Lewis Not the Great One, but He’s Still Pretty Good

Muhammad Ali, then a brash young Cassius Clay, ducked, jabbed, outclassed, confounded and ultimately frustrated Sonny Liston in 1964, winning their first meeting as Liston, claiming an injury, quit in his corner. It is considered one of the great moments in heavyweight championship history.

Lennox Lewis ducked, jabbed, outclassed, confounded and frustrated David Tua last week, retaining the heavyweight title as Tua, claiming an injury, quit on his feet. It is considered one of the most boring fights in heavyweight championship history.

So what’s the difference?

Charisma, blinding speed and heart-pounding anticipation, but not much in terms of the matchup, the styles or the result.

Lewis is certainly no Ali, either in terms of skill or showmanship. There’s no shame in that. Neither is anybody else who has ever worn the heavyweight crown.

But Lewis has become the dominant heavyweight of our time, despite the howls of critics who consider mentioning him in the same breath with the great heavyweights as blasphemy. Why? He has size at 6 feet 5, power in both hands, the ability to consistently deliver devastating combinations, exceptional mobility for a big man, a strong chin that has deserted him on only one punch in a professional career that stretches over a dozen years, and the ability to assess and adjust to whatever style he is faced with.

Credit, however, is slow in coming.

Is Lewis merely the best of a bad bunch. Or so good he makes the bunch look bad?

Lewis exposed Tua as a one-punch fighter without much heart, but what was Liston? He was slow and one-dimensional, a bully who had made his reputation by beating up an undersized heavyweight with a fragile chin, Floyd Patterson.

When Ali, back in his days as Clay, would use his long, lean frame, razor-sharp reflexes, lightning-quick head movement and dancing feet to avoid punches, he was considered a brilliant defensive fighter. When he would lean back on the ropes and wear out an opponent, he was called a master strategist.

When Lewis does some of the same things, though not as spectacularly, he is called--take your pick--cowardly, heartless, lacking in character, ultra-conservative.

The truth is, Lewis, an avid chess player, has checkmated his opponents by outthinking them, as well as outfighting them.

Facing Evander Holyfield, a three-time heavyweight champion with dangerous power, Lewis took the conservative approach, outboxing his opponent, which nearly every boxing observer in the world, except for two nearsighted judges, agree Lewis did in both their fights.

Against Andrew Golota in 1997, Lewis, brimming with confidence, was quick and deadly, finishing off Golota in one round.

Against Michael Grant, hailed as the best and the brightest of the next generation of heavyweights, Lewis waded in and revealed Grant as an ill-prepared novice, destroying him in two rounds.

Against Tua, Lewis, knowing he was facing a one-punch fighter, started out cautiously, then opened up at the end, dancing and jabbing and throwing combinations at will.

No matter how good Lewis is, it would be hard to argue that this is a great time for heavyweights. He finds himself in much the same situation as did Larry Holmes, a tremendous heavyweight two decades ago, who suffered from a lack of credible opposition. The same could be said today in the light-heavyweight division, where Roy Jones can’t find anyone to define his greatness.

Analytical and efficient in the ring, thoughtful and respectful outside it, Lewis just isn’t going to excite anyone.

He never will have Ali’s charisma, Mike Tyson’s viciousness or George Foreman’s personality.

And he may never have media approval. The media, after all, do not like to admit they were wrong. And when Lewis missed on a right hand thrown against Oliver McCall on Sept. 24, 1994, leaving Lewis open to the right hand that knocked him down and out on a stunning second-round KO, Lewis was branded as a second-tier heavyweight.

The label has stuck, even though it is his only loss in a 38-fight career, even though Tyson avoided Lewis back when Tyson was champion and shows no inclination to fight him now, even though Lewis has defeated everybody out there, and even though he has a record surpassed only by Rocky Marciano among heavyweight champions.

Fighters don’t usually get better in their 30s. Lewis has.

There certainly have been better eras for the heavyweights. There have better champions.

But Lewis is the best heavyweight on the planet today and could have successfully competed in any era.

It’s time. Give him his due.

WAHT’S NEXT?

World Boxing Council welterweight champion Shane Mosley will definitely return to the ring on Feb. 24 at New York’s Madison Square Garden.

And this time, Mosley will move to center stage, the 19,000-seat big arena. Against Antonio Diaz earlier this month, Mosley fought in the 5,000-seat Theater, located alongside the main arena.

Mosley’s opponent has yet to be determined.

He will not fight Arturo Gatti because of concerns that match would be held up for what it would be, a hopeless mismatch. He will not fight Vernon Forrest, who is planning a rematch against Raul Frank. He will not fight James Page, who is hoping to face Andrew Lewis.

That leaves three possibilities for Mosley: Ike Quartey, Shannon Taylor or Oba Carr.

The vote here is for Quartey.

QUICK JABS

Prince Naseem Hamed and Marco Antonio Barrera apparently will fight for supremacy in the featherweight division on March 3, although details remain to be worked out. Don’t look for that fight to be at Staples Center, even though it has been mentioned as a possible site. The Kings are scheduled to play the Detroit Red Wings in one of their most attractive games of the season that night. . . . The Long Beach Convention Center will host a boxing card Sunday night, consisting of four- and six-rounders, to benefit the California Narcotics Officers Assn. First fight is at 8 p.m.