Funny. I haven't been on this forum as long as many people but even I am amazed at how many times this topic has come up again.

Anyway, there is a lot of speculation, and I would like to avoid that.
But from what I can tell watching them fight,

I'm not sure Vitali's cut lowered his performance... that is unless he was unable to see out of that eye. I dont know the answer to that one because I dont believe it was stated anywhere if he could see out of that eye without problems.

Best way to sum it up is Vitali was quick to get into the rythem but Lewis got in eventually too. Both showed some good heart. Lewis wasnt the only one who had to hang on after a well placed punch. Vitali did too. I think thats the closest Ive ever seen to Vitali being in trouble, and it hasnt happened again since then.

I think a prime lewis (logically) would have put out a better performance. It just makes sense to me. Why try to write Lewis off? People seem to agree that Lewis on that night was not a prime version.