Did Lewis really turn down 20 million for a rematch with Vitali Klitschko?

I got no problem wit Lewis retiring,he did his thing and deserved to retire on a win,the thing that annoyed me though was that for 5 months Lewis told every interviewer that the rematch would happen and he would KO Vitali b4 hanging up his gloves. He said once Vitali got medically cleared to fight then Dec 03 the fight would be made,Vitali got cleared and lewis went silent..vitali then hammered Kirk Johnson in 2 rds in a eliminator for Lewis' title in Dec 03 when he would have been fighting Lewis. Lewis announced his retirement 2 months later. Why harp on about it leading everyone to believe it will happen for months only to retire after talking all that trash? i guess only he knows it was a silly thing too do,i think after he considered it for a while he realized that it didnt make sense too get back in the ring again (especially with a guy like vitali) i suppose it could have been him not adjusting well too being retired and still thinking he has too do all this trash talk,not defending it though,but boxers do things like this all the time

When was that for? not 100% certain of the actual date, but it was after Lewis officialy retired.

too be honest lewis is the best name on vitalis record and im not surprised he wanted a rematch after being beaten in the first fight

Vitali turned down a Lewis offer of a rematch and said so himself. Lewis kind of low-balled him with a 70-30 split, and Vitali said no. If he wanted the rematch bad enough he should've said yes. Oh and by the way I dont believe Lewis wanted a rematch, but Vitali should've agreed to it if for no other reason (well except the biggest purse of his career, a chance for revenge and to help his legacy) just to see if Lewis went ahead with it. Source: http://www.boxingscene.com/forums/showthread.php?t=257627

na it wasnt that much plus he had already beat the guy,and was clearly past his prime,he made the right decision in hanging up the gloves

lewis vs klitschko wouldn't generate a fraction of what Tyson,Holyfield,lewis' fights would.Tyson & Holyfield at one point were getting 20-30 million per fight not including payperview...lewis' didn't get offered 20 million...that's just vitali fans propaganda & steward always wanted them to fight again so he just was trying to get a fight happening...it's bullshit because lewis' likes $$$ but 2 fights with Holyfield & Tyson made him like $100 million so the vitali fight was a waste of time since he beat him.**** you nutrhuggers who say he was ahead on the cards.who cares fights are 12 rounds not 6.it's a tko win for LEWIS.

The old heavyweights werent flat footed the way these guys are now.The heavyweights were agile,fast,powerful and very techinical fighters.Ali would move and hit people from all angles,no one could stand the way Klitschko stands now and expect to win.Ali would hit him from all sorts of angles,it would be so fast he wouldnt know what hit him.I cant see any heavyweight who's fast and mobile at the moment David Haye included.All these heavyweights are chumps compared to the old greats,non of them would go 5 rounds against the older heavyweights. I agree that it's easier to beat up bums or not so great fighters and look great, but to face a line of greats, that's why we can never call Calzaghe an ATG and I'm a fan of him too. Klit is like Kessler, great VS flat footed guys, but VS real class, he'll look bad or lose.

Lewis at 37, nearly 38 eats Vitali at 38. People say Vitali can take on all the greats, which is true, but some overrate him by saying he beats most ATG's. He's good, and I'm a fan but I can see others eating him up. He would never deal with Ali at all.

I believe he was offered 30. I believe you just made that up.