i think the same thing would of happened again, lewis would of cut vitali to ribbons again, the question is,if vitali got cut that bad again and it went on more rounds would it do permanant damage to vitali's face, and is it worth it?
nah, he couldent beat a worn out lennox lewis.
tyson thing might be to far stretched but i think tyson would kick the shit out of muhammad ali.
....Yeah, you mean the 5 pounds overweight Lewis who was in great shape like right before that fight and nobody had mentioned his looking old or tired in his last few fights. Yeah, suddenly he just got tired, old, and out of shape in the Vitali fight. Yeah, that is an unbelievable transformation. I have a feeling that if Vitali hadn't come along then Lewis would have been "in his prime" for several more years. What a convenient excuse Lennox had ready made. Nobody dictated to Lewis like Vitali did and Lennox was stumped. He did not believe he could beat big V in a rematch or he would have fought him. Vitali got inside of his head in a major way and Lewis was not about to step back in the ring with him. If something miraculous occurs and Rahman beats Vit with a lucky punch then Lewis will come out of retirement. He prays every day that somebody will get rid of Vitali so he can come back and fight some stiffs for big paydays.
I beleive a prime tyson would of destroyed lennox. but lennox is top5 hands down.
....So by your rational then Tyson is like top three?? lol lol lol Good comedy my man. A prime Vitali whips em both baring a freak occurence so where do you think that would put him?
Good points! Not that it matters much but didn't Vitali just turn 33? Wasn't he 31 when he fought Lewis?
Regardless, Vitali should have jumped on Lennox in that 2nd roun and finished him when he had Lewis hurt and none of this debating would be taking place!
...Man, you got that right. Vit knows he made a mistake in that fight with Lewis by not finishing him in the second round and I guarantee you that he will never make that mistake again.
Good points! Not that it matters much but didn't Vitali just turn 33? Wasn't he 31 when he fought Lewis?
Regardless, Vitali should have jumped on Lennox in that 2nd roun and finished him when he had Lewis hurt and none of this debating would be taking place!
hmm my bad i wonder why i thought vitali was 34..must have someone else on my mind.
to the people who think lewis was gettign better as the fight goes on....IMO if he looked any wrose then he did in round 2 he would been KO'd hahahahaha, so of course he was doing a little better he had to, if u look at round 6 lewis was just waiting for that uppercut he was so obviously setting it up and when he hit it and vitali didnt go down i bet u insdie he was like o shit. he couldnt last another round 1 more shot and it was over lewis had nothing left. remeber guys vitlai is 34 that isnt exactly prime either imo
Good points! Not that it matters much but didn't Vitali just turn 33? Wasn't he 31 when he fought Lewis?
Regardless, Vitali should have jumped on Lennox in that 2nd roun and finished him when he had Lewis hurt and none of this debating would be taking place!
Lewis lost his desire for fighting after Tyson...he said so himself before the Tyson fight that he was only going on to try to get a fight with Tyson. Once he got Tyson he said he completed everything he needed to complete in Boxing and didn't feel the desire anymore. I think he just wanted a quick Canada vs Canada payday vs Johnson then retire...but people were clamouring for Vitali
Are you sure about that one??? Lewis tried to sue Tyson when Tyson wouldn't rematch him! Didn't sound like he was done to me if he had so much ambition that he would sue a guy to try to make him fight him again after he already destroyed Mike the first time! Lewis wanted to keep fighting! Vitali just ruined his plans. ;)
Lewis lost his desire for fighting after Tyson...he said so himself before the Tyson fight that he was only going on to try to get a fight with Tyson. Once he got Tyson he said he completed everything he needed to complete in Boxing and didn't feel the desire anymore. I think he just wanted a quick Canada vs Canada payday vs Johnson then retire...but people were clamouring for Vitali
regardless he would of schooled vitali. <-- Period not buts or ifs vitali couldent finished a fat lazy lennox thats pathetic. :)
You my friend are an idiot.
to the people who think lewis was gettign better as the fight goes on....IMO if he looked any wrose then he did in round 2 he would been KO'd hahahahaha, so of course he was doing a little better he had to, if u look at round 6 lewis was just waiting for that uppercut he was so obviously setting it up and when he hit it and vitali didnt go down i bet u insdie he was like o shit. he couldnt last another round 1 more shot and it was over lewis had nothing left. remeber guys vitlai is 34 that isnt exactly prime either imo
lewis was not looking so well when they fought so vitali would of knocked lewis out in my view as for a prime lewis knocking vitali goes vitali has never even been knockdown so theres is no was lewis would be able to knock him out
When has Lewis ever faced an opponent taller than he is who fought him back, even after being hit? Grant was a good prospect, but what happened? He completely folded after being hit, and that's why Lewis blew him out. Against VK, they traded a few jabs, but when Lewis tried to intimidate VK with his punches, VK responded by hitting him back. I think it's fair to say Lewis shouldn't have been dead tired after six rounds, but I'm not sure whether it was because of lack of conditioning, or if it was simply because he got stunned. Ever been dazed by a punch? Takes it right out of you. As far as what would have happened if...VK got cut, and got stopped (by the fight doctor), just as any other cut fighter would have. What makes it so bad is that even though VK looked to be in no condition to fight, he was in fact still in the fight big time. My point is, even though Lewis didn't look stellar physically, IMO a big part of the reason he looked as bad as he did is because of the fighter he was facing. I mean come on, IMO Lewis is just a fighter who was always able to make very efficient use of his physical attributes, very much in the same way as VK, depite the extremely different styles. What if VK had fought Lewis the way he did Sanders, and pretty much every other fighter he faced? What if Lewis had fought the way he did against Tua? We could go on and on about this. I don't have a problem with VK losing the fight, hell it answered the doubts everyone had about his heart. My only problem is Lewis fans implying that VK was never in the fight, was schooled by Lewis and then stopped, and that Lewis would KO VK easily in a rematch, something none of us can say for sure one way or the other. So, unless Lewis shuts his mouth and comes out of retirement, this arguement will go on forever.
Yep, much of what you say is absolutely correct. Both fighters were still in the fight, BIG time, and either could've KO'd the other at any time, though after seeing Klitchko take those bombs from Lewis and manage to stay on his feet, I feel less and less like Lewis would've managed to pull off a win in later rounds. Older fighters, who come into the ring in mediocre shape, do NOT "get stronger as the fight goes on"...they fade after mid rounds, and aren't able to recover nearly as much in between rounds. In that respect, Lewis is full of Ka-Ka, big time. However, I think he still had a chance to win in 7, maybe even the first part of 8, but after that, if he hadn't managed to floor Lurch, I think he'd have ended up on the canvas for a 3rd time in his career.
Also, in a rematch....remember that Klitchko's cuts would've taken a bare minimum of 6 months to heal, but 9 would've been closer to reality. At this point, Lewis would've been another year older and slower, and I just don't know if he could've pulled out another win. Sure, if he managed to open another cut, but Lewis has only had 2 other wins during his career by TKO stoppage due to cuts, so I think it's a safe bet that a cut TKO isn't something to rely on. So in effect, he'd have had to KO Klitchko because Klitchko has never EVER been behind on the score cards at the end of a fight, and he can't depend on outworking him either, so that leaves knocking him out. And after seeing Lurch take those frigging nukes from Lewis in their first fight, I also have serious reservations about Lewis being able to KO Klitchko as well. So, you stick a 39 or 40 year old fighter in with a 34 year old fighter, with a high work rate and heavy hands, who's got a chin of solid steel and a shitload of heart, who's never been on the canvas, and which one do you expect to win? Well, let's just say that I put money on Lewis in the first fight and nearly shat myself during round 2. If they'd had their rematch a year later, I'd have put my money on Klitchko, and would've felt confident enough that if I hadn't been able to watch the fight live, I'd have expected my money to show up in my account without needing to place any phone calls :)
I like Lewis as a fighter, always have, but I'm also not blinded by loyalty in any way and have no problems accepting simple basic facts of boxing.
When has Lewis ever faced an opponent taller than he is who fought him back, even after being hit? Grant was a good prospect, but what happened? He completely folded after being hit, and that's why Lewis blew him out. Against VK, they traded a few jabs, but when Lewis tried to intimidate VK with his punches, VK responded by hitting him back. I think it's fair to say Lewis shouldn't have been dead tired after six rounds, but I'm not sure whether it was because of lack of conditioning, or if it was simply because he got stunned. Ever been dazed by a punch? Takes it right out of you. As far as what would have happened if...VK got cut, and got stopped (by the fight doctor), just as any other cut fighter would have. What makes it so bad is that even though VK looked to be in no condition to fight, he was in fact still in the fight big time. My point is, even though Lewis didn't look stellar physically, IMO a big part of the reason he looked as bad as he did is because of the fighter he was facing. I mean come on, IMO Lewis is just a fighter who was always able to make very efficient use of his physical attributes, very much in the same way as VK, depite the extremely different styles. What if VK had fought Lewis the way he did Sanders, and pretty much every other fighter he faced? What if Lewis had fought the way he did against Tua? We could go on and on about this. I don't have a problem with VK losing the fight, hell it answered the doubts everyone had about his heart. My only problem is Lewis fans implying that VK was never in the fight, was schooled by Lewis and then stopped, and that Lewis would KO VK easily in a rematch, something none of us can say for sure one way or the other. So, unless Lewis shuts his mouth and comes out of retirement, this arguement will go on forever.
Botha and Ruddock weren't stopped that early
Sorry, got confused. Confused Ruddock with Briggs, and for some reason, the Botha fight seemed longer than that to me, but it wasn't.
Lewis:
Knocked Golota out in round 1
Knocked Grant out in round 2
Stopped Botha in round 2
Stopped Ruddock in 2
and the list goes on.
Botha and Ruddock weren't stopped that early
I swear to god I think Lennox would knock his ass out im watching the first one he doesent seem to be conditioned... wow haha
I swear to God I would flipp my coin a few times to see what will happen.