Ali is the greatest Heavy of alltime...But is Lewis the best heavy of alltime ????

Saw Lewis at 4 on Larry Merchant's Heavy list and despite me having him lower which maybe needs revising...(Usually around 10)......I did find myself thinkng that I couldn't pick any Heavyweight in history with confidence over Lewis in a fight.....

Do I think Foreman, Tyson, Ali, Shavers and Holmes have a chance...For sure.....But If he survives 5 rounds against all but Larry then I think he wins those fights (Larry's chin would be a problem against Lennox) and one thing we do know is Lennox never lost a "pickem" fight.......All his losses were against "easier on paper" fighters..

Usyk ???.........Sure he'd pose difficulties but Emanuel Steward was a superb Trainer and Lewis was streets ahead of Fury and AJ and had the size of those guys !!!

Not that I am disrespecting Usyk....Think he is close to a top 10 Heavy and combined with Cruiser riches belongs up there with Leonard, Duran and the rest in P4P history and that is a great honor...

Ali's record is unsurpassed he should be number 1 and could he beat Lewis ??.....For sure....like Lewis he could beat anybody.....But in an era with 250 pound giants Lewis can gatecrash the new era with ease.....Lewis is the quintessential Stargate heavy.

Is Ali the greatest Heavy of alltime.......Without a doubt..

Is Lewis the best Heavyweight of alltime........It's a compelling argument........Lewis will climb the rankings over time in the history stakes.

Looking at Merchant........His rise has already started !!!

Not sure I follow you , old chap?

Derek Smalls wrote:Not sure I follow you , old chap?

Does it centre around the words "greatest" and "best"?  I have my own thoughts on these words which seem to ally with Trussmann's - at least  I thought I followed what was written.  

However doing a quick internet search seems to give some variance.   Hence I would be interested in hearing yours and Trussman's description of these two words - assuming that was the issue.

Related but separate question:

Trussmann - have you written anything on the Lennox Lewis vs. Riddick Bowe Super-Heavy final at the 1988 Seoul Olympic Games?  This was the games where Roy Jones Jr was robbed by Judges decision but that was explicable by the Judges awarding local boy (South Korean) the victory.   How can one explain the antics of the referee in the Lewis (Can) v Bowe (US) final?  
1) Incorrect docking of a point for a non-existent head butt (1st round)
2) Premature stoppage in the second round.

South Korea and the USA are supposedly great allies - with a huge US military presence in South Korea - supposedly to protect them from North Korea - as well as huge US investment in the country. However, it was entirely on the referee for making those decisions.

I thought Bowe was robbed in the Olympics against Lewis but strangely it’s a bad decision that seems to slip through the cracks on this forum.

Derek Smalls wrote:Not sure I follow you , old chap?

Greatest Heavy.... Encompasses things like...Record....Legacy...stuff like that......(No one has Ali's list of victims)....Why else would Marciano types be in a lot of Top 10s when we would all pick Vitali to beat him....who isn't.

Best Heavy......Is the best fighter......Lewis was beautifully built at 240...Good jab....Great power etc.....Like I said I could see a few Heavies beating a motivated Lennox.......But I could see him beating them too.

I've not been on this forum for a while but I've often wondered whether Lewis could beat Ali. My thoughts are if big punchers like Foreman Frazier Shavers and Norton couldn't stop Ali, Lennox would have to out box him or catch Ali unawares. It's a hard one to pick but I think I would go for Lewis. I know that wasn't the question Truss, I'm going to sit on the fence for that one.