Lennox Lewis: Could Lewis Still Dominate The Heavyweight Division?

30.09.06 - By Karen Belford: Lennox Lewis, 41, is probably the most talented heavyweight in the past 20 years in boxing, and without a doubt, he could still make easy work of the current heavyweights. Please don't laugh, I'm serious. Maybe, like me, you've thought this same thing once or twice in recent years, yes? If you have, I think it would be interesting to see, if Lewis could actually do it. I mean, really make a come back in the same manner that George Foreman did in his mid forties. He has a lot om common with Foreman, namely huge power. This, more than anything, would put him at the top of the division, at least in my book. In my mind, I could see it clearly, Lewis knocking one fighter out after another, and gaining even greater glory and fame than he did in his early career. Of course, it wouldn't be without risk now would it? But, the way I see it, anything that's good, I mean really good, has risk built into it.

However, considering his huge size, reach and considerable boxing talent, I would give Lewis (41-2-1, 32 KO's) an excellent chance of not just beating but dominating the top heavyweights in the division, even at his advanced age of 41-years old. Of course, we're at a pretty low period as far as talented heavyweights go, but still I think there's a handful of heavyweights that could give Lewis a good fight. Keep in mind, Lewis always had tremendous power in either hand, and could fight well on the inside or outside, it didn't matter.

Mostly, though, he would be content to use his long jab to control the action, although if he was pressured or if he sensed that his opponent was tiring, he'd launch a big right hand, which if it connected, it would often flatten his opponent.

Like George Foreman, Lewis didn't have particularly fast hands. In fact, he was more of a scientific fighter, one that fought in a calculated manner, as if he were playing chess rather than boxing. Unlike other fighters, he wouldn't get flustered or rattled when attacked, and would instead calmly tie up his opponent or throw a big uppercut. Afterwards, he'd go back to his set offense, usually a snapping jab, followed by an occasional pin point right hand. He'd rarely miss a punch, something that made him so dangerous, considering he would make his opponent pay for their mistakes.

Against shorter fighters, like David Tua, Mike Tyson, and Tommy Morrison, Lewis was able to control them with his left jab alone. That's how dominating he was. He did nothing special against them, other than a slow, deliberate jab, which he methodically threw over and over again to take the fight out of them.

The one heavyweight that could give him trouble, Vitali Klitschko, retired from boxing on November 9, 2005, thus leaving a void in the division, that still hasn't been filled to this date.

Out of the current top heavyweights, here is who I personally consider the best in the division.

1.) Samuel Peter (27-1, 22 ko's) - Against tough opposition like Wladimir Klitschko and James Toney, Peter has proven that he has the power to be a threat at any point in the fight. He carries his power late into the fight, and although he is slow, and one-dimensional, he can put his opponent on the canvas with his powerful, clubbing punches, that often tend to be thrown in large looping arcs which often land to the back of the head. Against Lewis, he'd have to walk through heavy fire just to get close enough to land one of his punches. So far, Peter has shown good tough skin and a strong chin. However, I see Lewis' punches busting up his face. If Wladimir can hurt Peter, then Lewis could do the same and more, although he wouldn't let Peter off the hook when he got him hurt.

Prediction: Lewis by 8th round KO.

2.) Wladimir Klitschko (46-3 41 KO's) Out of the to heavyweights in the division, Wladimir, the current IBF heavyweight champion, probably punches the hardest. That is, he used to, because now, under Emanuel Steward's training, Wladimir tends to box and move much more. He doesn't sit down on his punches, probably out of fear that he'll get countered while throwing a big punch. However, with his kind of power, it matters little, since even when he's moving around, he punches very hard. If that's not enough, he has an excellent jab, arguably the best in the entire division, which he can use to control the fight. In fact, he doesn't even need to throw anything else, because his jab is so outstanding. Along with his jab, he has a short left hook, a punch that is hard to detect, because it starts out looking like a jab, but then he turns it over and comes in with devastating power. It's probably his hardest punch. At the same time, it's almost like boxing's version of a baseball change up pitch, considering that it looks so much like a jab, that his opponents aren't ready for the force that they're hit with, which makes the punch much more dangerous. His knockout record is an indication to his serious power. However, he gets raddled easy, and tends to crumble under high stress or heavy pressure opponents. His stamina is questionable, as he often hits a wall around the 6th round. Against a 41-year old Lewis, Wladimir would probably try to stay on the outside, and move as much as possible. I think it would help him, at least on the short term. However, Lewis' long jab, which is several inches longer than Wladimir's and just as powerful, would be finding it's mark over and over. With Wladimir's tender skin, I could see a cut opening up early on. By the 6th or 7th, Wladimir would be bleeding badly, and his cut would be a target for Lewis' jab. I see Lewis finally stopping Wladimir with one big right hand, which drops Wladimir face first on the canvas, literally out on his feet before he hits the mat. I see this as one of those types of fights that ruins a fighter, permanently. You know, the headaches, slurred speech, except in this case, they don't go away.

Prediction: Lewis by 7th round KO.

3.) Lamon Brewster (33-3, 29 KO's) - Brewster, 33, would probably be the easiest for Lewis to beat. Brewster has taken several ferocious beatings in the past 3 years, against big punching heavyweights Wladimir Klitschko, Kali Meehan, Luan Krasniqi and Serguei Lyakhovich. The punches Brewster absorbed in those fights were numerous and powerful, it was like a careers worth of punishment all balled up in four fights. what made it even worse, was that Brewster showed no ability to dodge or block the punches, and instead seemed to be using his face as a form of defense, perhaps in hopes of tiring out his opponents when they can no longer get their arms up to punch him anymore after having unloaded 200-300 head shots. Against Wladimir and Luan Krasniqi, it seemed to work, as they both tired badly after hitting Brewster with everything but the kitchen sink, enabling him to score a knockout. However, against Meehan and Lyakhovich, Brewster took really bad beatings. In the Lyakhovich bout, Brewster suffered a detached retina, which is currently still healing. Lewis, even an older version, would quite easily pound away at Brewster and measure him and set him up for a big right hand. I have no doubts that Brewster would last the entire fight, although he'd lose virtually every round of the fight. I doubt that Lewis would even try to knock him out, considering Brewster's reputation of having an excellent chin. Nevertheless, Brewster would have to absorb a god-awful amount of punches and it would be slaughter.

Prediction: Lewis by 12-round decision.

4.) Sergei Liakhovich (23-1, 14 KO's) - This would be a tough opponent for an older Lewis to beat, simply because Lyakhovich has such an outstanding chin, but also because he tends to thrive on mixing it up. He'd force Lewis to fight, making him expend his valuable energy early on in the fight. However, Lyakhovich tends to negate his size and natural power by fighting on the inside. As was the case against Lamon Brewster and Friday Ahunanya, Lyakhovich was largely ineffective when fighting on the inside. This strange tactic caused him to eat a lot of needless punches against both fighters, when he was easily winning while fighting on the outside. Not sure I quite understand his desire or fight inside, as I've heard his trainers begging him to stay outside, yet over and over again, he gets in close and stifles his power. I think it's a mental block, or some kind of badge of courage, the reason why he does this. Whatever the case, it would be his downfall against Lennox Lewis, since he would get hit with huge uppercuts by Lewis, which would snap Lyakhovch's head back in a wicked fashion. It doesn't matter that he's shown a good chin in the past, getting hit by one of Lewis' uppercuts, is an entirely different thing. Even on the outside, Lyakhovich would have big problems against Lewis, being that he (Lyakhovich) has shorter arms, an inferior jab and much lesser power in his right hand. It would be bombs away for Lewis, using either his left jab or fight hand.

Prediction: Lewis by 9th round KO.


5.) Shannon Briggs (47-4-1, 41 ko's) - Since the last time Briggs fought Lewis, way back in 1998, Briggs has put on 40 lbs of rock hard muscle, making him even more dangerous of a fighter than last time. In the last bout, Briggs badly hurt Lewis in the early rounds, and was within an eyelash of winning by KO. However, Lewis responded with a series of right hands, that had Briggs down three times, almost making it seem coical towards the end of the bout, which came in the 5th round. It was truly a bizarre fight, in that the fight only lasted 5 rounds, it seemed as if had gone 12, due to the back and forth nature of the fighting. Both fighters were throwing huge bombs all fight long, and it turned out be one of the most exciting heavyweight bouts I've ever seem. In my mind, it compares favorable with Foreman vs Lyle. In any case, Lewis would probably want to keep the fight on the outside, rather than risking fate by getting in too close to Briggs and getting hit with something big. Briggs, although huge at 270, he has incredibly quick hands, possibly the quickest in the entire division. I suppose he's blessed with fast twitch nerve fibers or something, because it's something he's always had. Even at 34-years old, he hasn't lost much, if anything, that I can detect. However, what makes him even more dangerous than last time, is his added muscles, which allows him to punch much harder than he used in his youth. Even better, Briggs doesn't tire out until at least the 9th round, which makes him a very dangerous fighter, considering that he hits so hard, the odds of making it that far against him, is difficult at best. Nevertheless, I think Lewis' right hand is the equalizer, and given enough contact with Briggs, it would likely hurt him as bad as the first fight. The fight, though, would be exciting while it lasted.

Prediction: Lewis by 8th round KO.

6.) Nikolay Valuev (44-0, 32 KO's) - At 7'0" 320 lbs, Valuev would have a considerable size advantage over the 6'5" 250 lb Lewis. However, Lewis still has the much longer arms, and he'd be able to keep Valuev at the end of his punches, punishing him. For the most part, Valuev has been lucky to have mainly fought smaller heavyweights, ones that were forced to get close to him in order to throw their punches. Once their within his range, Valuev is like big spider, who pounces on it's prey and gives them little chance to get away. Sure, he's slow, but he puts his size behind his punches, which gives him considerable power. With 32 knockouts in 44 fights, he hits hard. Maybe not as hard as someone like Klitschko, but effective nonetheless. Actually, Valuev tends to club his opponents into submission rather than knocking them out with one brutal punch. He kind of reminds me of a big bear, that swipes down his prey with several big paws. This, too, would be a difficult fight for a 41-year old Lewis to win, simply for the fact that he'd be fighting an opponent that was bigger than him and he'd be forced to slug it out. Valuev wouldn't make it easy, as I get the impression that he'd rather die than lose a fight, and he'd fight tooth and nail to the bitter end. The key for Lewis would be his right hand. There's no way I seem him beating Valuev with a jab alone, even though Larry Donald did a reasonable job winning the early rounds against Valuev with his jab. However, I see it being different with Lewis. Valuev would press the attack, rather than getting slaughtered on the outside and he'd force Lewis to fend him off on the inside. I can see Lewis hitting a tired Valuev with countless uppercuts, each rocking him, yet not knocking him down. Finally, I think the referee would jump in and stop the bout when he sees that Valuev can no longer defend himself.

Prediction: Lewis by 9th round KO.

7.) Oleg Maskaev (33-5, 26 KO's) - I really like Oleg as a fighter. He's someone you really want to root for, considering his bad luck in 2000, 2001, 2002, losing by knockouts to Kirk Johnson, Lance Whitaker, and Corey Sanders. It's almost as if he came back too soon after his loss to Johnson, not letting his head recover fully before taking on Whitaker and Sanders. The Johnson knockout was severe, and he probably should have taken some time off, perhaps a year before fighting again. Nevertheless, he didn't, unfortunately. None of them, I personally consider to be in Maskaev's class, and I'd fully expect for him to easily beat them at this point in his career. Actually, that's too easy, considering those fighters have gone in different directions, namely downward, while Maskaev has shot upwards like a rocket in recent years, thanks to good management, clean living and natural punching power. Even in those hard years, the one thing that was constant was Maskaev's punching power, which has always been excellent. He has a powerful short right hand and a sneaky left hook, which are both thrown with brutal power. In his last bout, against Hasim Rahman, Maskaev slowly and methodically broke him down during the course of the bout with his left hook, right hand combinations. Almost like a button, Maskaev turned it on in the final 12th round, with the fight close, and beat him into submission. Against Lewis, I see Maskaev trying to press the action, trying to get inside on Lewis. In response, I see Lewis moving and staying against the ropes and firing off jab after jab. I see Maskaev landing a lot of shots inside against Lewis, who would have a difficult time with Maskaev's physical inside fighting. Although 37-years old, Maskaev is still in incredible shape and fights like someone in their 20s. However, I see Lewis doing just enough to win by decision. The key here is Lewis's jab, which would be piling up points round after round.

Prediction: Lewis by 12th round decision


Credit:Eastsideboxing.com

OK, I credit you for posting this and it's a good talking point for Saddo's because...

IT'S ABSOLUTE CRAP!

Lewis beats Wlad?!?!? NOW??? Nuh uh brother....Lewis is 41 and he's old and fat and out of shape and even if he was to get in decent "fighting shape" he'd be 260+ pounds and he'd be slower...he'd still have power but you think Shannon Briggs looks bad and he's been active think about a Lennox Lewis who's last fight was like 2-3 years ago!!!!

Besides all that he'd fight Vitali first and Vitali would whup his ass!


Lewis is an all-time great but these Eastside boxing guys are just 100% pure Klitschko haters!

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Originally Posted by Lyle

OK, I credit you for posting this and it's a good talking point for Saddo's because...

IT'S ABSOLUTE CRAP!

Lewis beats Wlad?!?!? NOW??? Nuh uh brother....Lewis is 41 and he's old and fat and out of shape and even if he was to get in decent "fighting shape" he'd be 260+ pounds and he'd be slower...he'd still have power but you think Shannon Briggs looks bad and he's been active think about a Lennox Lewis who's last fight was like 2-3 years ago!!!!

Besides all that he'd fight Vitali first and Vitali would whup his a**!


Lewis is an all-time great but these Eastside boxing guys are just 100% pure Klitschko haters!

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I agree with you.I dont think lewis could beat Wlad.The lady who made this must be on something.

I looked through this article for a second and then scrolled to the top cause I was pretty sure I knew who wrote it

I posted one of her earlier articles a while ago, one of the great examples of boxing journalism of all time, maybe my favorite boxing writer in the world

Check this absolute pearl of an article out ;D

http://www.saddoboxing.com/boxing_fo...c,30825.0.html

Well Sanders was a 40 year old fat retired golfer when he destroyed Wvlad and sicne then Wvlad has only got beaten and floored again since . I reckon Lewis would beat those guys quicker than they predicted . Especially Briggs . Lewis beat him in 5 last time . Briggs is much worse now and wouldnt be able to stand after 5 rounds through being out of breath

But Lewis is a righty, he has no jab to speak of and Manny Steward is with Wladimir Klitschko so what's going for Lewis?

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Originally Posted by Lyle

But Lewis is a righty, he has no jab to speak of and Manny Steward is with Wladimir Klitschko so what's going for Lewis?

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your saying lewis has no jab?

Sorry but if Lewis wanted to come back and win the titles and i mean REALY wanted to, i think he cud blow away all th champions.

I greatly dissliked the guy towards the end of his career, but i rate him as one of the best heavys of all time. To me Lewis was never dependant on one thing, his speed wasnt anything amazing, he had good power and great skills. One thing that made RJJ the world class fight he was was his speed, tyson, his youth and deadly power.

Lewis had a superb jab, nice power to back it up, there was never any need for fancy foot work, speed to dazzil a fighter, just pure basics - Set them up, tire them out get the points win or knock them out; and at 41 i honestly think he could do that now with the fighters that are there.

We're talking Lewis now right?

Lewis of yesteryear would KTFO Wlad like he did Grant but in 5 rounds

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Originally Posted by Starr

We're talking Lewis now right?

Lewis of yesteryear would KTFO Wlad like he did Grant but in 5 rounds

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No...he wouldn't. Lewis was never that great and a lot of people know it.

His brother chased Lewis out of boxing.

And there is no comparison between Grant and Klitschko.

i agree with most of these guys. i don't see lewis beating wlad

if lewis had 3 or 4 tune up fights

there is no way wlad would survive a lewis left hook overhand right combo

I could dominate the HW division & I'm not a heavyweight or a boxer!!!!!! ;D

Saying that, I don't want to see LL return, he has nothing to prove!!!! O0

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Originally Posted by Syntax Error

Saying that, I don't want to see LL return, he has nothing to prove!!!! O0

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spot on, whats left for him now ???

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Originally Posted by mucho testosterone

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Originally Posted by Starr

We're talking Lewis now right?

Lewis of yesteryear would KTFO Wlad like he did Grant but in 5 rounds

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No...he wouldn't. Lewis was never that great and a lot of people know it.

His brother chased Lewis out of boxing.

And there is no comparison between Grant and Klitschko.

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Just as Rahman chased Klit out of boxing ;D

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Originally Posted by Lyle

OK, I credit you for posting this and it's a good talking point for Saddo's because...

IT'S ABSOLUTE CRAP!

Lewis beats Wlad?!?!? NOW??? Nuh uh brother....Lewis is 41 and he's old and fat and out of shape and even if he was to get in decent "fighting shape" he'd be 260+ pounds and he'd be slower...he'd still have power but you think Shannon Briggs looks bad and he's been active think about a Lennox Lewis who's last fight was like 2-3 years ago!!!!

Besides all that he'd fight Vitali first and Vitali would whup his a**!


Lewis is an all-time great but these Eastside boxing guys are just 100% pure Klitschko haters!

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Lennox at 50 would beat Wlad. The kid just cannot take a punch, and when faced against someone similar in size to Lennox (Sanders) he got absolutely annihilated. Wlad ain't Vitaly, remember that.

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Originally Posted by mucho testosterone

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Originally Posted by Starr

We're talking Lewis now right?

Lewis of yesteryear would KTFO Wlad like he did Grant but in 5 rounds

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No...he wouldn't. Lewis was never that great and a lot of people know it.

His brother chased Lewis out of boxing.

And there is no comparison between Grant and Klitschko.

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::**Unless Wlad has some third brother who's in the Russian mafia and threatened Lennox's life, I don't remember anybody chasing Lewis out of boxing. I remember Lennox contemplating retirement after the Tyson fight, and I also remember the most out of shape Lennox going toe to toe with a prime conditioned Vitaly, who couldn't even knock him out. Vitaly justs needs to be thankful that his eyeball is still in it's socket.

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Originally Posted by Samson3000

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Originally Posted by mucho testosterone

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Starr

We're talking Lewis now right?

Lewis of yesteryear would KTFO Wlad like he did Grant but in 5 rounds

---

No...he wouldn't. Lewis was never that great and a lot of people know it.

His brother chased Lewis out of boxing.

And there is no comparison between Grant and Klitschko.

---

::**Unless Wlad has some third brother who's in the Russian mafia and threatened Lennox's life, I don't remember anybody chasing Lewis out of boxing. I remember Lennox contemplating retirement after the Tyson fight, and I also remember the most out of shape Lennox going toe to toe with a prime conditioned Vitaly, who couldn't even knock him out. Vitaly justs needs to be thankful that his eyeball is still in it's socket.

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Well said Samson . People try and conviniently overlook the fat Lewis stopped Vitali in 6 and was on teh verge of knocking him cold beofre the cuts saved him

Lewis wasn't looking too impressive in that fight but he wasn't chased out of boxing by anything than his lack of desire to really get up for the fights anymore. He obviously has little or nothing to prove, and he was getting ready to quit already ... and wasn't doing that well at getting ready to continue fighting. Even in the middle of his career he didn't always have the necessary gumption (Rahman I, for example).

Anything anyone says about how the old, fat, ring-rusted Lewis not being able to come back crumbles before the fact of what Foreman did.

If Lewis wanted ... if he got in top shape physically and mentally ... those are the only real "ifs" in this conversation. He doesn't, and he won't ... but if he did, and if he did ... he would have excellent opportunities to dominate the HW scene for the next couple-few years.

Vitali wasn't in prime condition much like Lennox he was planning of fighting someone who wasn't all that good...Leo Nolan I believe.

So the card WAS going to be
Main Event: Lewis-Kirk Johnson

Undercard: Vitali-Leo Nolan

Now tell me again who stepped up and showed what they had in that fight...I doubt ANYONE could have pushed Lewis to the brink like that on such short notice.

Too bad the fight got stopped on a cut. I thought Lewis looked poor that night against Vitali. Vitali looked hungrier. Good for him, he stepped up. Lewis says he was just getting his rhythm and beginning to dominate, doesn't he? We'll never know.

This isn't about just that fight, however. If the two had trained for each other, and both come in in top form, then we might have had a defining fight between the two. What happened isn't conclusive enough to hang all historical judgments on, IMO.

Vitali took Lewis' best shots and vice versa...it was a GREAT fight one of the most underrated in recent history.

I think it would have continued to be a see saw battle until the 12th had the cut never happened.

Funny that people thought Hasim Rahman could have beaten Vitali! HAHA the guy got KO'd by Maskaev TWICE

All I know is that Lennox didn't sit in on his stool after that last round with Vitali, he fell on his stool. If you ask me, he was the one on the way to getting KOed.

Ok,I have never seen Older Klit v Lewis,who was winning? It sounds like there are SOOOOO MANY interpretations,may have to try to get a copy. Was Klit coming back? But Lewis was pounding him up until that point?

In response to the thread title,I certainly think he could,who out of this bunch could beat him?

That Lewis that fought Vitaly could get beat by anyone...both guys were unprepared to fight each other though

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Originally Posted by Lyle

That Lewis that fought Vitaly could get beat by anyone...both guys were unprepared to fight each other though

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Oh give me a break. Lennox came in his absolute heaviest weight of his career. Vitaly did not. A heavyweight's weight is the determining factor to how in shape they are. Vitaly was in shape. Accept it and move on.

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Originally Posted by El Gamo

Ok,I have never seen Older Klit v Lewis,who was winning? It sounds like there are SOOOOO MANY interpretations,may have to try to get a copy. Was Klit coming back? But Lewis was pounding him up until that point?

In response to the thread title,I certainly think he could,who out of this bunch could beat him?

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Vitali was busier and looked more agressive, and was ahead on the all three cards by a couple points at the time the fight was stopped. Lewis looked (and was) pudgy and gassed and not very persuasive. But it did look like he was starting to get control.

So Lewis won a fight where he was behind on all three cards due to the cut, but that doesn't mean it was a fight he was certain to have lost had it continued.

Vitali was not the graceful mover that Lewis was but that said he was probably the most evenly matched with Lewis when compared with other HWs at the time.

Not a chance...i wouldnt pick the Lewis that showed up against vitali to fight and beat any of the 4 titlests

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Originally Posted by Samson3000

Oh give me a break. Lennox came in his absolute heaviest weight of his career. Vitaly did not. A heavyweight's weight is the determining factor to how in shape they are. Vitaly was in shape. Accept it and move on.

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Yes but Vitali has always been very consistant with his weight but he was on the heavy side...his heaviest was 250 and he fought Lewis at 248.

The thing is they both trained to fight different people but everyone only remembers Lewis was supposed to fight Kirk Johnson and not that Vitali was going to fight Leo Nolan.....ALSO I think Vitali was Lewis' mandatory so had Lewis beat Johnson he would have had to fight Vitali anyways and I HIGHLY doubt he'd do any better in shape or not.

Vitali has an awkward style and Lewis just couldn't get used to it.

And heavy or not Lewis hit Vitali as hard as he could and POWER is not affected by weight...see Old George Foreman and David Tua!

The question has to be if Vitali wasnt cut how would it have evolved . We can only speculate . From what I saw Lewis won the 6th round and Vitali look spent it took him a while to stumble back to his corner. Lewis has had many world title fighst and has digged deep before .Vitali looked like he had given it his best shot and was begining to fall apart physically aswel as mentally . He started taking heavy shots and if it went on I dont think he could have lasted till the end . lewis showed in round 2 he could take Vitalis best shot so I cant see how the Klit could have possibly won . Imo Lewis by mid rounds stoppage

Anyone who thinks Lennox was on a route to ko vitali is clearly not being objective. Its ok, i understand there are hard core lennox fans, But Point blank,
LENNOX PUNCH STATS WERE DWINDLING! each round
Vitali took a fierce uppercut, that snapped his head back, and STILL kept comming forward.
Lennox lewis was gasping for air during the TKO call, and vitali was Fully energized.
Lennox lewis promised vitali a rematch, THEN RETIRED.
Lennox lewis was out of shape (YOUR THE HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMP) TOO BAD.
Take a look at the Compu Box. Lennox was gettin his arse handed to em, and it was only going to get worse.
Anyone who thinks that Vitali klitschko was not a major factor in lennox lewis retiring, just cannot live with the fact that lennox may of left with the belt after that fight, but vitali left with more. People wanted vitali, and the only reason people cared that lewis retired was because they knew they wouldnt see a Lennox vs vitali II to watch the proper ending!

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Originally Posted by Big_Deuce

Anyone who thinks Lennox was on a route to ko vitali is clearly not being objective. Its ok, i understand there are hard core lennox fans, But Point blank,
LENNOX PUNCH STATS WERE DWINDLING! each round
Vitali took a fierce uppercut, that snapped his head back, and STILL kept comming forward.
Lennox lewis was gasping for air during the TKO call, and vitali was Fully energized.
Lennox lewis promised vitali a rematch, THEN RETIRED.
Lennox lewis was out of shape (YOUR THE HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMP) TOO BAD.
Take a look at the Compu Box. Lennox was gettin his a*** handed to em, and it was only going to get worse.
Anyone who thinks that Vitali klitschko was not a major factor in lennox lewis retiring, just cannot live with the fact that lennox may of left with the belt after that fight, but vitali left with more. People wanted vitali, and the only reason people cared that lewis retired was because they knew they wouldnt see a Lennox vs vitali II to watch the proper ending!

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Mate go stick your compu box stats up your arse, i watched the fight, and the majority believe that Lewis was beginning to cominate the fight and his shots were having the more effect, Lewis retired becasue his heart had gone out of the game, he had one objective and it was to get Tyson in the ring he did that, maybe a good ten years to late but he did it, and still looked like he would of beat Vitali.

ill stick em up my ass, after you take lennox out of yours. :o
You are absolutely right about his heart not being there, thanks to Vitali klitschko. Again try actually reading the post. I am not saying that vitali is the only reason, but he is a MAJOR factor in the decision to call it quits. Why give the rematch, only to take it away with a retirement?
The majority of WHAT believed he was beginning to dominate the fight. Surely your not talking about the fans, not the fans that were booing the SH!T outta that place. You cant even be talking about the commentators, because they too Resited the COMPU BOX numbers, and agreed lennox was in no shape to go the distance on this fight, and klitschko was winning on rounds, and stamina.
SO im sorry i hit a nerve when i said what i said, But the TRUTH hurts, so live with it.

Honestly I think the fight was a see saw battle and yes Lewis won the 5th and 6th rounds but that was IT....Vitali won the 1st through the 4th and crushed him in the 2nd and Lewis shot his load in the 6th.

Vitali was cut, he pressed the issue because it was such a bad cut and therefore forced Lennox to do the same. I think that Vitali was maybe a little gased at the 5th round but he got his second wind after Lewis was on the offensive for those 2 rounds.

Had Vitali not been cut I think Lewis would have been more patient because Vitali wouldn't have had the sense of urgency and he would have been a little more patient as well....in that case the fight goes the distance, Lewis either wins or loses a decision and neither guy gets KO'd because the later the fight goes the more cautious they would become.

I think the way it ended was fine. I am not pleased Vitali lost due to a cut but the cut CAUSED the excitement...it caused them to stand and fight as did lewis getting hurt in the 2nd. Now it would have been EXTREMELY difficult had Lewis been the one to get cut like that...

#1 He wouldn't have retired and would have lost more fights if he didn't get in better shape

#2 People would HATE Vitali and not give him any respect at all because he won by cuts

But Lewis retired as champ like Tunney and Rocky before him and people admire Vitali's heart and courage and he showed everyone what he was about in that fight and his last 2.

So things worked out ok

Maxboxing had Vitali winning 1,2,5, & 6

http://espn.go.com/boxing/s/2003/0621/1571337.html

Are people so desperate for a genuine heavyweight champ that they will over hype the Klitchko brothers?!! Or are some people still holding onto that pipe dream that James Toney will soon become a great heavyweight champ? These are all examples of the horrible current state of the division. I was never a big fan of Lennox. But in his prime, and maybe not so prime, he would have had his way with the current heavyweights. In that Vitali fight he was clearly not in the best shape and he payed the price before the stoppage. But Vitali also looked gassed in that fight...so who knows what would have happened if it hadn't been stopped.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Big_Deuce

Anyone who thinks Lennox was on a route to ko vitali is clearly not being objective. Its ok, i understand there are hard core lennox fans, But Point blank,
LENNOX PUNCH STATS WERE DWINDLING! each round
Vitali took a fierce uppercut, that snapped his head back, and STILL kept comming forward.
Lennox lewis was gasping for air during the TKO call, and vitali was Fully energized.
Lennox lewis promised vitali a rematch, THEN RETIRED.
Lennox lewis was out of shape (YOUR THE HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMP) TOO BAD.
Take a look at the Compu Box. Lennox was gettin his a*** handed to em, and it was only going to get worse.
Anyone who thinks that Vitali klitschko was not a major factor in lennox lewis retiring, just cannot live with the fact that lennox may of left with the belt after that fight, but vitali left with more. People wanted vitali, and the only reason people cared that lewis retired was because they knew they wouldnt see a Lennox vs vitali II to watch the proper ending!

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I agree with you and I have posted similar takes but some of these guys think Lennox was gods gift to the HW division and don't like to see things for what they are. Vitali was going for the kill and the way I see it, Lewis quit while he still had most people believing he was the best. He was on his way to being KOed and he knows it and that's the real reason he retired rather than let people realize that he can't beat Vitali. Good post!

From what I saw Vitali dominated Lennox early, but then Lennox started to come on and was winning rounds and was on the verge of taking over the fight and then the fight was stopped on Vitali's cut.

Good thoughts, Lyle, in factoring in the effect the cut had on contributing to the activity level of the fight.

The final outcome, had the fight continued, is obviously an unknown. Clearly Vitali was the far more active and deserved to be where he was in terms of the cards at the end of round 6. But it is far from clear that the rest of the fight would have continued to go his way.

Looked like Lewis was beginning to hit his stride and if so that would have changed things. But we'll never know.

It was the BEST of a bad situation

What we expected:
1: Lewis wins an easy KO
2: Lewis wins a boring UD
3: Vitali quits on his stool
4: Vitali shocks everyone and KO's Lewis

What we learned:
1: Lewis CAN take a punch
2: Vitali can take a punch
3: Lewis was on the decline
4: Vitali was on the rise
5: Vitali showed EVERYTHING a champion needs
6: Vitali didn't quit

So in essence we learned it was Lewis' time to leave and he did so with a win and a valiant effort vs a young strong fighter. We also learned Vitali is no quitter and he gives the fans what they want KO's!