How Lewis DESTROYED Tyson's PeekABoo Style - Boxing Explained
ฝัง
- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 21 ก.ย. 2024
- At a time when the peek a boo style was seen as an enigma, Mike Tyson's insane battle with Lennox Lewis proved that one talented champion had cracked the code.
Books: www.modernmart...
#boxing #boxingtechnique #miketyson #lennoxlewis #peekaboo #peekabooboxing
Lewis found the main weakness in Tyson's peekaboo style: Timing. If you can just wait about 10 or 11 years, and also make sure Tyson doesn't get in a few more tune-up fights before your fight with him, there's your chance!
This comment actual cracked my wife and I up. It's all about the timing man, just wait a few years hahaha
lmfao, this is now my go to boxing joke.
Yeah, and make sure Cus D'Amato is no longer around
Ah the Floyd method for booking fights
Good one!
After his prime 1980s years, and especially by 2002 when Lewis finally fought him, Tyson didn’t even use his peekaboo style! No quick footwork and angles, no peekaboo head movement, no vast combinations, no body punching, no 12-round conditioning, and no discipline/dedication/motivation. Lewis beat an absolute shell of the once-terrifying Kid Dynamite!
Totally agree. I love both of these fighters but the fact is fan boys from either individually will make excuses for them. Truth is Tysons style was a style that required lots of energy. A burn out style. Lewis flourished and grew as a fighter only getting better with age as his style wasn't the burn out young man's style tyson once had. Tyson here is less than half of what he once was. Lewis was pretty much unbeatable at this stage. Tyson would have taken this fight in the 80s but by this stage he had zero chance against a great Lewis.
@@deandeany911 I agree 💯
Maybe tyson should have fought him sooner rather than paying lewis millions in "step aside" money. Lewis only losses were against fighters he didn't take seriously. He'd have always been prepared for tyson.
I actually watched this fight live and it was the white flag for Tyson's career. Pretty sure he didn't even train.
@@deandeany911 100% agree regardless of how a prime tyson would have done against prime lewis, people make excuses for both all the time, and nobody really know what would have happened the only thing we can do is making educated guesses, i love lewis and tyson but is sad that we never got to see two legends at there best clash with each other, there where still sparks of old mike here and there but we never got to see cus d'amato and kevin rooneys iron mike tyson in the ring again.
Tyson stopped utilizing the peekaboo after Cus passed and he fired Rooney. He intentionally went from a world class boxer (Kid Dynamite) when he was young to a brawling puncher (Iron Mike) just looking for a KO. He stated himself he only returned to boxing for the money, the love he had for the sport which Cuz instilled in him was long gone. Lewis faced a shadow of what Tyson once was. Every true boxing fan knows this.
fanboy you are wrong. if you think Tyson got titles by not being serious you guys are ridiculous
@@trojansasori3526I went to one of his stand up shows. He said the same thing there. He was basically just fighting to pay bills the whole second half of his career.
Lewis admitted he knew he wasn’t facing a prime Tyson
Well said! Agreed 💯
👑 facts👑
“Everybody got a plan till they get bitten in the leg”
-Mike Thighson
❤😂HAHAHA. I was shocked and surprised at your comment. Just as I WAS went Lewis and others were bitten. Fighters SHOULD EAT at HOME...
a shame cus died mike wouldve been undefeated to this day
loool
Lies again? LA Liga Good Papi
@@micky_8680 Nah, Tyson was a 🤡
As Tyson himself said, the PeekaBoo style is a young man's style, there's no way a 36yo man can use it for more than a couple of rounds before running out of steam.
Total nonsense. If you look at sports where stamina is the key requirement - like marathons - the winners are often in their mid-30s. And in boxing, if you look at the best exponents of a super high tempo, relentless twelve round style, they often reach their pinnacle in their 30s e.g. Usyk now and Calzaghe. You have to train relentlessly through your career to acheive this though, which is probably where the difference comes with Tyson!
@@MultiBadger32 yeah you definitely know more about peakaboo and boxing than Kid Dynamite
nooo.its bullshit. its all about stamina...
@nande2260 Sometimes the performers don't really understand what they are doing, or the science of why it works. That's one reason why coaches exist! But on the idea of stamina peaking in an athlete's early 20s , that's just obviously wrong - physiologically and in terms of actual results across a range of sports, including boxing itself!
@@MultiBadger32 I wasn't talking about coaches though. I was taking about you specifically
There wasn't much to destroy. If you read Mike's autobiography by this point in his career he completely lost interest in boxing and was simply fighting to pay off his massive financial debts. He said he barely trained for the fight and was stoned out of his mind in Hawaii for most of the lead up to the fight.
I absolutely believe that. Tyson was not even close to his prime at this point, and Lewis was still too afraid to really put it on him. I think a prime Tyson would beat Lewis, easy
@@jmarra07 i dont think so
@@jmarra07 didnt he have a broken hand
@@jmarra07 I doubt anyone one beats a prime Lewis who isn't complacent "easy". It would be a way more competitive fight though and Tyson would have a much better chance of winning than this shell of himself.
@jmarra07 Lewis knocked him out in this fight so don't really think he was "afraid to put it on him" yes I've read Tysons book and he was an alcoholic cocaine addict by this time but that's nothing to do with Lewis, i think Tyson was done by 89 after Douglas ko. The fact is Lewis refused to ever be controlled by Don King and had to become champion the hard way. King made sure Lewis and Tyson never fought in their prime incase it upset his cash cow Mike who King was ripping off millions of dollars from at the time. I was a massive Tyson fan back in the day but I think Lewis was under appreciated as a world class heavyweight who did things his way.
Unfortunately because Tyson was not using his peek a boo style the way he had used to, he had no way of really closing the distance efficiently against Lewis.
1986 Tyson would destroy Lennox
Tyson is 5’10 1/2 and people like Atlas still say Tyson didn’t overcome adversity😂 Sadly his career was over at Bruno 1. Lost his fundamentals and became a head hunter. Huge Lewis fan but I’m not sure he withstands Mike pre Bruno.
@@DanFran09 With all respect to Lewis i dont think he could win neither against prime Ali,Foreman and Holmes.
@@thegodfather1924 Ali yeah probably but I think he'd deal with Holmes and Foreman. Lewis had issues with smaller fighters. I class McCall as an anomaly and with Rahman he was out of shape and distracted by his part in the Oceans film. Holmes Vs Lewis in a battle of the jabs would be a great match up tho!.
Tbf I think this is just a given; I understand all of Tyson's downfalls but losing peekaboo was inevitable, for example Floyd, a much smaller and lighter man than Tyson, got serious back problem due to the peekaboo style through his career. No matter what Tyson would've lost the style just due to how it wears on your body.
If you compare how Lennox moved to Deontay, or Joshua, or Klitschko or any other hw in the last 20 years, you see just how awkward they are and how talented Lennox and Tyson and those older hw champs were.
You don’t rate Tyson Fury?
klitschko moved better than lennox and most those other boxers. He didnt have much power behind his punches though.
joshua is pretty close to lennox. Though not quite there. Deantay was always known as having bad foot work so obviously.
@@Benji-jj2bgHave you seen Klitschko’s KO record?
@@Ptrickmore which klitschko? yes ive seen both. why?
I cannot believe the quality of this docu!! Your cuts are impeccable your style is impregnable!!
🤣🤣🤣
😆Thanks for cutting off before threatening to eat his kids!
"and referee Eddie Cotton sprinted to separate the two perhaps trying to minimiz the risk of Tyson's cannibalistic instincts" xD Nice one
"I'm the best ever. I'm the most brutal and vicious, the most ruthless champion there has ever been. There's no one can stop me. Lennox is a conqueror? No! I'm Alexander! He's no Alexander! I'm the best ever. There's never been anyone as ruthless. I'm Sonny Liston. I'm Jack Dempsey. There's no one like me. I'm from their cloth. There is no one who can match me. My style is impetuous, my defense is impregnable, and I'm just ferocious. I want your heart! I want to eat his children! Praise be to Allah!" -unknown
Tyson's execution of the Peek-a-boo style had declined by the time he fought Lewis. look at the early years of Tyson's career: His footwork was much faster, agile, and in sync with his opponents' movement. That changed by the time he fought Lewis.
Very well.said. tyson as much as I hate to say it at his 22yo to 24yo prime was untouchable by any boxer. .. just to fast ..strong.. explosive and accurate. So obviously he was not the same late 20s
Tyson's early years was fighting bums afcourse he looked good against lower competition
@@Aldo_LptllLoc That's a lazy comment. Define "Bum?" Do a comparative analysis of the fighters Tyson fought and tell us how to identify a bum fighter. Otherwise, your comment is a stupid, worthless statement.
@@ScottRachelson777 well who tf did he fight who whas actually a top contender? When fighting guys that barely threw a jab, or take advantege of their huge size afcourse mike was gonna look unstoppable he didn't fight morrison, riddick bowe, foreman the only time he fought top fighters got schooled by them "oh! BUt hE wasN't iN HiS pRimE" making excuses for mike is defintley worthless and a waste of time
@@Aldo_LptllLoc I'm so convinced now. Great argument!
I remember Tyson's post-fight comment he made to Lewis picked up by the microphone which IMHO sums up what this fight was to Mike, his interest in it, and his interest in the sport itself - "Hey thanks for the purse".
yeah lewis made him his bitch
Because he'd been utterly battered and given a huge boxing lesson . Properly funny too
Because he was humbled. Hence why
"I'm the best ever. I'm the most brutal and vicious, the most ruthless champion there has ever been. There's no one can stop me. Lennox is a conqueror? No! I'm Alexander! He's no Alexander! I'm the best ever. There's never been anyone as ruthless. I'm Sonny Liston. I'm Jack Dempsey. There's no one like me. I'm from their cloth. There is no one who can match me. My style is impetuous, my defense is impregnable, and I'm just ferocious. I want your heart! I want to eat his children! Praise be to Allah!" -unknown
'Dental impressions on Lennox's thigh' - that's a classy way to say that somebody bit him 🤣
The
"He's bit my leg"
- "I'm sorry"
- "nah it's ok"
interview cracked me up 😂
"I'm the best ever. I'm the most brutal and vicious, the most ruthless champion there has ever been. There's no one can stop me. Lennox is a conqueror? No! I'm Alexander! He's no Alexander! I'm the best ever. There's never been anyone as ruthless. I'm Sonny Liston. I'm Jack Dempsey. There's no one like me. I'm from their cloth. There is no one who can match me. My style is impetuous, my defense is impregnable, and I'm just ferocious. I want your heart! I want to eat his children! Praise be to Allah!" -unknown
Tyson's footwork and head movement was still very fast, but nothing like in his prime, and he definitely couldn't sustain it as long.
Very true...He faded fast.
Prime Mike slips Lewis' jab and delivers hooks. Lennox won that fight, but prime Mike eats him for breakfast.
@@SMacCuUladh Would have been a matter of if Lewis figured out to use that looping jab and backhand sooner rather than later. If he didn't then yeah Tyson would have caught him. But a young Mike having the very base of his style's setup, the slip to generate momentum, stopped the moment he slipped to either side, would have fucked him up especially as a young fighter. If Mike Tyson can't slip without getting caught, and he can't reach you with a counter when you are catching him, he can't box.
Tyson came in about 10 pounds too heavy for this fight, IMO. 235 lbs instead of 225-ish. The extra weight and lack of stamina showed.
Far more than that. Iron Mike was gone after Robin came in.
Too much of the PeekABoo depended on speed and stamina.
...Qualities that older Tyson didn't possess in spades the way younger Tyson did.
Tyson was 35 how is 35 old to you guys?
@@trojansasori3526 Because we're talking about sports, not academia.
How would you NOT know that?!?
@@trojansasori3526 He was past his best but Lewis was older
@@trojansasori3526 that's old for boxing. is a well known fact. also it varies depending on discipline, lifestyle and damage taken before. sadly Tyson didn't have the most disciplined lifestyle after Cus D Amato passed away.
@@trojansasori3526 they talk like he was 50 years old
The PeekABoo style is a young man's game, once you move past 25, it starts to slip. Before Tyson, Joe Frazier used it to stack up an impressive string of wins. That included his first fight with Muhammad Ali - then he faced George Foreman.
Heheheh. The style "slips"
Yeah yeah, excuses, Tyson knocked Larry H, he was also out of his prime if that was the case. Tyson lost against Evanda as well, the greats were just better so save it.
@@KnowzsPenge I don't think he's making excuses what he's saying is true. That fast hart hitting swarmer style of Tyson and Fraizer is very effective when at your prime, but it comes at a cost. It damges your body over time as well as diminishes your durability especially at the chin. Thats why fighters who use that swarmer style like Tyson or Fraizer tend to struggle to get older. This doesn't take away Lennox's win over Tyson by any means as it's a boxer's ultimate responsibility. to adapt their style as they get older. And Tyson failed to do this.
@@Highonlife24To be fair, that just does not hold up - You can only gop on who he fought and who he best in his prime. The man got stopped when he got to the Hall of Famers, he was never going to be Evanda or Lewis, he just was not as good regardless of style.
The evidence suggests as much
@@KnowzsPenge Hey don't get me wrong, I'm no Mike Tyson stand by any means. Honestly, I think Tyson is one of the most overrated fighters of all time. I absolutely agree that Tyson is nowhere near as good as Holyfield and Lewis and that he fought mostly mid-tier fighters and bums during his prime. I'm just saying regardless of Tyson not being as good as those two, his style is a double edge sword. Just look at fighters who have utilized this style over a long period of time like Fraizer, Lamotta, Duran, and Dempsey. None of those guys could keep that pace up for long. That's all that I'm saying. And I just want to make this clear, if Tyson were to fight Lewis while both in their prime, Lewis would still beat Tyson. The only difference is that the match would last longer by about 3 rounds since this is a young Mike Tyson in this hypothetical. But Lewis still wins in dominant fashion due to the fact that his out-boxer style along with his power would easily dissect and destroy Tyson's peak a boo style. Lewis is the GOAT
When I boxed, as amateur, I was inspired by Lennox Lewis style. I was tall for my weight class, and I have long arms, my left jab was working beautifully keeping the opponent at distance, and then I was exploding the right hook, when they were trying to get inside my defense. Then I broke my shoulder playing soccer... and that ended my short boxing career. I was already a old chap, I wish I started when I was a kid. Boxing is a great sport.
How old were you when you started boxing?
@@bodilly6221 I was in my early 30.
@@biomorphic oh I’m 30 and I’m about to start letting my homeboy train me. I love watching the sport and it’s really just something I’m doing to stay in shape. My homeboy cold. He didn’t start until he was like 16. He’s 2-0 as a pro. He haven’t fought since 2020 cause he was shot but he been working on picking up where he left off
@@bodilly6221 It is great to stay in shape. Good luck to him then, I hope he fully recovered. I still follow the sport, but it's a close chapter for me. I am in to climbing now.
Just curious how’s you break your shoulder? Did you tear your labrum?
Here is the reupload we all needed. Both fighters away from their prime battling it out for 8 rounds (Lewis only fought one more time to vitali klitschko before retiring and tyson was going bankrupt and ruined by don king)
I wouldn't say Tyson was in his prime, he was never the same after going to prison. That isn't making excuses, he ruined himself. If Cus lived 5 extra years we'd have seen a much better Tyson.
@@NetherPrime I think you misread the comment
@@luismarcialvergaradiaz5363 Yes I did, I somehow skipped the word "away".
Mike was NOT at his "prime" during this fight.
10 mil is not "bankrupt" for me.:D
Tyson was hardly using the peek a boo style at this point in his career. As soon as he fired Roonie the style started diminishing
Good point; and he also lost the last of those not just using him.
And. So? He still wanted to fight and talked and a lot smack
Big pay day
I love the way you break these fights down. I randomly looked into Muhammad Ali via your channel, and it immediately ignited a passion in me. Thanks for that!
Tyson had no peakaboo style by the time he fought Buster Douglas..... several years later Lewis & his far superior reach & powerful jab sniped a clumsy & predictable Tyson. No-one was ever going to let him close enough for the knockout punch he now relied upon.
Facts. I don't understand why people can't see that. As soon as he let Rooney go his style changed drastically.
He was no peek a boo when douglas que and whne Lewis he was old and no more peek a boo
You mean a clumsy, predictable and FAR PAST his prime Tyson. THAT's who Lewis defeated
Excuses excuses excuses
@@Last_Chance. excuses
What Lewis showed in this fight was the same basic boxing technique that Gene Tunney used to dethrone Jack Dempsey (a fighter Tyson admired and tried to copy), but Lewis' size and power allowed him to take it to the nth degree. Buster Douglas had already shown that a long, hard jab could throw Tyson off his stride. Thank you for another fine feature!
It is t rocket science to figure out that the long stuff jab was going to be mines weakness and he only had one way of fighting and never adjusted during a fight and never evolved to counter the jab. He literally had one way of fighting and that was it, if you had him figured out he was easy to beat, also had no heart in the ring and terrible temperament.
@@rossicourvosi218 no
@@BIGC728 OK then mate, laters
foreman would have walked through tyson
@@121withtom3 Damn right, so would Liston; that jab would put Tyson on a different planet.
It helped that Tyson was no longer doing anything remotely resembling the peekaboo style in the fight. He basically started to deviate from it around 1989, to his great detriment and ultimate demise.
You have to watch the video again.
@@MrFabiomassid he did and he is right
@@MrFabiomassid After he lost his trainer Cus D'Amato he started to decline.. That was a long time before the Lewis fight.. Tyson was basically a shell of his former shelf.
His peekaboo style never had a chance of working vs a guy like Lewis. Lewis was way too big and way too technical for a peekabo swarm to work, that's just a pipe dream. The only time that ever worked was with the bums Tyson fought early in his career that were too dumb to use their size to stay outside and let him punch himself out.
@@bobbygetsbanned6049 lol the peekaboo style was invented for Mike Tyson because he was smaller in size for the heavyweight division.. this style allowed him to fight against bigger, and taller opponents like Lewis.. and to label Tyson off, and just say he built his reputation off fighting bums shows your lack of knowledge about actual boxing.
I remember watching this fight. I can’t believe it was 20 YEARS ago! 😭😭😭
20 years ago??? Shit! How old am I, then?
22 years ago to be accurate, it happened in 2002 and it's 2024 now, although tbf it was 21 years when you commented this lol
@@sierrasymone7590 😂😂 good math. ;)
This was the matchup we all wanted and boxing needed, but it happened a few years too late.
yeah, mike tyson barely trained for the fight and just wanted to pay his bills 😕
@@DivineWasTaken That's a lie. He also fought hard for 8 rounds. If it was just for money, he wouldn't have let himself get beat up so bad for 8 rounds!
One think Lewis also did to great effect in this fight is control distance in by moving forward. Tyson was used to people backing away when he lunged in. He would chase them as they retreated, building up momentum for his big punches. But Lewis mixed things up, dancing away sometimes, and moving forward other times. Each time he danced away, Tyson was being conditioned to lunge forward even further the next time, so as to catch up to the retreating Lewis. However, in the next exchange, Lewis would take a half-step forward, and Tyson would crash into him. Tyson then couldn't throw any punches (as he had no room to maneuver), and was forced to carry Lewis' weight in a clinch. Plus, because Tyson was the one who had run right into him, Lewis could justify his clinching by saying "Tyson's diving right into my arms". Larry Merchant mentioned this in the HBO commentary.
Good take
Ive always said this about mike vs holyfield, holyfield was the first one to not run the whole time and hold his ground, even take steps foward which mike wasnt used to at all. Thats why mike has since admitted to headbutting holyfield first, cause his head was coming in at holyfields chin height, untill evander tucked his chin then mike was presented with iron dome
@@ASSman864Yeah, great point.
@@ASSman864 Well, another way to put it would be: they were both headbutting each other...
Holyfield was allegedly known for this, from other fights.
#Allegedly
@@_munkykok_ its also a stylistic thing, mike rushes in chin tucked but rather heads up for a peekaboo fighter, he bent at the knees more compared to floyd patterson who bent more at the waist. Then you have holyfield who would come in simularly upright with chin tucked but hes taller and hes said before in a gym video that you shouldnt bring your guard up to protect yourself on the inside, you should bring your head down into your guard, then they end up both racing for the same positioning and clash. Then even if it starts out accidental you get them each bringing their head down more and more to present the hard part of the forehead instead of your eyebrow and face, i dont neccesarily think holy got the better of it tho because he said his head was hurting too he just tried not to show it so he wouldnt abuse it more and more
Your boxing commentary has gotten really fun to listen to. It just the knowledge but the fun you have with it. Great video
Serosh from Elden Ring in the background of the thumbnail caught me off guard lmao
I thought I was the only one 😂
@abyssalrayz9499 same here 😅
Mike hit his prime real early in his boxing career. Nobody can stay at the top forever. When he got outboxed by Lewis it def didn't surprise me.
Correct.
Lewis didn't fight Mike Tyson 1985, 1986, etc.
He fought an older Mike Tyson. Had Lennox fought Mike when Mike first turned professional, Lewis would have "destroyed" nothing. Seventeen years of being punished and seriously giving punishment in the ring, on top of personal tragedies, and you believe Lennox did great to a champion.
The Modern Martial Artist is a modern-day fool.
@@TheTruth-mo2sq lol Lewis is OLDER than Tyson.
@@Heaven-dy9lj If they fought the same time early; Tyson probably would KO both Lewis and Holyfield.. i remember people talking about Holyfield a-ledge steroid use.. Tyson won the title at 19 something Lewis or Holyfield couldn’t do.. Tyson was already on the way down; not surprisingly he taking loses late..
@@everetteramey5723 no he wouldn't. Mike Tyson is a one dimensional fighted who got found out
@@Heaven-dy9ljignore the idiots, it’s the same clowns that say “Mayweather(the older fighter) waited for Manny to get old” lol
Lewis stood straight up so Tyson couldn't gnaw on his ear.
Tyson had already destroyed himself by this point
Excuses excuses excuses, y'all are screaming when tyson won lol. Stop the double standard!
@@wilw3498 you sound bitter
@@wilw3498
Valid excuses. Lennox did win fair and square. But it's not like he won over a prime Tyson. This you must admit!
@@wilw3498 You just delusional. Lennox did win and was the best if that era. But Tyson had destroyed his career. He wasn't focused after all the money he got. Watch a fight from 1986 where he uses his peek a boo style and the fight with Ruddock in 1991. Tyson was just walking into punches in the fight with Ruddock and Buster Douglas. And after prison he was just a shadow of his prime self. Tyson was a very big waste of potential. All the money and fame git to his head. If you don't believe me Tyson himself said he doesn't want to use his peek a boo style anymore because he wants to really "fight" and not use his jab or technique. He stopped training because he thought that no one was gonna beat him anyways. And then the rape case. And this was his downfall. If you don't see what I mean then you are delusional. Lennox was great though and is one of the greatest heavyweights of all time if not the greatest.
@@BarrySliskhe won agianst a young tyson in a sparring session at the cuz d mato gym
It's amazing how many people hated Tyson back then but absolutely love him now...
Lewis was the first of the modern "Super Heavyweights". He was an excellent points fighter, and Tyson clearly had little in the tank.
And it came to an era of boring Klitko style, with little risk jab -jab - hammer backhand, jab jab, boring. Tyson, the most entertaining heavyweight ever.
yep Tyson was a shadow of his former prime self in this fight. he had none of the head movement foot work counter punching speed ability to cut off the ring create angles or stamina. plus he had no desire left this was a paycheck for him nothing more. the passion that drove him to seek and destroy was long gone.
Lewis never fought guys of his size. Tyson always fought with bigger buys. Lewis used his heavy weight to push tyson. Lewis struggled against another technician in Holyfield. It would have been interesting to see him fight Foreman.
@@itsmeitoldyouthat1448 frankly I think Foreman was too old at that point. But I have no doubt prime Foreman would have beaten lewis.
I have no doubt either a prime Tyson would have beaten Lewis.
Frankly, I find Lewis overrated and boring. I don't see what people see in him. As someone said above, he was the first of an era of boring heavyweights.
@@jozefpalica*ali has entered the chat*
Lennox was the best boxer of this legendary era. The three things i regret most are that 1. Riddick Bowe ducked him, that would have been an incredible trilogy. 2. Tyson also paid step aside money robbing the possibility to fight him earlier and maybe once or twice more .3. Tyson never fighting Bowe. I feel like we were robbed of at least two or three all time classic fights with these three. Bowe and Lews were bad match-ups for Mike's style and i think both better him even in his prime.
Honestly tho Ik Bowe lost to Lennox in the amateurs, I feel like a rematch in the pros woudlve been great, I could do see either of them winning
@@kiboma4209 yeah, I had the feeling it could have been like the Holyfield trilogy and been 2-1 to one or the other I don't know. Bowe had it all, but so did Lennox.
Well....Tyson going to Jail EFF'd things up.
Bowe should have fought Lewis BUT his team thought winning the belt would have disciplined him more. They were on borrowed time with Bowe and SHOULD booked him into EVERY big fight they could as SOON as he beat Holyfield the 1st time.
Honestly.....I think Lewis only beats Tyson in the late 90s on. . Skinny before the drealocks Lewis would have got starched .
When added all that size and after working with Stewart...THATS when he hit his prime
Now Bowe....the Bowe that showed up for Holyfield the first time...that showed up for Jesse Ferguson after that....that BOWE could have given Tyson a lot of trouble because for a Big Man Bowe had a GREAT inside game. Would have been bad for Mike...who was already declinging skill wise at that point
@@androlibre9661 I would hardly call him 'skinny' but I agree that the krunk team really polished his talents into something formidable.
@@TheInterestedObserver compared to what he became I mean...But he did have thin legs back then
If you could build a heavyweight boxer in a lab you’d build Lennox Lewis. Size, power, reach, intelligence, slick boxing skills, knockout power in both hands. He had it all.
He would have been steamrolled by Tyson Fury.
No, he stepped toe to toe with another giant: Vitali Klitschko, and stood his ground@@Sparky6string
So all giants are the exact same eh? Then it would follow that every fighter at every weight is exactly the same and the champ would be picked via politics only. I learn something every day!@@willbee8022
@Sparky6string
I agree, if Fury fell on him he would be completely flattened!
@@willbee8022a shame that fight got stopped on cuts. I think vitali might of won if it went the distance.
'Turning the monster of heavyweight folklore into a clumsy apparition of his former self' damn bro you good with this! 🔥
Sometimes it seems like a lot of commenters/analysts forget that 'boxing technique' can only be applied if you can stand in the ring with the man trying to rip your head off. I strongly feel that Lewis boxed the way Bruce Lee would have boxed, with the jab always in the way and either hand able to bridge the gap and leap to target. A kind of fencing technique as opposed to the slip'n'slaughter Tyson had.
Peek-A-Boo was literally designed to beat people like Lewis. But Tyson no longer even tried to train or anything by that point, he'd already given up with everything going on in his life.
@@dalehammers4425 😂😂
One of the best channels on youtube. Incredible breakdowns and keeps viewers entertained throughout. Outstanding!
I loved how he said "I'm Jack Dempsey". He's in his mind the one man he admitted to fearing before. When any serious protege's see themselves anywhere near the mentors they admired, that's the spark that let's you know a legend has being birthed
Mike was coked out of his mind at that time...
"Has being birthed." Couldn't have said it any weirder myself.
"I'm the best ever. I'm the most brutal and vicious, the most ruthless champion there has ever been. There's no one can stop me. Lennox is a conqueror? No! I'm Alexander! He's no Alexander! I'm the best ever. There's never been anyone as ruthless. I'm Sonny Liston. I'm Jack Dempsey. There's no one like me. I'm from their cloth. There is no one who can match me. My style is impetuous, my defense is impregnable, and I'm just ferocious. I want your heart! I want to eat his children! Praise be to Allah!" -unknown
Going into this fight, Mike was scraping wins from his power, he was at about 20%. Lewis was taking on every top contender and destroying them easily, this was always a mismatch between an all time great way over the hill and an all time great at his peak. Lewis put on a masterclass like a true champion, Mike took a horrible beating but took it like a champion.
No ears were harmed in that fight.
This. Tyson was way more skilled than his detractors gave him credit for, but even in his prime, he relied on his power as an emergency backup plan if things started going south. Like it said in the video, his opponents always had to be wary of a desperate counter that would hit like a truck.
If you had the skill and reach to stymie that power (as Lewis did), he was finished. It didn't mean Lewis would win ten out of ten of anything, but Tyson's best chances always relied on a quick finish. You could literally see Lewis getting better as the matched progressed while Tyson only got slower.
Yeah, but Tyson was a year younger than Lewis. The way you phrase it makes it sounds like Tyson was some 40 year old. And Lewis imo was already past his peak and nearly 37.
@@benrashid7260 Do you really need educating about this? Tyson peaking early, sacking Rooney, decline in skills, Don King, Douglas, prison etc etc. He had no business being in there with Lewis when they fought.
@@benrashid7260 Both were past their physical primes, but Tyson suffered more for it as the more physical fighter between the two. Meanwhile, Lewis, being the cerebral and technical of the two, could compensate better by relying more on things like timing, technique, etc.
This was compounded by Tyson's prison stint and his whole host of personal issues that ensured he was nowhere near what he used to be. I still feel Lewis would have won more often than not, but Prime Tyson would have always been a threat that would require his utmost concentration.
Basically, Prime Lewis vs Prime Tyson requires the Lion to bring his A+ game to avoid a knockout from Iron Mike's insane haymakers. It's essentially a lion vs a rhino. The lion is the superior predator on nearly every front, but the rhino only needs to gore him once to end it.
I remember when Lewis faced Hollyfied and was completely robbed on a decision. In his post fight interview he said, “I thought I gave him a good boxing lesson, I didn’t know I had to knock him out to win.” He very clearly out boxed Evander, who became visibly disheartened when he didn’t put down Lennox after three rounds. He finally rallied late in the match but Lewis clearly schooled him.
When they had the rematch, Jim
Rome
Had both on his show and Both fighters refused to look at each other, it was pretty funny how much they hated each other and Lewis did win the first fight IMO
That was a disgraceful verdict, everyone knew Lewis won. Anyway, no-one had a winning record against him
cry
Both fights were like watching grandparents fight.
@@andu1854 Evander won the 2nd fight. Lewis gassed early and was just getting clipped the rest of the night
Mike is a legend,no doubt,but respect to Lewis and Manny,they were a formidable team.Thanks for this.
The fact that Tyson could even compete with someone like Lewis at that point in his career says a lot about how good he was. I guess the problem is that his style depended on slipping punches and without the otherworldly athleticism he had as a young man he just wasn’t going to get past a fighter with the power and accuracy of Lewis.
Cus D'Amato also being old man can hit Alì with the peekaboo.
He could have trained using the same system even as an "older" man, and he was not "old" and he would have performed well. At the time he was living it up being famous, enjoying life, partying, hanging out with other celebs, etc... Back when he was with Cus D'Mato and Kevin Rooney, he didn't hang out, he didn't drink or smoke and he didn't party. He lived in the gym training to perform well. All of his major knockout punches and damaging blows back in the days were usually combinations. These combinations you can observe on some of his heavy bag and pad training videos. These combinations were trained in the gym thousands and thousands of time over and over again. The footwork you see was the result of footwork drills in training. You can see footwork drills in training and his pivots and side step and bob and weave. When he stepped in the ring trained by those two he had a notable advantage. After them, it was a different system, he was not as disciplined, even dropped the peek a boo for the most part and all of these dropped his level down to where others like Lewis could have an advantage over him. All of those moves were quick and decisive with the old Tyson because he had zero distractions and he practiced that stuff over and over and over again until he could do it without thinking.
Bingo!
he was losing every round just like with douglas
@@vincentvangogh8092 He was losing the first three rounds against Tucker and his corner had him make an adjustment and go to the body. It worked. Before this Tucker was beating him to the punch. So athletics long guys have been a problem for him. The Buster fight he was barely trained. Drinking and partying. He partied the weekend up to the fight likely becoming intoxicated. Its said he banged 5 Japanese escorts the night before. In the ring he had dead legs and looked sluggish.
He kept him away with jabs and whenever he managed to come close he used the right Uper cut. It's great tactic against shorter opponents.
Yes but the Tyson fanboys will say the peekaboo made Tyson invincible when he used it lol. He never had a chance vs Lewis, even in his prime.
Lewis' in-game adjustments were really good in this fight. He countered the PeekABoo by:
1. Being out of reach. Some of those Tyson's counters were 1 foot short. Lewis anticipated the counters and he was out of there when Tyson threw the punch.
2. Stepping forward and clinching. Lewis halted Tyson's combos by tying him up in the middle of it.
3. Disrupting Tyson's timing with jabs. Lewis threw so many jabs that it was hard for Tyson to slip all of them. As Tyson was worrying about the jabs, Lewis would sneak in some right straights, right hooks, and uppercuts.
@@One.Zero.One101 Yea, Tyson couldnt adjust and just kept trying the same thing, even though Lewis had his number. Those jabs were landing were Tyson would be when he tried to slip and come-in. That was his only entrance, so he couldn't close the distance enough to get in range.
And, it looked like Tyson didn't know any other means to shut down a jab besides to slip it, even though I can think of 3 of top of the head. That's on him, and even worse his corner. You can't tell me they didn't see that and have another way to counter the jab. Im sure Lewis' corner helped him see what Tyson was doing and come up with a plan
"Everyone has a plan til they get punched in the face". Yea, but what happens if they get hit and still can execute the plan. Or worse, what happens if they never get hit in the face
Are you allowed to uppercut your opponent's bicep? Lewis was just hanging his left out there. A good uppercut to the fukkn bicep would have settled that tactic.
@@One.Zero.One101 right hooks?
Too bad Cus passed away early in Tyson's career, I would have liked to see how he would have dealt with Lewis, maybe with Cus had been in the corner, Tyson would have taken the Foreman fight. Would have been great, have listened to a lot of Cus talk, he was a scholar of boxing and very animated as well.
Honestly I still got lennox at least 8 times out of 10
@@nerptheepic
Rahman won 1 out of 2.
@@BarrySlisk lucky shot. Its heavyweight boxing anything can happen
Honestly some years before I thought early 90's Lewis was maybe too green with too many errors to beat Tyson who had impaccable technic but then I found Arnie Boehm said Lewis has beaten him pretty easily in sparring before they turn pro, so anyway it would probably always have been the same fight.
Hmm no he wouldn’t have taken the Forman fight he was told never too fight him .
Douglas destroyed Tyson and so did Holyfield. We need videos on that. Lewis was the best of that era, but Tyson had been wrecked for a while before he got to Lewis. It was easy work.
Tyson was wrecked for Douglas and Holyfield
Tyson wrecked himself.
I think he's already done breakdowns on those fights
I would not say easy, he has beaten excellent boxers like Ruddock and Tucker, that's impressive, but yes he couldn't beat elite opposition, he was a one dimensional fighter, with no answer when his style didn't work.
Lewis was not only a huge athletic phenomenon but he could also switch styles if his usual boxing on the outside didn't work, he was a nightmare in the ring for anybody.
Because unlike Tyson, Lewis had brains and education. Tyson only had hate and violence.
Lennox Lewis was the most dominant, technical fighter I've ever seen in all my years. It was such a great time to be a fan of boxing. With that said, even I'll admit Tyson was a shell of his former self but he asked for it.
U must haven't seen a guy named Muhammad Ali
@@AnthonyRobinson-dc3pq mostly highlighrs and documentaries. Im 39 so he was before my time, my statement is "bla bla bla ive ever seen in all my years". I was too young for Ali but I have a huge respect and admiration for him, sadly I was not alive to witness his era. Seemed epic though.
@@MartyLeonXIIIGaming well just do some research of people who u want to know about maybe Google or u tube 👍😊
Lennox's 1-2 is a work of art
That's is the slowest 1 2 I ever seen check out Muhammad Ali
Oh please Joe Louis jersey Joe Walcott ezzard Charles
I never really appreciated Lenox Lewis as a kid. As I've gotten older I've realised just how great he actually was. There is a very reasonable argument to be made that Lewis was the greatest heavyweight of all time
Top 5 that’s for sure
CraicDealer No, I am the greatest heavyweight of all time. My weight is around 50 kg heavier than what it should be.
But i am not the greatest heavyweight boxer of all time.
@@REYisKING he beat tyson tho
@@REYisKING dude tyson isn't even top 5. Like he maybe could have been, but he wasn't.
No. Not even close, he can be appreciated and not be the greatest of all time.
All credit should go to Emmanuel Stewart , Lewis’ trainer.
He’s the guy who came up with the plan .
Manny made more than one champion
Well, not all. But Steward is arguably the best boxing trainer in history.
Him and buddy McGirt are def my favorite boxing trainers
Lewis never destroyed Tyson's PeekABoo style Tyson destroyed it himself by letting himself go
A loser is a loser.
So every time a person loses a game or a fight, should they say well I wasn't up for this one. I would have beat you last year. What the hell is wrong with Tyson fans?
I like Holyfields strategy: head butts. Those interrupt peekaboo too
Yes headbut no Bacon😂
It cost him both ears, in case you forgot.
@@BISSEYSZ so? He beat em twice. That’s like…. One ear a fight. Wouldn’t u make a small sacrifice to beat the boogie man? Call it the “most notorious moment in boxing history” tax
@@bunnyofdoom4501 Holyfield only beat Tyson ONCE. That second fight should never have been stopped. Holyfield didn't need ears to continue fighting, now did he?
Headbutting isn't a strategy. It's a pussy way to disable your opponent's vision, much like thumbing.
@@BISSEYSZ disagree. Those are veteran moves. It’s the art of getting away with as much as u can without being flagrant. You’re still learning and that’s great. Those moves come after u have mastered the basics.
Lennox Lewis was a magnificent boxer.
True. Rumor has it that Manny Steward said Lewis was about the strongest fighter he had ever seen. I think that made Lewis really hard to fight. He was tall & athletic, but strong as hell too.
@@presence5426 And he was like a chess player in the ring, always adapting and thinking ahead!
I wish we could have see Vladimir Klitchko and Lewis fight, cus it almost literally would have been a fencing match. Two guys trying to land complex jabs the entire time, with tons of feinting and deflections.
@@Bullet-Tooth-Tony- I'm so glad when I play a game of chess I don't have to risk getting pummeled before having a brief moment to consult the next move. This was a fantastic display of brains & brawn.
@@presence5426 I can believe that. If you go back and look at his early professional fights, his left jab alone was snapping back the heads of respected fighters and stopping them in their tracks. He had skill, he has very fast hands and he could hit like a freight train when he chose to let his hands go. He had a strong jaw and very good ringcraft, too. He could box better than Fury and was as strong, if not stronger than a Joshua or Wilder with both hands. Possibly the most complete heavyweight ever.
Felt like Lennox Lewis was done dirty by Boxing media and the public for not giving him the credit he deserves, but I'm glad more people are recognizing him and his accolades now.
He's the Heavyweight GOAT imo, and rightfully so.
Reason why its your opinion. Tyson and Ali >
Ali is the heavyweight GOAT
Chill TF put its his opinion
last undisputed champ, beat everyone he ever faced, best heavyweight boxer exer imo
@@tyriquekieron7594 ikr
This was a very enlightened break down. Provided real insight on how this fight went down.
Lewis, despite being known as one of the greatest ever, is consistently put under (Prime) Mike. I think more than any fight I’d like to see whether Lewis could have stopped a 21 year old Tyson. If so he’d definitely be the Greatest ever.
No chance
@@TURKISH-1453 name 5 notable fighters prime Tyson beat💀
You sound like Teddy Atlas mate 😂
@@benbachmann3856 I'd say name 1. Not one great fighter beaten by Tyson.
No respectable boxing ranking has Tyson above Lewis.
lol bring back the other version from before where you accidentally called lewis the easton assassin
I made a whole community post for people to roast me about that but feel free to do that here too, I deserve it! haha
I don't get it why did he have to take down the video and reupload ?
@@TheModernMartialArtist haha, its fine man its all in good fun :)
@@TheModernMartialArtist Were you talking about Larry Lewis or Lennox Holmes? 😂
This matchup would’ve been difficult for Tyson at any point in his career. Lewis was just that special.
Everyone will remember Mike Tyson forever then anyone else he fights
Buster and evander
I remember most my classmates just being surprised he didnt bite anyone. Great fight but the mystique was gone.
Lewis vs Tyson Fury would be one hell of a fight.
Pretty difficult to predict, Lewis could make short work of extremely tough guys and struggle to KO a light journeyman like Mavrovic.
I still mostly see it like a Grant or Golota fight as Fury isn't really difficult to drop. When Lewis catches you the fight is over even if you managed to beat the count the first time, you're fckd.
@@dirtyandnasty9011 Tyson Fury is used to bully smaller fighters, Lewis would be too big and is a whole better fight.
@@dirtyandnasty9011 Mavrovric had a good chin tbf
@@Bullet-Tooth-Tony- Yes he was a hell of a fighter. Seing how a Grant (31-0) did against Lewis, Mavrovic performance was impressive.
battle of the giants
It's like saying Holmes destroyed Ali. Watching this video in 2023, the best part of the broadcast was seeing Emanuel Steward smiling. RIP you absolute legend!
Definitely Not true, Tyson had a lot left when he fought Lewis, Lewis shut him down.
@THe-ss5sz Eh. Didn't train, poor stamina, no heart, no head movement, no combos. Maybe I'm not remembering right, but I'm guessing there is a huge difference between 80's Tyson and 2000's Tyson. Not taking anything away from Lewis, a motivated Lewis is one of my favorite heavyweights. Had they met in their primes, I would say the fight would have been 50/50 who won. As old men, Lewis was bigger, needed that fight for his legacy, took less damage over the course of his career, and was more focused. Result was predictable, a lopsided match ending in a Lewis KO. It wasn't the fight these warriors, or the fans, deserved. Tyson even talked about not having his heart in boxing anymore and just needing a paycheck at that point in his life. Again, I could be remembering some of these details wrong.
Ali was 7 years older than Holmes. Tyson is actually one year younger than Lewis. American fans have invested some much in the myth of Tyson that this defeat is still a hard pill to swallow it seems.
@@Koolbite Brawlers have shorter careers. Everyone's biology is different. You can't strictly go by age. I was pointing out that both Ali and Tyson were way past their primes.
@@CptKennyLoggins First of all Lennox Lewis is the best ever, Lennox at his best would annihilate Mike Tyson at his best. This fight proved it. Mike Tyson did train alot for this fight, had the same stamina he always had or even better, showed heart, his head movement was not quite all there, but it got shut down by Lennox, his combos were definitely there but those got shut down by Lennox as well. overall this was 75% credit to Lennox Lewis, and 25% Mike Tyson needing a couple more fights to get back to where he used to be.
Mike definitely had his heart in boxing at that point, Lennox was a challenge that motivated Tyson, it wasn't until later that Mike Tyson truly lost it, and just going for paychecks. Honestly wish Lennox waited for Mike to have a couple more fights, or atleast gave him a rematch a year later, so that Mike would still be motivated, have sufficient training and back to peekaboo trademark style.
Tyson in his prime was a masterclass in the peekaboo style. This Tyson was just a shell of his former self.
Lewis wasn’t in his prime either and he still beat Tyson.
Tyson was already destroyed by the time he faced Lennox. His career was a traveling circus after he lost the 2nd Holyfield bout until he retired.
Tyson's biggest problem was, he wasn't offsetting Lewis with his own jab something he was great at in his prime years. He allowed Lewis to get off too much. So after a while, Lewis was able to get a rhythm going because Tyson wasn't throwing anything. The peek a boo style is an offensive style, although it's defensive too, you have to be punching while constantly putting pressure on your opponent trying to cut him off. But if you don't keep him thinking by offsetting him with your jab and timing him, you're allowing him to get into a rhythm of his own. Lewis strategy of shortening up the jab worked but a lot of that had to do with Tyson not doing anything. The reality is, Tyson was a shot fighter mentally and physically by this time of his career. Lewis peaked but Tyson was a shadow of his former self. The way Tyson fought the first round is how he should kept fighting and even than, you can see Tyson was an easier target compared to the days when he had better defense and moved his head off center more efficiently. Good tactical breakdown but a lot of what happened in this fight happened because of Tyson not using his peek a boo style like he used to anymore.
Tldr, but I read the first sentence and it's ridiculous so let me correct you: Tyson isn't know for a jab, he's know for hooks, upoercuts, and haymakers. Do you know who is know for a jab? His opponent who was much taller. You want Tyson to completely change his style mid fight to match a hall of famer who is a champion because of his reach and his jab? You need to give up on boxing, you have no idea how tyson being smaller won't land a jab against lewis who is bigger AND ACTUALLY GOOD AT JABBING.
TLDR: TYSON DOESN'T JAB, EINSTEIN, LEWIS NADE A CAREER OF IT.
@@johnthomas1422 Tyson certainly did jab,
Another problem is Tyson relies a lot on his ability to dodge with his pickaboo but Lewis is so accurate if you look at him landing combos in his other fights, he lands his shots while the guy is brutaly dodging from side to side, even sometimes while he is falling, that's impressive. So I think bringing only his usual pickaboo strategy was an error. + Lewis knew it and already trained against him before olympics, there was no way he would be surprised and didn't train especialy for that.
@@johnthomas1422 that's factually incorrect!! Tyson outjabbed Tony Tucker and Tyrell Biggs who both stood 6-5 and 6'6 inches tall. Tyson had a very good jab in his prime and a lot of that was because of his timing and accuracy. Not only that, he shot his jab quick too and his jab was used to offset a fighters rhythm so he can close the distance and cut the ring off on you. Tyson put on one of his best boxing performances against Mitch Green with the use of the jab, and he showed impeccable head movement in that fight. That version of Tyson knocks Lewis out and takes him the sameway he took Holmes out!! Another thing, maybe you should do some research on the sparring that Tyson and Lewis did back than because Tyson dominated him according to Kevin Rooney and Joe Egan who used to spar with Tyson and he seen it too and Tyson concussed Lewis. Lewis got him at the right time!!
Bro, it's hard to use your jab against an opponent who's 6 inches taller than you with a 12 inch reach advantage. This doesn't even take into account that Tyson was well past his prime and only stayed in the game to collect paychecks.
As always Modern Martial Artist i'm left in delirium over your analysis. Even though Tyson was my preferred fighter, I liked the way you dissected his destruction in this fight. Thanks.
That referee was sweating more than both fighters combined…
I honestly believe prime Lewis could have beaten ANY version of Tyson. Tyson was obviously one of the most spectacular talents to ever step into a boxing ring, but his kryptonite were bigger, unintimidated, legit boxers with high in ring IQ. I think Lewis possessed all the elements that made Tyson beatable.
You talk like Lewis never got knocked out which a young tyson would have done.
I respect Lewis he got probably top 5 Jab of All time up there with Ali not 86 Tyson tho
@@davidmoore2308 This is true. What's also true is that Lewis got Ko'd by 2 clear underdog's that he avenged both with Mcall quitting and knocking out Rahman. Lennox perhaps had a tendency to underestimate or fight down to the level of lesser opponents. That would have NEVER been the case fighting prime Tyson. Tyson in all likelihood would have gotten the best and most locked in version of Lewis, which would have spelled trouble for Mike, based on the elements mentioned in my original post.
I LOVE YOUR FIGHT BREAKDOWNS MAN!!!❤❤❤ PLZ DO FLOYD VS CORRALES
Mike had his moments, but wasn't the same. Especially after he got out of prison. Just like Ali was out for 3 1/2yrs, Mike was out for almost 3yrs. I live in Memphis and the whole city embraced this event. You had entertainers and athletes from all over the world here. Downtown Memphis is not that big but it was jam packed all night after the fight.
Idiot he beacame Champion after he got out of prison
Lewis did not destroy it. Tyson never even did it during that "fight". He didn't even fight Mike Tyson. He fought an absolute shell of Mike Tyson.
This wasn't about Lewis beating the Peek-a-boo style. But this was about Lewis beating a out of prime Mike Tyson he used the Peek-a-boo style.
They're the same age
@@derickofodirinwa5104Lewis is older actually these people forget this 😅
That wasn't the same Tyson, or the same peekaboo style that made him very hard to hit. Tyson wasn't the same man since his trainer died. I believe they were more like family than business partners.
It's y Lewis ducked Hon for years
In his prime, Tyson was the terrifying mayhem of a tiger unleashed in the ring. No strategy short of a gun would have mattered. Fights lasted as little as 9 seconds. This Tyson wasn't any of that.
Lewis didnt destroy peekaboo..Mike just passed his prime and he didnt have it anymore at that age
Lennox was older. Enough with the excuses. Lennox would've still beat Tyson.
Lennox was older but he hit his peak in early 30s..Tyson peaked in his early 20s but he lost his focus to boxing after he served time...divorce..and went with Don King
@@hmmm3210 It's not an excuse lol. athletes peak at different times
Mike tyson Is the only athlete in the history of mankind who prime lasted from 16-20
excuses, everywhere excuses
Watching this as well as the Tucker and Tillis, I’m convinced Tyson (even in his prime) would’ve been destroyed by Ali (any era). Ali had damn near all of those techniques Lewis used but Ali was way more effective, maybe not as strong as Lewis but just as big and much faster than Lewis.
I also think that Larry Holmes would have been a problem for Mike. Not the two year retired, two weeks camp almost 40 years old version that fought a 21 year mike, I mean even at same age 36 year old Larry with that lightening quick stiff jab, would have made for a frustrating night.
I think Young George FOreman beats young Tyson
@@androlibre9661 I think Foreman, Holmes and Ali all deal with Mike, what would have been fascinating to watch would be Prime Joe Frazier against prime Mike Tyson. Oooof!
@@TheInterestedObserver
Would be a short fight.
Don't make excuses for Mike. He entered the ring and lost. You can say he didn't train enough or whatever but he had time to get ready and he was beaten. You can't change the past.
Ay yoooo! That Tigran Petrosian reference! 🔥🔥 Never thought of that analogy between Lennox Lewis' disciplined style and Iron Tigran's prophylactic "nip it in the bud" approach.
Mike in his prime with Cus in his corner would of been a war between the 2. Mike would of been focused and training like a beast. It’s all what ifs though…
He didn’t have cus for like 99% of his career…. Cus passed before he even became world champion
@@TheGOAT-dr1sq Kevin Rooney
Lewis was on the Joe Rogan show talking about the time he went to Catskill as a teenager to meet D'Amato and Tyson and spar with him. He said Tyson was friendly and they sat down and watched old heavyweights fights from the 20s and 30s.
I am curious how you think Tyson would have done back in his prime. Would Lewis have still torn apart the Peek a Boo style?
Absolutely not. Mike in his prime was basically unbeatable.
Much better fight, as Prime Tyson was a scary mix of quick and power, and in this fight he did connect a few times but his age and diminish physical body made it too difficult to follow up, where young Tyson I do feel is able to follow up (Lewis has lost due to being hit real
Solid by a power puch),
@@brilliant13675 Yes he would’ve
@@brilliant13675 Unbeatable against bums
There's a lot of good analysis here, in the video and comments, but the real question that will always remain with me is "what if". Maybe it's a tired point, but if cus hung around on this planet another 5 years or so, maybe mike makes better decisions, gets better guidance, and learns how to adjust his game over time. Despite all his achievements, he will always be the biggest what if in boxing history for me.
It’s a paradox in careers, Tyson was at his peak at a very young age, while Lewis got better as he got older. It’s absolutely impossible to say who would have beaten who at their best.
Such a terrible version of Tyson in this fight. Would loved to have seen a 1988 Tyson vs Lewis
That's right
And Lewis would still win
This video made it look a lot closer of a fight than it was. Tyson tried in the 1st round and did ok but round 2 onward was all Lewis and the ref was the worst I've seen.
Taken a point for a lean that's not even a foul
Given Tyson a standing 8 count against the rules
Then threatening Lewis with more points deduction for a forearm that he imagined.
Yes, that Eddie Cotton was an utter disgrace. I've never seen more biased refereeing.
I was seriously wondering how that lean got a point taken away from him.. very weird.
Just curious on your opinion. But would not the fact that tyson was not at his best and just took the fight for cash most likey played a factor into Lewis winning
Yson had already paid $5m to duck Lewis once and refused to enter the ring with Riddick Bowe. Mike lost all his legacy fights. Still one of my favourite fighters ever but Lennox, Riddick even Razor Ruddock were all bad match ups for Mike's style
@@TheInterestedObserver I like tyson but he's a bit overrated and people make a TON of excuses for him
I don't ever remember r bowe wanting to fight, but I was too young at the time
@@TheInterestedObserver Mike not only paid Lennox, but he promised him a fight after.
Lennox said yes to the cash and promised fight, as it meant he would fight Mike for the WBC and WBA.
After beating Seldon (who he fought instead of Lennox) he vaccated the WBC (where Lennox was the mandatory) to avoid him again
@@natedowd9699 His reputation is over blown tbh, sure he has some good wins, and his style is awesome, but when you look at the fights he lost, they were usually to the top guys in the heavyweight scene.
It can’t be underestimated how much Lewis mastered the different jabs, their potential power and strategy in using them. Compared to other boxers. Those little jabs are immensely powerful and could easily ko a regular person.
Only tyson fanboys ever thought he could beat Lewis because they were fueled by emotion. Actual objective & logical boxing fans saw nothing more than a guy who never avenged a defeat & was ducking Lewis for years because he knew he would get destroyed. I called the result & the round at the time which is rare for me but it was that obvious.
But but but the drugs! But but cus died. But don king. But but but....
@@DrCoreyTuggers Genius 🤣, here's some more But but but his terrible wife, but but but prison.
@@DrCoreyTuggers "IF HE WAS IN HIS PRIME"
@@GoatHolyfield lennox duck a lot of people including mike
This! Wish I could like this comment several times
Lewis is underrated. Genuinely one of, if not the best heavyweight ever. Never ducked a fight and made it look effortless as he destroyed the best around. If he was around now, he'd still beat everyone in the heavyweight division by a mile.
Agreed.
True
Let's get it right, Mike barely used any of his previous skills, hardly destroyed peek a boo style when he never used it anymore his head movement was gone.
He was also past his prime and away from boxing. Him pulling an Ali over Forman victory would have been a miracle. Lewis is too smart for that. This wasn't going to work in his favor.
Tyson took Peek-a-boo to incredible heights and immediately showed what he could do.
Tysons speed of movement and stamina it took to maintain it was completely gone at this time. He had lost a few steps. Just enough to not be the same threat he once was for his style.
Yeah yeah, excuses, Tyson knocked Larry H, he was also out of his prime if that was the case. Tyson lost against Evanda as well, the greats were just better so save it.
@@KnowzsPenge no excuses just reasons. When He lost , those that beat him were the better men at those times Cant take anything away from Evander or Lewis..or even the lesser opponents, but its clear. But none of them reached the peak that He reached in his prime and none of them..not 1...could of handled Tyson in his prime right before he got his belts...right around the time of Cuss death. There was not a better heavyweight boxer on the planet that could hang. Just facts. Lewis grew into his big frame and Tyson slowed and lost his ability to maintain that explosiveness and mobility. His movement...footwork, head and torso movement, and stamina all declined. Just facts. He became a guy trying to land the big one. Relying on 1 or 2 punches with predictability in exchange rate. And that is NOT what he was at his best. That was never his game. His power was always based on quickness and timing, with evasiveness. He lost those, and after that his smaller size that once was advantageous for that style at that speed ,became more and more of a liability.
@@jimberlygridder183and that's the fact
@@jimberlygridder183 Dude that prime lasted for all of 3 years, which is nothing in a champion boxers career. Other boxers adjusted, like Klitchko, as they got older to account for slowing down. Tyson tried to hold onto a style that only works with the highest speed and accuracy possible and it bit him in the ass. By every metric Vladimir is better than Tyson. Better Record, longer title reign, harder puncher, higher punch and power punch accuracy, more belts, world champion level competitiveness WAY longer, and ya know, he didn't beat women and get strung out on cocaine. They both started at the same age too in similar horrible conditions. But because Vladimir fights boring he's not as well known.
Louis can't destroyed peekaboo style , Tyson destroyed himself by lack of discipline, in prime time Tyson can finish the fight just 4th round.
The main thing here is that peekaboo style pushes much on the body and he was wasting on jabs, plus by this point Tyson wasn't the same. He didn't had the same speed, stamina and etc. So it was just survive until he gets tired type of thing.
It helped that Tyson was completely unmotivated, coming in a fat 239 lbs, and was sedated for the fight.
Really would’ve loved to see this fight happen 5-10 years earlier. This is far from either of their primes though I think Tyson had the greater decline.
They had a sparring session when they was young and people who saw it said lennix won
😂😂😂😂
love this channel man, thanks for all these gems you put out with the precise analysis
I was a Holyfield fan, but no one, not Lewis, not Holyfield, would have beat Mike in his first five years, no one. To me, he was the greatest of all time, in those first five years!!!
Because he mostly fought bums
@@EliasRoy He fought the best.
@@tdeancline 🤣🤣🤣
For all the uneducated casuals saying that Lewis was waiting out for Tyson to get old remember that before Tyson could even fight Holyfield he ended up in prison. Then after prison Lewis was more than happy to fight Tyson as they were building him back up for the comeback. And remember; it was Tyson's promoter Don who paid Lewis a 7 figure sum to stepaside so they can duck him and allow Tyson to keep ko'ing fighters below his level before eventually meeting his match against Holyfield when he got dominated and stopped by him. But the blame for the fight not happening earlier was all on Tyson's side, they could've done it earlier if they wanted to. Tyson at his peak is without a shadow of a doubt one of the greatest HW's of all time.. Definitely in my top 10 HW list but he wasn't even the best of his era.. Now ik, ppl will tell me "but late 90s mike wasn't the same as late 80s mike", and that's true. But still, peak vs peak Tyson would've never been able to beat Holyfield, Lewis or Vitali Klitschko. I don't think he'd even be able to beat the version of Fury that we saw against Wilder in their 2nd fight. You also have to keep in mind that Tyson's peak was during a dried out era of the late 80s where even the champions of that time weren't of an elite level or any historical significance. In fact Tyson's biggest wins during that time were over razor ruddock and a rusty old larry holmes who was just fresh out of retirement when he fought the young lion in Tyson.. I'm not saying that Tyson's bad or anything like that but I believe that the greats who were greater than him in the ring should get their well earned respect. I do however understand why his admirers rate him so highly, he was a spectacle to watch and the furthest thing from boring.
A lot of people will say Tyson was past his best for this fight. He wasn’t definitely not at his peak, that’s for sure. But I honestly think Lewis would’ve pulled off the same result even if that fight had happened 7 or 8 years earlier.
I agree, but we’re in the minority. People don’t give Lennox the respect he deserves.
Hard to say because though he has the length and ring IQ, Tyson was way swifter on his feet in his prime and the full glory of the peekaboo style (the absolute only chance he had) was on full display.
Absolutely, It might not have ended with Mike saying "im lucky he didn't kill me in there' but would have been the same result. Lennox was too big, too strong and he had a fantastic jab that he knew how to work behind and was simply the better boxer. That's it, only reason people think otherwise is cause Tyson has the mythology but Lewis has the bodies.
@@endlessnameless6628 very few heavyweights in history could beat Lennox.
@@rico14 that is a fact.
I remember watching this live. I never in my life thought Tyson would be completely outclassed in a fight but he was. Holyfield outclassed Tyson also.
yes, he was... there is a small class of boxers above Tyson, and LL was in that class. Tyson's unmatched greatness stems from his real life story and transformation.