Associated Press


LOS ANGELES -- Heavyweight champion Lennox Lewis is considering retirement and has decided against fighting again this year, meaning a discussed rematch against Vitali Klitschko in December won't take place.


"Lennox has been very public in his comments that he was seriously considering retirement, that he just wasn't sure he wants to go forward,'' Lewis' attorney, Judd Burstein, said Monday from his home in Westport, Conn. "He is still considering whether he wants to keep fighting.


"It's not a question of whether Lennox can or cannot be ready this year. Of course he can be ready. He chooses not to fight this year while he's considering whether or not he's ever going to fight again.''


Klitschko was upset upon hearing the news.


"Honestly, it seems to me that Lennox is looking for an easy exit,'' Klitschko said in Hamburg, Germany. "Why else would he wait until I was cleared to fight to announce that he did not want to fight? He is looking for an easy way out.


"I did not expect to hear anything like this. Lewis is a great champion, but I have the feeling he realizes how tough the fight against me really was and how difficult the rematch will be. I am ready to fight Lennox Lewis right now.''


Lewis retained his WBC and IBO heavyweight titles in the sixth round June 21 at Staples Center when his fight against Klitschko was stopped because of bloody cuts around the challenger's left eye.


Klitschko, who led 58-56 on all three scorecards when the 12-round bout was stopped, protested vehemently that he could keep fighting.


The two sides talked about Lewis taking on the Ukrainian again Dec. 6, possibly in Madison Square Garden.


"I'm surprised. After all, he demanded an examination from a specialist that my cut has healed. Apparently he's got more respect for me than he indicated,'' Klitschko said. "I'm ready and I think it is very sad.''


Lewis said on a conference call July 2 that he definitely wanted a rematch with Klitschko, who was cleared to return to the ring three weeks later by Dr. Volker Steinkraus in Hamburg.


But if he's going to fight Lewis again, it won't be until 2004 at the earliest.


"Lennox made a determination that under all circumstances, he would not be fighting again this year,'' Burstein said. "He concluded that it would not be fair to HBO, potential sites, Vitali Klitschko and most importantly the sport of boxing to keep everybody wondering about a December fight when he had already made this decision.


"From a business perspective, much of the boxing world was on hold in terms of the fall schedule until Lennox made his decisions. He just did not think it was fair to keep everyone in limbo.''


The 37-year-old Lewis said last week in London that he was seriously considering retirement.


"I speak about what's happened, not about what will be,'' Burstein said regarding that possibility.

It will only further the blemishes on his career, He need to go out on top.

I wish he would fight one more great fight. He looked like crap against Klitchko

lennox is a poontang

I still wanted to see him fight Jones. And Bzob should get a tat on his face so he could be like Mike Tyson, only white.

i think lennox is a coward he hasn't fought any good champs that were in their prime

this means no roy vs. lennox either

thats just rumours at the moment man... they think its a ploy to get a big pay check

Lennox would tear Roy a new one and there are no good heavyweights in their prime......

Based on those comments in the article, I think Lennox is pretty much finished. Mentally, he's already quit and physically, I don't think his old body can handle the level of abuse he was used to when he was in his prime. The last fight with Klitchsko, a decent but not great heavyweight, was pathetic. He was horrible. Granted, Lennox looked out of shape, but that's no excuse.

At any rate, this could be just another ploy by his management to buy Lennox some time. Throw out the old "retirement" word, and everyone will cut him a break. In the meantime, Lennox can recuperate, get back in shape and at the same time avoid fighting Klitchsko in a rematch. Then, when he's ready and Klitchsko is tired of waiting, he'll take the big money fight with Roy Jones for $20 million, which is a heck of a lot more than he'll get against that goofy Russian.

very good point he looked washed up in that last fight and i think it took alot out of him and he just doesn't feel like getting beat on anymore

george foremans ****in old lennox lewis isnt old

the russian wasnt goofy, he was pretty tough by the looks of it
and his style worked for him how is that goofy?

Vitali fights a very unorthodox style of boxing, mostly straight punches a left jab and a right cross. He has little head movement but his style seems to work for him. Lewis was fighting this fight as the smaller man, fighting outside vitali was his mistake. As soon as he got inside and started throwing tight punches and that nasty right uppercut Vitali was finished. I DO NOT like lewis at all but it was easy to see that he adjusted his gameplan that fight and it wouldnt have lasted much longer.