and stamina with age, you don´t loose technique, height and range. Prime tyson would have killed him.
How the hell was Tyson a one dimensional fighter? He hit hard, he was fast, he was unparalleled at dodging blows, his movement was excellent, and he was fantastic at creating opportunities for knock out blows.
Lui M And Prime lewis got ktfo by Oliver McCall who was Tyson’s sparring partner. Even past prime Tyson was beating him in every hard sparring. Lewis is the guy who beat past prime legends. Only casual fans call him the best
Tyson can't box? Maybe the old Tyson Lewis fought couldn't box anymore but the young Tyson could move like a gazzel people only remember his punch but his speed and movement were amazing
+Christopher Blankley Haha it makes me laugh people STILL only see Tyson as a puncher. They don't seem to realise he was the fastest HW since ALI with arguably the best defensive movement. Put it this way. Every single HW in history at their absolute best, Tyson comes out on top against 99% of them. lewis on the other hand wouldn't even be in top 10.
+Cryer24597 Tyson is severely over-rated, Lewis definitely would have beat him, but I think Lewis would have lost had the Klitchsko fight continued. Lewis fell into his stool at the end of that round. Klitchsko played a large part in making Lewis look so bad in that fight.
Lewis had this rare combination of skill and power,.Perhaps the most complete boxer post 1980,. But Tyson Under cus team appeared to be unbeatable,.It was only when he left that team that he started losing matches and temper,.
The longer the fight was going on Lennox was getting the upper hand, he was landing massive blows to his head and it was bloody mess, he wouldn`t have lasted much longer with that punishment, Lennox was totally unfit and ill prepared and yet still served him a severe beating. A truly awesome boxer.
My favorite fighter of all time is Ali. But my favorite fighter to watch during my lifetime, that I ALWAYS rooted for was Lennox Lewis. I started watching his fights when he was skinny and had a nappy ass flattop. The first fight of his I saw was against a guy named Phillip Jackson. Lewis' hand speed and combination punching was scary-good. Needless to say, he dominated Jackson, but there was this sequence at the end of one of the mid-late rounds where Lewis did a Bruce Lee impersonation, complete with high pitched vocalization, and fired off like a ten punch combination which dropped Jackson (unfortunately after the bell). From that moment, I felt like I was a boxing insider because while everyone was saying 'Tyson this, Riddick that, Holyfield whatever' at that point I was sure he was better than all three of them. And I was right. He KO'd Tyson, beat Holyfield, and Bowe was scared to fight him. I couldn't care less that he wasn't American; him being freakin awesome was enough for me.
It's funny, I spoke to Lennox Lewis on the phone, great guy.. and he said near word for word the same thing he said in this interview about Klitschko, him being at his worst he was the better fighter, apparently he only had two weeks to prepare for the fight. Gotta respect how honest he is, clearly doesn't care about offending people like Tyson when calls them one dimensional
I don't believe it mate. I think the reason Lewis didn't get a rematch with Vitali is because he wants to be fully fit to fight Vitali. But as God might have it, he retired
Moron - Tyson ducked Lewis. Lewis beat much better fighters that Klitchko in his prime. Tyson was nothing next to Lewis as Lewis wreaked every fighter that gave Tyson problems.
@Hal 2k19 You must be joking - Lewis still smashed Bruno into a stoppage, he got Rekt. Tyson struggled BIG time against Donovan Ruddock, so much so they had to have two fights. Lewis destroyed Donovan Ruddock in the first round and put him to sleep! Tyson lost to Kevin McBride, Danny Williams, Buster Douglas and then got smashed hard by a much better fighter - Evander Holyfield. Evander Holyfield was the best of the best, better than any other American fighter until he fought lewis. Guess what - Lewis beat Evander Holyfield.. Then later when they did fight after Tyson ducking Lewis as Bowe did! They fought and Tyson at the same age as Lewis got Destroyed with a KO. Tysin is over rated and Lewis underrated. The facts speak for themselves. Facts - Deal with it. Lewis lost to no one in any pro-fight worth talking about. He through re-match undefeated.
Vitali Klitschko would destroy you and end your career if that fight did not stop. Even with one eye he was ahead in everything and was physically better than Lewis. And the prove of all this, Lewis retired just after this fight so he wont fight his master of boxing again.
Falterzan if if if.... the reality is that vitali got cut open by a cut from a right hand and could not continue. So he lost fair and square. Klitschko was not robbed. He’s openly made his peace with it in numerous interviews since, so maybe you should too.
Lennox is talking to big...he was not so a great champion like Tyson was...Tyson in prime would knock him out...easily like Hassim rachma did, in infight lewis is without a chance...Lewis Talking about his win against Tyson like Holmes about Ali...That is to sickening...Both fought old fat Mens out of prime and skills....A real great Sportman would never talk in this way...
Jesse Cole Its as if you are reading the comments but not comprehending it. Yes Lewis was past his prime, Tyson was past his prime (waaaaay past), Yes Lewis was a year older, but this has no relevance to my statement. You say Lewis was a better fighter in 89? Tyson unified the titles and was heavyweight champ at the age of 20, at his prime. So, like I said, Tyson in his prime was too fast and powerful for Lewis. But hey, this is just an opinion.
Tyson knocked out Berbeck to win his first heavy weight title. In fact, he knocked him down 3 times with one punch. And he had a TKO over Ruddock. Actually I am an Ali fan, even have a signed gloved. So I'm not a Tyson 'fan boy'.... I just say it how I see it. As a Tyson 'hater', you see it differently.
Controversial fight but it could've gone either way and it's purely speculation, I still rate the Klitschko fight as one of Lewis' most memorable as he was approaching 40 yet still had the heart and desire to go out on his shield like a true warrior! 💯🥊💪🏾
Lewis was an excellent boxer, with knockout power, and so many skills. Tyson could never beat Lewis, unless Lewis had an off day. He had two of those, and avenged them.
Lewis shows a lack of class, normally fighters are humble and respectful of opponents that were great champions who after fading badly took a hammering. Lewis likes to boast about beating washed up ex champions.
+wayne gilroy its only one year but still you are right about him thats why i dont like him he is not stupid tho he said the right things about styles all round boxers are nightmares for knock out killers if you fly like a butterfly and sting like a bee you destroy them if they dont knock you in the wonderland of what happend
He didn't want to know anything about the Vladimir rematch, as he really lost the first fight or would've lost it, put it that way.. The cut to Vladimir saved Lennox
Does anybody know where can I watch the whole Ringside Special on Lennox. All over the net the only thign i can find is this extrait. Thank you in advance.
wow Lewis is such a troll. He was great but he portrays himself as invincible. Did he forget he got KTFO by Rahman and Cokehead? They could do it yet prime Tyson was too 1-dimensional :spit:
Lennox is the man. Intelligent brutal fighter. At his worst, heaviest of his career, he did what none else has ever done...beat a young prime Vitali klitscho to a pulp.Would have liked to see them fight again
kristof dessel "He took the coward way out by continuing to pound Vitali's cuts or otherwise he'd get KO'd." That's what every Boxer does. Boxing is about exploiting your opponent's weaknesses. If one guy develops a cut, the other is obviously going to make it a priority to work on. Seriously lame argument to suggest that it's a "coward's way out" to do so.
Jackal Fox By a Cut. It was a good fight, by modern Heavyweight standards. And Vitali was winning on the scorecards by all Judges. We dont know how that fight would have ended, and remember that Vitali had serious power in his punches. Things could have ended abrutly imo.
Cujo Jowels Except Buster Douglas had already beaten Tyson before he went to prison. Tyson lost all his title belts to Douglas in 1990, Tyson went to prison over 2 years After the Douglas fight.
Jason Phillips Yes indeed. Douglas fought the fight of his life and it's been well documented that Tyson trained like a fool. A few heavyweight fights I would've loved to have seen but didn't happen because Tyson went to the clink: Tyson-Holyfield '91 Tyson-Foreman Tyson-Bowe Tyson-Morrison Tyson-McCall Bowe-Lewis Bowe-Ruddock Bowe-Mercer Ruddock-Foreman Holyfield-Ruddock Holyfield-Morrison Ruddock-Bruno Ruddock-Moorer Moorer-Mercer ...and on and on and on...
What's sad is he's judged mostly by his Douglas debacle and his legacy fights against Holyfield and Lewis. People forget his legacy fights pre prison against Berbick, Tucker, Holmes and Spinks.
Cujo Killjooh and they were all good fighters in their era. Tyson came in the Era with a animal and monster vibe with him and make the opposition look like crap because of how he faught. If he man can make a division look like shit against boxers who were considered good or decent then idk what else you can call him. these haters are real and bring up Douglas like fighters have never had a bad fight and not train their hardest for it. just because he lost against Douglas doesent mean he wasn't still a great boxer
Lewis talking like he destroyed Vitali Klitschko: "Look what I did to his face!" Um...you got created a cut over his eye from the stitching of your glove; it's one of the oldest moves in boxing. Klitschko wasn't deteriorating after five rounds like Lewis said he was. Yes, Lewis was gaining a little bit of momentum before the fight was stopped, but Klitschko had won almost every round beforehand on the all judges' scorecards. The Klitschko's don't tire in the later rounds of boxing; not then, not now. That fight could have gone either way in my opinion, but I'll never consider Lennox Lewis a better champion that Wladimir or Vitali Klitschko. Last thing: Vitali took that fight with Lewis on a couple weeks notice, so Lennox can take that out-of-shape excuse elsewhere...
Lennox owned him in the 6th round. Peep that uppercut he hit him with just as the round was ending. Vitali had the early lead but the tide was changing in that fight.
Anthony Anderson Emotional and biased observations aside, Klitschko was winning on all judges scorecards and was still landing punches. Could have gone either way, but I think that Klitschko would have won by points if the injury didn't happen..
Lewis was a great heavyweight and he fought vitali at the end of his career. But he was losing against vitali and he cant accept even now he was getting a beat down
Absolutely agree with him. In the day I was a massive Tyson fan, but looking back at it from a more mature perspective I realise that what Lewis said was true: Tyson was a KO specialist who overwhelmed club fighters. At 21 he was as good as he was going to get. Why? Which of the greats can you say that about? A heavyweight continues to improve until he's almost 30, and sometimes beyond. Not Tyson, because the standard of the fighters he faced got better, and he couldn't adapt his style to incorporate this. In boxing, like many other sports, you only look as good as the opponent allows. Therefore when you see film of a 19-20 year old Tyson smashing oldish guys with overall negative records and hear his clearly deluded fans call him the greatest ever you have to laugh. Amateur experience does count for something. Lewis fought in two Olympics and was a well-rounded fighter. In spite of the repeated insults about some fictional mental deficiency in Lewis, he clearly is a man of character who knows his own mind, makes a decision, and follows through on it. My admiration for him keeps climbing.
+Cecil Morgan He got fucked up mentally and was screwed over royally by everyone around him like his ex wife, don king etc etc. His passion for fighting burned out and he didnt train as serious as he did under Cus.
+aedivian These are the same old "poor Mike" excuses Tyson fans have been making for years. "If Cus hadn't died... yah-de-yah-de-yah." I begin to wonder who was doing the actual fighting. Every fighter is exploited, to a greater or lesser degree, that's the nature of the business. Imagine what it was like for those people 50 and more years ago, esp. With organised crime involved, esp. for black fighters. Yet with all that, they still remained great fighters, they still had the dedication. Tyson was not great. Compared to true greats he was barely adequate. His character was weak: when things go wrong, that's when you need to stand up and show yourself a man. Tyson imploded. The second Holyfield fight showed him for what he was. Championship boxing is the one sport above all others that shows before the whole world who you are. Look at Ali-Frazier, III in particular. No-One who saw those two can have any doubt about their character or greatness.
+Vasil Krumov Since my opinion counts for so little, what are you getting so upset about, bitch? I've been following boxing since the early 70s, so I know what the hell I'm talking about, life included. Clearly that doesn't apply to an ignoramus like you.
I respect Lewis, but Vitali was leading on all judges' scorecards for a reason. Also, Lewis backed out of the rematch for a reason. Vitali, best heavyweight of the past twenty years, imo.
Sullen Morbius A fight is over 12 rounds not 4 or 6. Klitschko was beaten fair and square by an out of shape Lennox Lewis. Klitschko looked like he`d been run over by a truck.
david macleod Regarding rounds: No shit, Sherlock. You wanna tell me the sun rises from the east, too? Vitali was beat by a doctor who called the match, not by Lewis.
The right that openen the cut at Klitschkos eye was delivered by Lewis not the referee. Accept it. Lewis could have retired after he beat Tyson but chose to take on the up and coming heavyweight. Klitschko got his opportunity and lost.
david macleod Vitali was still fighting. The ref stopped the fight. Simple. Dude was ahead on all scorecards, and you hinge it on gawdamn cut. Someone was winning the fight. Wasn't Lewis.
So what. Klitschko was gassed. If he had somehow made it to the final bell would he have still been ahead on the cards, doubt it. Lewis could have retired after beating Tyson but chose to fight the up and coming heavyweight. Despite being out of condition he still won. Deal with it.
Based on what, being two rounds ahead? The punch Lewis landed that opened the first of Vitali's cuts was effectively a TKO. But you don't want to give Lewis credit for that. Lewis was out of shape and an old man in boxing terms, but he still beat a prime Vitali Klitschko.
Lewis did get the win, it was stopped after round 6 when they checked his eye they decided it was too bad of a cut to continue. Klitschko was winning on the scorecards and if it went to decision I wouldn't have been surprised if klitschko had won. Lewis said he would rematch klitschko twice but just decided to retire instead.
Another stupid comment from a Bitchschko fanboy, Lewis was out of shape, didn't train properly for the fight and he still beat the crap out of your hero. Facts are he did have that cut and it was Lewis who caused it.
Well for one Lewis is being honest he had no real desire left. He had accomplished everything he set out to do. He beat Klitschko at his very worst he was fat out of shape older. Lewis still took care of him get real & live on your what if's.
Lennox is my favourite fighter and I'm telling you his chin was weak . Hasim and Oliver McCall both exposed it. Tyson in his prime would have destroyed him.
Well, what do you expect the guy to say? "Nah, Vitali would've won the rematch." "Nah, Tyson would've beat me if we fought earlier." Come on, he's got to answer that way. It doesn't prove anything, one way or the other.
Mike tyson would have knocked the fuck out of lenox 86-1990 fitness when he was hungry for it. It was proven nobody could contain tyson when he was in his prime
"I knew I wasn't ready for Tyson back in 91,when I first saw this guy ,I thought damn this guy hits hard,hes scary" L.Lewis ....Funny when someone wins a fight when they should ,how quickly they forget why they avoided it in the first place,when you knew you couldn't win then? and vitali would be the favorite in the rematch as well,when someone uses their "MOTHER TOLD" me not to fight excuse.....REALLY???????
I really like Lewis, but when he fought Tyson, tyson was a shadow of himself, a year later he was beat by Danny Williams and Kevin Mcbride...lol.. In late 80s Tyson would have cleaned Lewis out. KO 4th round!
I've watched his fight with Vitali from the opening bell to the cut stoppage a dozen times and Lennox was getting his ass kicked and he retired because he knew he did not ever want to fight Vitali again.
Shoulda, woulda, coulda is bullshit. I had a serious right hook in the school playground, had I been introduced to the ring instead of my good friend beer, I could have had a record of 100-0. It means nothing. Lewis finished his career beating every man he came up against. He is without question in straight fact, the greatest heavyweight of the modern era, or as George Foreman himself has attested to; the greatest of all time.
It would of been interesting to see a prime Tyson vs a prime Lewis, I agree when Lewis fought him Tyson was past his best, he had been since he got released from prison and fired his trainer Kevin Rooney. I wonder how a prime Tyson would of faired against the much bigger 6ft 5 dynamic opponent that was Prime Lewis? Tyson mainly seemed to specialise in knocking out fighters between 6'1 ft - 6ft 3.
Correct me if I'm wrong but during the time of the fight Tyson was already on the meds that took away most of his anger and explosiveness?? I remember in one interview Mike said that the meds took the edge out of his boxing and he didn't feel like he wanted to "kill" the opponent so it affected his training and power in the ring in a bad way. He didn't have the desire to train hard or knock his opponent down like he had before. Mike Tyson before taking the meds was the ideal boxer full of ADRENALINE but that didn't work in life outside the ring.
The best heavyweight of all time. Fighters peak at different ages, just like in any sport. Tyson peaked a lot earlier than Lewis. The best Lennox lewis was when Emanuel Steward started working with him, developing an authoritative jab and a diverse range of punches. I personally believe that Lewis in his prime would have beaten any heavyweight in history.
when Tyson was a young champ Lewis was in amateurs. i just don't get him in this interview. he assumes people are retarded or not following the sport. how can a guy in his position be such a prick and pretend he fought Tyson at his best years ? even the post-jail period of Tyson was miles away from 2002. i love this sport and i respect all the good boxers - Lewis is a great overall fighter but no way in my book he could beat Tyson at his better times. this interview is a joke to anyone that follows the sport and been around since the 80's. love or hate Tyson one thing for sure - Lewis will never be remembered as a Boxer the way Tyson will.
Lennox was a great champion and he may have taken out Klitschko but Klitschko had plenty left in the tank. He was not going to run out of gas and it would have taken a lot to stop him. Lewis won the last round but lets face it Klistchko shook off those uppercut bombs that Lewis landed. The truth is that the fight was up for grabs. But Lewis did finish the 6th on top. Lewis was many levels above what Tyson knocked out as routine. In ten fights Lewis probably takes 7wins against Tyson.
gmonkey808 klitchko had nothing left in the tank because lewis incapacitated him he ripped his face to shreds had they kept fihting lewis would have been hitting solid bone right above klitchkos eye and would have ruined the man for good
after the 1st tyson fight there was a rematch clause in favor of lewis choice. lewis chose the rematch date because the 1st fight did so well money wise, but tyson backed out because he wasnt ready to fight again competitively so soon so vitali was the last minute replacement. vitali was originally on the undercard of the tyson lewis 2 fight and was well trained while lewis didnt train becuase tyson pulled out. last minute they made vitali fight at the main event against lewis instead of tyson
Lennox Lewis is a boxing legend he will never get the respect he deserves because he is British. He was better than Tyson better than Klitschko. Lennox Lewis a true champion he defended any loss ever to appear on his record in devastating fashion a all time great for sure :)
tony bennett nobody knows Lewis but everyone knows tyson. Ask some old guy who never watched single boxing match in his life who is Lewis? He won't know him but everyone knows tyson..
Funny, around the 2:00 mark Lennox says Tyson paid him step aside money to fight Holyfield instead. The TRUE story was that Don King offered Lennox $13 million to fight Tyson but turned it down. So Lennox went to court for a second time to sue for another belt. The court fees cost $4 million, so King took the $9 million left over and offered Holyfield the Tyson fight, and Holyfield accepted. So why did Holyfield accept the offer, FOR LESS MONEY, but Lennox turned it down?
Mike in his prime was one of the most technically sound. After he left all of cus's people he abandoned those techniques and became a brawler. Mike with Rooney would demolish lennox
Lennox is nothing in comparison to Tyson, hes tall, hes arrogant, but he has nowhere near the talent or legendary status. Sure he could beat Mike Tyson after hes been in prison for 3 years has lost his coach and guidance and has emotional and drug problems and isnt anywhere near his peak condition. if u have have e ref. that lets him tie him up and tire him down using a ll the cheap tricks a taller man can use. At the end of the day it's about fighting, being 6.4 and holding the arms of a man 5.11 making them tired isnt something history will remember as great. Lennox Lewis was a great fighter but not a legend. Mike Tyson is the goat, no question about that, but when he lost his coach Cus he lost the edge, the stuff that made him and will always make him the Legend, the greatest of all time. At only 5.11 and similar reach he had nowhere near the phisical attributes to become the hw champion, but he defied all odds, because of his speed and use of perfect body movement behind every punch and combination was at another level then any other boxer to this day. At his peak the bigger oppoent just meant easer target to hit.
gunnar samuelsson hahaha Lewis beat every heavyweight in his era. You little casual to say he is not an all-time great is laughable. He was the King in the 90s and everyone who knows anything about boxing would tell you that. Only casuals like you would ever consider Mike Tyson as the goat.
I have the upmost respect for Lennox, but I don't think he's being totally honest saying he never had the rematch with Vitali because he wasn't hungry. Lennox makes reference to his uppercut and how 'Klitschko felt it." Yes he did, but to Lewis's shock, after that bomb landed flush on Vtali's jaw, Vitali was still stood in front of him. Vitali was ahead on all three judges cards at the time the fight was stopped because of the cut. Like Vitali said after the fight, 'He knows I will beat him."
Lennox Lewis is the only fighter who gave Vitali Klitschko more punches than he has ever received in a solid fight even though Vitali was ahead on the judges' scorecards. He made Klitschko's eye bloodied. Vitali would have been one-eyed by now.
Mayor Fergie shit was dirty, he pulled off a headbutt and glove scrape to get that eye cut. fact is if he would have given Klitschko the rematch he promised and didnt run off into retirement he would have got beat. Vitali was a heavier puncher with a more solid chin who had never been knocked down in his whole career. the only fights he lost were stoppages.
Rhyme Oddysey It wasn't a headbutt, it was reviewed over and over again and proved the Cut was caused by a legitimate punch ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-wtdOteT5G0Q.html www.boxinglatest.co.uk/2008/05/vitali-klitschko.html
Azte ka Lewis nver fought a good fighter in his prime. he fought old holyfield and old tyson and outta shape Morrison the only good fighter he fought was vital who beat him every round until that cut and even Lewis was knocked out win wining every round
Gervon Mcintyre no Tyson never fought and beat a top fighter in his prime- he always lost or ducked fighters INCLUDING Lewis! Lewis beat a very good roided up evander twice! Destroyed a prime Ruddock who had a life and death battle with Tyson the fight before, beat the two up and coming American hypes who beat foreman - Morrison and a prime Briggs, beat the giant undefeated top contender and American hype (Micheal grant), eventually beat up and knocked out Tyson after beating him in sparring in the 80s, he knocked out bowe in the Olympics. He faced and beat tua- who Tyson didn't face, he beat golota, he beat McCall (who knocked Tyson out in sparring) he beat Rahman,he beat Bruno, he beat Botha, he beat tony tucker, he bet tyrell Biggs, he beat Gary mason, ray mercer, akinwande, he beat the best fighter of the next generation - a prime vitali Klitschko- legitimately by smashing his face up to be stopped . He faced and beat everyman who would face him.
I think all of this was a bit of personal ego speaking from Mr. Lewis. I recognize that he is a good strategist but, humbleness could suit him well. And remember, you fought a shadow of Tyson, when you guys sparred as teens, what was the result? Do you think fighting him when you both were in your early 20"s would've been the same? Tell the truth now...
Peak Tyson had skills. Peek a boo defense, movement and feet. It looks like he took punches and knew he could handle. He had timing. He's been described as a power counter-puncher. Doesn't seem like a brawler, he broke his opponents down.
Everybody says that Tyson was better in his prime but Lewis was a complete fighter, Tyson an excellent finisher, a beast, whatever you want but Lewis, huh, power puncher, tactics, speed. The only tactic Tyson knows is to kill everybody staying in the ring, that doesnt make you a complete fighter
why didn't lewis want a fight with tyson before the imprisionment? its the same reason joe frazier didn't want to fight ali before his banishment from boxing.
During the last Round of the Lewis/Klitschko match, Klitschko was almost dead on his feet, he threw very little at Lewis and kept held of him while Lewis was smacking him with Uppercuts. Lewis knew he was in danger, especially in that last round, and up'd his game. Another Round or two Klitschko would have been on the deck or would have been stopped by the Ref. He was done for, but he showed a lot of Heart & had a few Rounds on Lewis, and no one can take that away from Vitali.
