Lennox Lewis: Could Lewis Still Dominate The Heavyweight Division?

[Samson3000]

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.

[GAME]

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.

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

[NuthaPug]

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.

[El Kabong]

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.

[NuthaPug]

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.

[El Kabong]

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.

[El Kabong]

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

[Bx730NY]

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.

[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?

[El Kabong]

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

[Samson3000]

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

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.

[NuthaPug]

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?

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.

[means2184]

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

[El Kabong]

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.

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!

[GAME]

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