It has become increasingly popular in recent times for the current crop of heavyweight champions and top contenders to be likened and compared to those heavyweights of the past who have been immortalised in the history books. Former 3-time heavyweight champion, Lennox Lewis has cast his observant eye over the division’s top names and he was very frank with his remarks.
Lewis started by explaining “I’ve been asked on many occasions where I stand on this debate; my perspective is that more experience in amateur bouts makes for a more seasoned and skilled professional.” Lewis went on to explain that many of the heavyweight division’s stellar names did not achieve a thorough enough of an education at amateur level which he feels leaves them lacking at the championship level. Lewis spent a much longer duration of time in the unpaid ranks compared to the current active heavyweight champions, as he focused on attempting to hone and nurture his skills to become a complete fighter as opposed to trying to achieve super stardom at the earliest possible opportunity.
A lot of you have asked, so here are some of my thoughts on today’s heavyweight division right from my new blog “A View From The Champ”. – https://t.co/oCXC83oA2zpic.twitter.com/ygMnPL1fyq
— Lennox Lewis, CBE, CM (@LennoxLewis) November 1, 2017
Lewis’ argument opened with the statement“It’s not my intention to knock or take away from any of today’s fighters, nor is it my intention to overly glorify fighters of the past.” But the former heavyweight divisional kingpin explained “When you look at the state of today’s heavyweight division you have a group of young up-and-coming talent who are basically still learning and perfecting their craft at the championship level.
The British boxing icon was critical in his analysis, explaining “Most of the top heavyweight fighters today don’t come from a pedigree that has a long amateur career. Lewis paid particular attention to the current divisional kingpins in the form of WBC champion, Deontay Wilder (38-0 37 KO) and the unified IBO, IBF and WBA (Super) title holder Anthony Joshua (20-0 20 KO)“If you look at Deontay Wilder and Anthony Joshua, both competed in the Olympics and won medals, but they also didn’t have extensive amateur careers to build up on before turning pro.
Lewis touched on the amateur success that both achieved in winning medals at the 2008 Beijing Olympics and the London 2012 Olympics respectively. While viewing those medals as successes, Lewis explained those successes shouldn’t cloud onlookers judgement into believing both achieved a totally successful amateur career. “What they did have was amateur success in the form of gold and bronze medals. “Generally, these are things that translate into launching pads for professional careers and it’s no different in the case of Joshua and Wilder. I used my success in the 1988 Olympics to do the same.
Lewis explained how his lengthy amateur career which included trips to two separate Olympics and all the work that went in between was pivotal to the formation of the version of Lennox Lewis who was let loose with a vengeance on the heavyweight division. “My setbacks in the 1984 Olympics, caused me to step back and re-evaluate, and I chose to hone my skills further as an amateur, pursuing that gold medal ticket for another four years.
“As I progressed in my amateur career, I picked up a ton of valuable experience that would pay dividends for me as a pro.” Lewis went on to further elaborate on some nostalgia citing “Along that road, the Olympic gold-medal became my only goal. I vowed to get back to the Olympics and win it in 88!
On a final note, Lewis once again touched on the current state of the heavyweight division stating “It feels like the state of the division has a lot of under-developed champions that must now learn on the job.” Lewis also drew comparisons to his era in the ring where he fought and defeated household names like David Tua, Hasim Rahman, Evander Holyfield, Ray Mercer and Vitali Klitschko to name a few. Lewis simply stated the competition doesn’t measure up “The talent in the division isn’t what it used to be, but the playing field is much more level than any time in the last 10 years.
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