Did Holyfield beat Lewis in their 2nd fight? Round by Round Breakdown

[streetsaresafer]

I just watched Holyfield/Lewis II again. I scored it 6-5, 1 even for Holyfield tonight (115-114). This is interesting because the 1st 2 times I scored the fight, I scored it 8-4 for Lewis, 116-112. But I think I may be seeing what Burt Sugar, Larry Holmes, Michael Moorer, and several ringside journalists apparently saw - which was a close win for Evander. For the record, Lewis was most certainly jobbed in their 1st fight - I scored the first fight 9-3 for Lewis if I remember correctly.

Holyfield/Lewis II is a tough fight to score. Specifically, rounds 5, 8, and 9 are brutally tough rounds to score that really could be scored either way. Round 1 is close as well. I watched several of these rounds multiple times, I played back some of the exchanges, I even watched a couple of the close rounds with the sound off just to see how that affected things. Very difficult fight to score. Holyfield certainly doesn't get dominated like he did in the first fight.

I lean toward Holyfield ever so slightly in the fight because he seems to be the effective aggressor, he is the one coming forward, landing the more telling blows, and Lewis is far less accurate, particuarly with his jab, in the 2nd fight than he was in the 1st fight. Holyfield's jab seems far more effective, and he lands several good left hooks in the fight. I like Lewis's body attack in this fight, and he has some beautiful uppercuts, particuarly in round 9. But again I scored it for Holyfield by a point this time.

Here is my round by round breakdown from my most recent viewing tonight.

Round 1 - Holyfield
Lewis lands a good jab flush and a decent 1-2 in the first minute. Holyfield lands a decent jab to Lewis chest. Halfway through the round Holyfield whacks Lewis to the side of the head 3 times. Lewis uppercut misses on Holyfield's right glove though the announcers say it hit Holyfield. With 45 seconds to go in the round Holyfield lands a nice 2 punch combo on the inside and then they clinch (ref Halpern makes it tough to see it though). Holyfield again jabs to the chest. Again evident that Holyfield's jab is more effective, at least in this round. Holyfield is the one pushing the fight, coming forward, trying to engage. I know scoring round 1 this way might be controversial since all 3 judges gave it to Lewis, but honestly everytime I have watched this fight I have given round 1 to Holyfield - even the first 2 times where I scored the fight 8-4 Lewis I still gave round 1 to Holyfield. Again the key here is that Holyfield is the effective aggressor in the round.

Round 2 - Lewis
Clear round for Lewis. Goods jabs and a good uppercut in the first minute by Lewis. Holyfield not punching much here. Lewis the aggressor in the round, unlike round 1. Good jab and uppercuts again by Lewis. Good jabs by Holyfield to the body, and a pretty good left hook to Lewis's body. Good 1-2 by Lewis. Decent left hook. Good round for Lewis - clearly his round, Lewis's jab was much more effective here and he landed those uppercuts.

Round 3 - Holyfield
Lewis missing a lot of punches initially. But good jab and uppercuts again 40 seconds into the round by Lewis. Good triple jab by Holyfield halfway through. Decent jabs by Lewis. Slight edge to Lewis so far in the round. Excellent overhand right by Holyfield, biggest flush shot in the round so far. Holyfield whacks Lewis a couple times at the end of the round. I gave the round to Evander due to the quality of his punches. Again a close round though. But Holyfield had the more telling blows and was more the aggressor in round 3.

Round 4 - Lewis
Neither one landing really anything in the first 35 seconds. Holyfield lands a good counter right hand. A couple of jabs by Lewis. Nice jab by Lewis 1 minute 20 seconds in. Some more solid jabs by Lewis. Good right hand by Lewis near the end of the round.

Round 5 - Even
Not a big round for Lewis like Lampley says it is (I like Lampley but I disagree with him about this round). Great left hook by Holyfield, maybe the most flush shot in the fight. Right right hand by Lewis but doesn't land flush despite Lampley's insistence "a big right hand." Holyfield comes back with a left hook. Lewis lands another good right hand. Uppercut, some jabs by Lewis. Decent left hook by Holyfield. Holyfield comes back with a left to the body. Good jab by Holyfield. Holyfield coming forward. Good left to the body by Holyfield. I scored it an even round, Lewis threw more punches but Holyfield was the aggressor in the round going after Lewis and had the best punch in the round early in the round. Very close round though. Even round.

Round 6 - Holyfield
Good, effective jabs by Holyfield. Much more active than Lewis at this point. Lewis gets in an uppercut. But good left to the head by Evander. 1-2combo by Lewis. Right hand by Lewis. Holyfield clearly the aggressor in the round so far. Attempted some big looping overhand rights that missed but still hitting his jabs. Not much activity from Lewis here. More good jab work by Holyfield. Good round for the Real Deal.

Round 7 - Holyfield
I wish more of their rounds was like this one. Best round of their 2 fights. Lewis nice combinations to start out. Uppercut by Lewis. Strong left hook by Holyfield. Holyfield goes to the body. Lewis seems a bit rattled, perhaps hurt some by the left hook earlier. Lewis clinching. Good body shots by Holyfield. Great left hook by Holyfield, snapped Lewis's head back. Good right hand by Lewis. Strong right hand by Lewis. Great round. But Holyfield landed the more telling blows in this round. The short left hook bothered Lewis, and the left hook later on scored big too. Holyfield's round.

Round 8 - Holyfield
Right hand by Lewis. Good jabs by Holyfield. Not much happening though. Good left hook by Holyfield, backing Lewis up, best punch of the round by far. Lewis goes to the body some. Lewis seems a bit lazy here with his hands down. A couple jabs for Lewis. Both get a couple jabs to the body. Good jab by Holyfield. Solid uppercut by Lewis but not flush. Good left hook by Holyfield. Both trying to flurry at the end of the round. Amazingly close round, perhaps the closest of the fight, but I gave it to Holyfield because he landed the best punch of the round, the left hook 1 minute in, and he closed the round nicely with another left hook and then a right hand.

Round 9 - Lewis
Holyfield outjabbing Lewis to start the round. Good loopoing overhand right by Holyfield. Strong beginning by Holyfield in the first minute. Body shots by Lewis. Lots of clinching now. Good triple jab by Holyfield. Holyfield has won the first 2 minutes of the round. Another good left hook to the body by Lewis. Both going at it. Great uppercut by Lewis. Good combinations by Lewis. Lewis scoring some more. I like that they are both going after each other again, ala round 7. Holyfield flurries a bit at the end. I like the aggression both showed in the round. Another close round, I gave it to Lewis due to the uppercut being the best punch of the round. Could see this round being scored either way. Giampa scored it for Holyfield, and the other 2 scored it for Lewis.

Round 10 - Lewis
Some decent jabs by Lewis. Good 1-2 by Lewis. Holyfield trying to establish his jab some. Body punches by Lewis. Holyfield not punching much this round. Missing some. Good counter combo by Lewis. Another good combo punctuated by a good uppercut by Lewis. Two more good body shots by Lewis. Good left hook by Lewis. Lewis looking great this round. Lots of clean shots landed. More body shots by Lewis. Great round for Lewis. Scored a lot shots, and didn't get hit much.

Round 11 - Lewis
Good jabs by Lewis. Holyfield with a couple of rights. Good left by Holyfield. Both jabbing. Left hook by Lewis. More jabs from Lewis. Top notch left hook by Holyfield, best punch of the round so far. Good body shot by Holyfield. Lewis counters with a good body shot. Holyfield lands a very good counter right hand. Good combo by Lewis. Another combo by Lewis.
I gave the round to Lewis because he was busier.

Round 12 - Holyfield
Great combination upstairs by Evander on Lewis. Holyfield lands some body shots on Lewis. Holyfield the agressor in this round so far. Left uppercut by Holyfield. More body attack by Commander Vander. Some jabs by Lewis. Not much activity from Lewis in this round so far. Another combo by Holyfield. Holyfield still going to the body. Solid right hand by Lewis. Clear round for Holyfield though, effective aggressor through out the round.

So Holyfield takes it 115-114. 6 rounds to 5, 1 even.

Thoughts? I must say I am surprised on how my opinion has changed on this fight. I scored it 8-4 for Lewis the first 2 times I scored the fight, but now these last 2 times I seem to think Holyfield takes it ever so slightly. I know most will say Lewis won a close but clear decision, and I have no problem with that as I have scored this fight for him before.

The next time I watch it, I may see Lewis as the winner again.

But right now, Holyfield is my winner for their 2nd fight.

[fists of fury]

Thanks for such an in-depth post on this fight. Great stuff.

I haven't watched the fight for many years now, but the impression I got after watching the fight live was that Holyfield shaded it. There was a lengthly discussion about this on the general forum, with most utterly convinced that Lennox had won, and won clearly.
I started to doubt my judgement, but your post has basically reiterated what I felt at the time.
Personally, I haven't got the fight on tape (and watching the youtube one is laborious) so again I'm speaking from memory, but my feeling at the time was that Holyfield deserved the nod.

I think he'd have had to dominate Lewis in the second fight to get the decision though, considering the outcry over the first fight, where Lewis was robbed.

[Mendoza]

I remember scoring this fight way back when. Lewis won it. Three things to note here.

1 ) Lewis foam cup guard was ridiculously high to help him take body shots from Holfyield. I lost some respect from Lewis for doing this. The heavyweight champion of the world should be confident in his ability to take a body shot.

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2 ) Lewis likely won rounds 8,9,10, and 11. This won him the fight, as some of the early rounds were devoid of activity.

3 ) Holyfeild closed well and won the 12th. He also won the crowd in this round. Sometimes fighters who come back late and close well create confusion with the fans as to who won the fight. Asking a fan who won the last round last round is easy. Asking a fan who won a boring 4th round without the aid of a score card is hard. Boxing matches are scored round by round. Ever round counts even if it wasn’t memorable. I wanted Holyfield to win this fight, but I think I had it 7-5 or 7-4-1 for Lewis

[Robbi]

To have Holyfield winning the 1st and 3rd rounds, astonishing. He could not get close to Lewis until the 5th round. Clearly outboxed, wasn't getting off with punches, never mind land any.

These rounds weren't even close.

[achillesthegreat]

Lewis won the first 9-3 and the second 8-4.

[JohnThomas1]

I suppose the first fight you scored a draw.

[DamonD]

1 ) Lewis foam cup guard was ridiculously high to help him take body shots from Holfyield.
Just making sure here...you know that was the first fight, right?
Second fight, Lewis was wearing the white trunks.

Anyway...first fight 9-3 Lewis, second fight 8-4 Lewis.

[ChrisPontius]

I never understand what makes this fight such a "close" one. Would Lewis wearing the American flag have made it less close?

I scored it 8-4 for Lewis. 7-5 is the best i could possibly give Holyfield, scoring all close rounds in his favor and making 2 of his punches count for 1 of Lewis, just like the crowd.

[Robbi]

I never understand what makes this fight such a "close" one. Would Lewis wearing the American flag have made it less close?

I scored it 8-4 for Lewis. 7-5 is the best i could possibly give Holyfield, scoring all close rounds in his favor and making 2 of his punches count for 1 of Lewis, just like the crowd.

Did you give Holyfield any of the first 4 rounds of the rematch?. I dont think the rounds were even close. That guy who started the thread had Holyfield winning rounds 1 and 3. He could not get past Lewis's jab and was extremely ineffective. He was also not getting off with punches, and when he did Lewis' made him hit fresh air.

Not even close rounds in my eyes, Lewis first 4 rounds clearly.

[fists of fury]

I never understand what makes this fight such a "close" one. Would Lewis wearing the American flag have made it less close?

I scored it 8-4 for Lewis. 7-5 is the best i could possibly give Holyfield, scoring all close rounds in his favor and making 2 of his punches count for 1 of Lewis, just like the crowd.

Your comments insinuate that Lewis is somehow victimised for not being American.
Do you truly believe that?

[JohnThomas1]

Your comments insinuate that Lewis is somehow victimised for not being American.
Do you truly believe that?

I'll back him on this one. I truly believe if Lewis was American he would have been regarded much more highly. Nothing against Americans, but this theory would ring true with any country really. Plain common sense.

[ChrisPontius]

Your comments insinuate that Lewis is somehow victimised for not being American.
Do you truly believe that?
Well let me put it this way - 95% of the "ring side scorers" were American and on Holyfields side, the (American) crowd cheered like madness with every punch that Holyfield landed on Lewis' gloves and remained silent when Holyfield took yet another flush uppercut.

A "respected" writer like Ron Borges having the first fight scored by just one point for Lewis is an irrefutable piece of evidence for bias against Lewis.
Boxing has always been American and there hadn't been a none-American champ since Ingo and who likes the foreigner who is better that takes the "jobs" away anyway?


Maybe i shouldn't have called it American as you can't really prove that, but Holyfield was (is) without a second of doubt the far more popular fighter and history has shown this always brings advantages of some sort.

[KTFO]

Lewis foam cup guard was ridiculously high to help him take body shots from Holfyield. I lost some respect from Lewis for doing this. The heavyweight champion of the world should be confident in his ability to take a body shot.



Interesting point. :think

[brooklyn1550]

Lewis won the first 9-3 and the second 8-4.
:good

[Thread Stealer]

I had the gay Rasta Imposta ahead 115-113 over the baby-creating juicer.

[Thread Stealer]

1 ) Lewis foam cup guard was ridiculously high to help him take body shots from Holfyield. I lost some respect from Lewis for doing this. The heavyweight champion of the world should be confident in his ability to take a body shot.


That was the first fight. The rematch was more reasonable. I hated that high cup, and still do. The commissions (and opponents corners) should do more to prevent these high cups.

Interesting thing is...it appears that Holyfield may have started the trend in the first Tyson bout. As it turns out, he was on the other end of one of the most ridiculous uses of the high cup. Keith Holmes against B-Hop deserves mention too.

[Sonny's jab]

I agree that this fight could have gone either way. But my immediately impression was that Lewis edged it, very close.

The American TV commentary all seemed to be mostly pro-Lewis if I remember rightly, so I disagree with the idea that his being "non-American" made people think this was close.

The fight was close, many of the individual rounds were close to call. Saying otherwise is as bad as saying the first fight was NOT a robbery.

If the verdicts of the two Holyfield-Lewis fights were swapped (ie. Lewis win in the first, and a draw in the 2nd) I would say that was fair.

But here in Lewis-nuthug-land I guess my opinion means I'm a "hater".:lol:

[mr. magoo]

I feel that Lennox won both fights legitametly. I disagree however with those who believe that both fights were a domination on Lewis's part.

[DamonD]

But here in Lewis-nuthug-land I guess my opinion means I'm a "hater".:lol:
You're the second person today to call ESB a Lewis nuthugger land.

Certainly made my week. A nice change from the years and years of distrust, disdain and disrespect Lewis toiled under from large sections of the media and public.

Go ESB!

[streetsaresafer]

I had Lewis easily winning their first fight 9-3 for the record. But getting back to their 2nd fight -

The tough thing is there are so many close rounds - 1, 3, 5, 8, and even 9 to a degree are close.

Round 3 is Holyfield's because Lewis's work up until Holyfield lands that good shot was pretty inconsequential. I still like round 1 for Holyfield - neither guy was particuarly effective but I thought Holyfield was the aggressor in the round more so. Round 5 I scored even, and this was the round I played back the most and I thought it was too close to call. I gave round 8 to Holyfield because I didn't think either man was that impressive in the round, but again I favored Holyfield due to being the effective agressor. Close round though. I can even score round 9 for Holyfield like Giampa did based on the fact that he clearly won the first 2 minutes of the round in my book. I gave it to Lewis though because of quality over quantity again. His uppercuts and combination punching in the last minute was pretty impressive. But I could see round 9 scored even.

Lewis clearly won rounds 2, 4, and 10.
I think Holyfield clearly won rounds 6, 7, and 12.
So half of the rounds are abundantly clear to me. That leaves the other 6 rounds which are much closer at the margins. And to a certain extent, it depends on what you value as a judge.

Again I seemed to be more impressed this most recent time with Evander pushing the fight, having the more effective jab, landing some good left hooks than I was with Lewis. Lewis seemed largely ineffective with his jab in several of the rounds, and though he was throwing more punches than Holyfield in some of the rounds, I thought a lot of his 'work' was largely ineffective. Quality over quantity I guess. I did like Lewis's work to the body, and he threw some great uppercuts, particularly in round 9.

But again, a very close fight and I have certainly can understand those that scored it for Lewis.

In terms of accounting for the scoring difference, the first time I watched the fight I had just watched their first fight right before. So it is possible I was influenced initially by the fact that Lewis was so clearly robbed in the first fight. The reason I revisited the fight is when they had Classic Ringside on Holyfield and you had guys like Burt Sugar and Michael Moorer suggesting that Holyfield won the 2nd fight. That had me intrigued as I remember scoring it for Lewis 8-4. And then joining this site and then finding that there were some other people who had scored it for Holyfield.

[streetsaresafer]

bump

[AnthonyJ74]

I thought Lennox Lewis outworked Holyfield in the rematch.

[DamonD]

He did outwork and outland Holyfield...195/490 to 137/416.
Holyfield only landed 7 more punches than in the first fight. Lewis's workrate and accuracy dropped, Holyfield's didn't rise by much at all.

But, it's 12 rounds to score, not just the overall stats.

I would still argue that Holyfield performed better in rounds 3 and 10 from the first fight than ANY of the rounds Holyfield won in the second. Main difference in the second is that he produced a much more consistant display, paced himself a lot better.

Listen in the first fight for just how audible Holyfield is at times. He's really loading up on shots. Second fight, generally much quieter.

[Sonny's jab]

You're the second person today to call ESB a Lewis nuthugger land.

Certainly made my week. A nice change from the years and years of distrust, disdain and disrespect Lewis toiled under from large sections of the media and public.

Go ESB!

I dont think Lewis suffered from too much undue criticism, or distrust, disdain and disrespect.
That seemed to be an angle he played up to though.

I think he was recognized early on as a great prospect and got great exposure and coverage and good breaks.
Not all of his fights lived up to the sales pitch though, in fact sometimes two or three in a row would be more than a little disappointing.
I guess a lot of people didn't warm to him because he didn't always deliver. But when he did deliver the praise was always forthcoming.

A lot of people had faith in his talent and constantly backed him as "most likely to suceed", but others took a fight-by-fight "let's wait and see" approach and told it like it was.

Just my opinion.