How can Vitali Klitschko be an ATG heavyweight if he couldn't beat an old Lewis?

I'll say it again, Vitali is an ATG bum beater and paper champion. Seriously, what is his best win? :lol1:

1) He DID beat him, but didn't win because of a cut No Vitali did not beat him. This is Heavyweight Boxing not ping-pong. The only thing scorecards are useful for is to plug the gushing holes in his face. With that said, Vitali is an ATG.

Depends what you mean. Vitali vs Sanders was for the Ring Belt i believe. They were 1 and 2 at HW at the time following Sanders KO of Wlad I'm well aware what the fight was for and that fight was a prime example of how ring champion isn't always lineal champion....

Vitali was winning the fight according to all three judges at the time of the stoppage. I was at that fight, and Lewis almost got knocked out in round 2, Vitali just didn't follow up and let him off the hook. Exaggerating much? Lewis didn't "almost get knocked out" anymore than Vitali did after eating a big Lewis uppercut in the 6th round. If Vitali didn't "follow up" it's because of the fact that Lewis was not almost knocked out like you're claiming.

Meh....being an "ATG" isnt a real or factual thing. Vitali along with his brother are the best HWs of this era (post-Lennox). Thats all you can really ask of them. I know that ATG is a flexible term. And from my discussions with boxing fans EVERY ATG's ATG status is contested. Lennox Lewis? ATG? Hahaha, has been KOed by neverbeens. Mike Tyson? ATG? Hahaha, bum beater. Evan Fields? ATG? Hahaha, lost to X, Y and Z... Wlad? ATG? ... The only non-ATG-contested boxer is The Clay and maybe J.Lo.

Alphabet soup doesn't mean anything, hes never been the true champ. Depends what you mean. Vitali vs Sanders was for the Ring Belt i believe. They were 1 and 2 at HW at the time following Sanders KO of Wlad

Doesnt he hold a belt right now.......surely he won a belt after Lewis retired...... Alphabet soup doesn't mean anything, hes never been the true champ.

Nobody claimed the opposite. But this is not the topic of the thread. The topic is whether losing to ATG Lewis kills your aspiration to be an ATG yourself. It's the same question like Can Chris Byrd be ATG when he lost to Wlad? Or can Adamek be ATG when he loses to Vitali (= the best opponent he will have faced). The answer is: OF COURSE they can be ATGs because losing to other ATGs is not a proof of anything since nearly everybody will lose to an ATG. Meh....being an "ATG" isnt a real or factual thing. Vitali along with his brother are the best HWs of this era (post-Lennox). Thats all you can really ask of them.

5) Losing to Lewis is no shame but it doesnt change the fact he lost against the best fighter he fought. Nobody claimed the opposite. But this is not the topic of the thread. The topic is whether losing to ATG Lewis kills your aspiration to be an ATG yourself. It's the same question like Can Chris Byrd be ATG when he lost to Wlad? Or can Adamek be ATG when he loses to Vitali (= the best opponent he will have faced). The answer is: OF COURSE they can be ATGs because losing to other ATGs is not a proof of anything since nearly everybody will lose to an ATG.

I thought Lewis beat him comfortably, there were maybe two close rounds you could give to Vitali. Vitali was winning the fight according to all three judges at the time of the stoppage. I was at that fight, and Lewis almost got knocked out in round 2, Vitali just didn't follow up and let him off the hook.

Vitali Klitschko has never been heavyweight champion nor is he an ATG by any means. Doesnt he hold a belt right now.......surely he won a belt after Lewis retired......

Vitali Klitschko has never been heavyweight champion nor is he an ATG by any means.

1) He DID beat him, but didn't win because of a cut 2) What you call "old" is 2 years younger than Vitali is now 3) "past prime" is your opinion only. Lewis didn't mention any retirement plans 4) Lewis out-of-shape'ness is what prevented Lewis from getting KOed because fat protects against punches. Now we come to your BIGGEST logical fallacy: 5) Prove that Lennox is not the best boxer to ever live. Because if Lewis _IS_ the best boxer to ever live (spare me his 2 KOs) then LOSING against Lewis is nothing special. Because nearly ANYONE would lose against Lewis. Thus losing against Lewis doesn't erase any ATG aspirations. Additionally you ignore some of the facts like 6) Vitali was possibly pre-prime 7) Vitali took the fight on short notice (while Lennox WAS training for his title fight) 1) Lewis won by TKO 2) Vitali is old 3) Lewis was out of the ring for a year and was expected to retire 4) Being out of shape is never good. 5) Losing to Lewis is no shame but it doesnt change the fact he lost against the best fighter he fought. 6) Pre-prime? Lol wut 7) Vitali was also training for a fight. In fact, he claimed he'd beem training for Lewis for a long time. They both had the same notice to prepare for each other.

I think the grey on the beard and hair gave away that he was old On paper Lewis was old, Vitali was 10 years younger i believe. He was 5 years younger. Don't spin. If you complain about a 5+ years age difference then delete off The Clay's record the following wins: Floyd Patterson, Cleveland Williams, Sonny Liston, Zora Folley, Archie Moore (and others). The Clay had 22 fights against 5 year older opponents. And off Tyson's record delete: Tony Tucker, Berbick, Larry Holmes, Spinks (and others) And off Holmes record delete: Ken Norton and Muhammad Ali. His oldness showed in the ring, he was out of shape, had love handles, obviously did not train hard for the fight, and he came in the ring after 12 months, i guess he wanted to see if he still had it, which is normal for someone who had boxed all theyre life. Boxing is all they know. He obviously was not the fighter he once was. *sniffle* And... how did the fairytale end, grandfather?

Vitali couldn't even beat an old, past prime, and out of shape Lewis 1) He DID beat him, but didn't win because of a cut 2) What you call "old" is 2 years younger than Vitali is now 3) "past prime" is your opinion only. Lewis didn't mention any retirement plans 4) Lewis out-of-shape'ness is what prevented Lewis from getting KOed because fat protects against punches. Now we come to your BIGGEST logical fallacy: 5) Prove that Lennox is not the best boxer to ever live. Because if Lewis _IS_ the best boxer to ever live (spare me his 2 KOs) then LOSING against Lewis is nothing special. Because nearly ANYONE would lose against Lewis. Thus losing against Lewis doesn't erase any ATG aspirations. Additionally you ignore some of the facts like 6) Vitali was possibly pre-prime 7) Vitali took the fight on short notice (while Lennox WAS training for his title fight)

Ugh the thing is nobody really beat lewis prime or not! He beat every man he stepped into the ring with and knocked out the only two fighters who beat him in the rematches so whats your fuking point?????? What are you talking about? McCall and Rahman knocked Lewis the hell out! It doesn't matter if Lewis won the rematches, they still beat him. The point is Vitali lost to the only hall of fame caliber opponent he's faced.

Ugh the thing is nobody really beat lewis prime or not! He beat every man he stepped into the ring with and knocked out the only two fighters who beat him in the rematches so whats your fuking point??????

Lewis was'nt thought to be old before that fight. If you've seen that fight you would realise that Vitali got the better of him other than the cut. Lewis was all of a sudden super old after the fight. His hair was grey and everything. He had to retire not because of Vitali but because he was getting Alziemers. I think the grey on the beard and hair gave away that he was old On paper Lewis was old, Vitali was 10 years younger i believe. His oldness showed in the ring, he was out of shape, had love handles, obviously did not train hard for the fight, and he came in the ring after 12 months, i guess he wanted to see if he still had it, which is normal for someone who had boxed all theyre life. Boxing is all they know. He obviously was not the fighter he once was. And also you can only tell a fighter is past it when you see them in the ring, lewis called it quits at the right time in his career. You don't take 12 months out of ur career when ur reaching 40 years of age, which Lennox did, so he questioned his will/motivation to box.

Lewis was'nt thought to be old before that fight. If you've seen that fight you would realise that Vitali got the better of him other than the cut. Lewis was all of a sudden super old after the fight. His hair was grey and everything. He had to retire not because of Vitali but because he was getting Alziemers. Yup, and other than the KO Roy Jones was getting the better of Tarver in the rematch.

I thought Lewis beat him comfortably, there were maybe two close rounds you could give to Vitali.