The Lennox Lewis that fought Vitali Klitschko.

The version of Lennox Lewis that fought Vitali Klitschko some year ago was old and out of shape (I think so). Do you think some, or any, of the current heavyweights could have beat that version? How about Samuel Peter, Lamon Brewster, Hasim Raman again ... ? :) Nope...he would simply JAB, JAB, POWER PUNCH their ass the whole fight...you need equal arm lenght or a lucky punch (like Rahman) to handle LL. He had truly started to run away with the HW class and he fucked up the division when he dipped..

Lots of interesting views. Thanks for sharing your thoughts. :)

I do not know what would have happened if the fight was allowed to continue. Vitali probably would have lost his eye and for that reason alone it was a good stoppage. However Lewis was having difficulty with his legs. He was exhausted. I do not believe Lewis would have knocked Vitali down or out because Lewis hit Vitali with one of the most devastating uppercuts I have ever seen and Vitali was not fazed and continued pushing forward. No freaking way was this fight going to go the distance. Either the fight would have been stopped anyway later on because that cut was getting worse or Vitali might have TKO'd Lewis. Lewis did a smart thing by retiring because rematching Vitali would have meant Lewis having to work out hard in order for him to get back into shape. At that point in his life he did not need it. He already defeated the one man that he was measured by in his career (Tyson) and made a shitload of money in the process. A rematch with Vitali would probably have brought in big bucks for both, but Lewis decided against it.

I think Lewis would have knocked Klitschko down because he could hurt Vitali (so he did, so did Sanders). There were 6 more rounds to go (if not for the stoppage). You cannot see all punches with that kind of injuries, you cannot avoid getting hit hard for six more rounds. Man, the Lewis - Klitschko bout clearly devided a nation, huh?! :D Lewis might have won, but I dont believe he would ever put Vitali down. Considering he took the best shots Lewis could come up with withouht going down, and the fact that he NEVER went down in his carier, I dont see him going down... If anything that fight would be stopped from Vitali getting a beating. But I just dont see his ass touching the canvas.

The version of Lennox Lewis that fought Vitali Klitschko some year ago was old and out of shape (I think so). Do you think some, or any, of the current heavyweights could have beat that version? How about Samuel Peter, Lamon Brewster, Hasim Raman again ... ? :) Depends really, Lewis really was not in great shape for that fight either was he mentally ready 4 tht fight but he did beat a good boxer in Vitali whateva way u look at it, Brewster had no chance he would have been BLEW out the ring by Lewis, Samuel peter also he a one trick pony, Rahman had a chance sure jst like the lewis first fight but yano what happend to Rahman when he faced a FULLY trainned Lewis he got Knockd out, Prob Wladimir had the best chance prob

I think Lewis would have knocked Klitschko down because he could hurt Vitali (so he did, so did Sanders). There were 6 more rounds to go (if not for the stoppage). You cannot see all punches with that kind of injuries, you cannot avoid getting hit hard for six more rounds. Man, the Lewis - Klitschko bout clearly devided a nation, huh?! :D

Vitali didn't get cut on a piece of paper, it was Lennox's fist. It's odd that when a guy gets cut from a punch that the puncher is somehow not credited with causing it. Rahman and McCall gave rematches for the money. he was cut by the side of the glove, not from a direct punch. it was a "freak" cut that doesn't happen very often. watch the fight, and watch that punch in slow motion, it's not like lennox cleanly connected, itwas pretty much a freak accident.

The version of Lennox Lewis that fought Vitali Klitschko some year ago was old and out of shape (I think so). Do you think some, or any, of the current heavyweights could have beat that version? How about Samuel Peter, Lamon Brewster, Hasim Raman again ... ? :) Lennox was in a decent shape. Sam, Lamon, Brew, and Hasim would have ZERO chance.

Vitali didn't get cut on a piece of paper, it was Lennox's fist. It's odd that when a guy gets cut from a punch that the puncher is somehow not credited with causing it. Rahman and McCall gave rematches for the money.

Lewis didn't look much better than Vitali in all honesty. When the fight was stopped, Lewis practically stumbled to his corner. I will say this for the final time, Lewis would have gotten beat if the side of his glove hadn't cut Vitali. Vitali had more skills in that fight and a way better chin.

so you are not allowed to retire until you lose? He wanted out and so far has stayed, out. good for him You can retire when ever the fuck you want. And Lewis did. Looking like a scared bitch, he did.

lennox lost to mcall and rahman, therefore a rematch was in order. however he beat vitali via cuts. so fuk the rematch Well McCall and Rahman won so why should they give Lewis a rematch then? Its not a one way train buddy.

so you are not allowed to retire until you lose? He wanted out and so far has stayed, out. good for him

lewis took the fight on 2weeks notice. to fight vitali. originally he was gonna fite kirk fatty johnson. but lennox if the fight wasnt stopped. was on the verge of givin vittali a great beating. NO DOUBT about that lennox cud beat any1 !!! period!! If I remember correctly Lennox had difficulty getting to his corner after the last round (he lunged onto the ropes and was helped back). At the time I didn't think he could even fight another round, which is why the stoppage seemed unjust to me. I have not watched the tape since the night of the fight though, so I could be wrong. I have always wondered why no one ever talked about this.

I agree Lewis would have knocked Vitali down The man has never hit the canvas in his pro carrier, what makes you think Lennox had the juice to do it? When Vitali already took all his best shots and was still in the game. When Lewis was clearly in trouble a couple of times. Lewis clearly won the fight by fucking up Vitali's face. But I dont want to hear teh "two week notice" bullshit. Because Vitali had two weeks to prep for it too. So Lewis won that fight. But it was the most trouble he ever faced, besides being KOd by Rahman. He went in with a man who could take as much as he threw, could withstand a fucking locomotive to his chin and has the power to KO nearly every current, to then current heavy. Lewis won fare and square, but I just hate to see Vitali not get any credit when he was matching the performance of the best heavy of the decade. Now how would the fight go if both had sufficient time to prepare? Vitali definetly has the power to trouble Lewis, and he can definetly take any shot Lewis can come up with, withouht any drama. So it would be a toss. Lastly Lewis being a rematch man himself McCall and Rahman should have given Vitali a rematch. Thats where I loose all repsect for Lennox. The man needed 2 rematches to clear his record but here he doesnt give one to a man who could have given him a challenge of his life.

as for peter or briggs, nah, i don't think they would have given a better preformance than what we have seen from them already. peter would easily get outboxed, and briggs might even be stopped because he never looks much in shape these days.

looking back in retrospect, this six round "brawl" is still one of the most exciting heavyweight fights i have seen of the last 10 years or so. getting the obvious outta the way, niether klitschko nor lewis were training for eachother. if it were not for the cuts susutained by klitschko, i honestly don't think i would be able to predict an outcome. on one hand, lewis was the veteran and a bit more experience in big fights, and on the other klitschko was fresher, motivated and had something to prove. vitali had dominated to some degree the early rounds, and it looked like he should've jumped on lewis while he was out on his feet - however, it seemed as though vitali didn't take that chance and gave lewis too much respect. going into rounds five and six lewis was landed a bit more often, and hit vitali with some shots that would've dumped your average heavyweight on his ass. but by the increase in tempo, to me it had looked like ll was going to be slowing down soon after round six. while vitali, clearly had a lot of energy left and usually gets another wind around rounds 7, 8, and 9. so, getting that shit out of the way, i think lewis would've easily handled most heavyweights that night. and out of the current heavies, really only vitali's younger brother, wladimir, and maybe liakhovich or byrd might have giving him trouble or possibly beat him. i want to point out that i can't say for sure about sergei because i haven't seen much of him and have only seen him in one big fight. back in 2003 though, i think vk was the only fighter at that time that could've beaten lewis 2 out of 3 times.

i see some people say about lewis taking the fight on 2 weeks notice, well the same thing goes for vitali

Lennox can handle big punchers very well, see: Lewis vs Tua Lewis vs Briggs Lewis vs Rahman II Lewis vs Klitschko Lewis vs Ruddock Lewis vs Bruno Lewis vs Tyson in terms of technical ability and skills Lewis would handle Peter easily..Peter is a big puncher but does'nt have the skills I was talking about the version that fought Klitschko, not Lennox Lewis in general.

rahman was made to luk like a bum in the rematch with lennox vittALi got his ass handed with the cuts. sam peter is a little one dimensional, trust me. no1 can test with lewis To me you seem to be biased. Maybe you are right, though. :)