Lennox revising history re Vitali rematch

[Bronson66]

Nio sir. By tradition if the match is close, and the opponent was winning on the cards only to lose via cuts, and the champion says twice I'll rematch him, fans expect that.


Lewis tried to make other matches. When the WBC ordered the re-match, 95%+ of other fighters did it. I can think of one example when the champ avoided him under orderers. Lewis, who was acting like an active fighter and trying to make other matches, suddenly retired.

Robinson v Basilio.De Lahoya v Trinidad,Hagler v Leonard, Loughran v Delaney, Loughran v Tunney,

[Mr Mitts]

No sir. By tradition if the match is close, and the opponent was winning on the cards only to lose via cuts, and the champion says twice I'll rematch him, fans expect that.

Hard to argue with that statement. Fans also expect or at least hope for a timely rematch. If they do not get that they can never be satisfied by an untimely one, such as Leonard v Hearns II.

[Bennyleonard99]

Nio sir. By tradition if the match is close, and the opponent was winning on the cards only to lose via cuts, and the champion says twice I'll rematch him, fans expect that.


Lewis tried to make other matches. When the WBC ordered the re-match, 95%+ of other fighters did it. I can think of one example when the champ avoided him under orderers. Lewis, who was acting like an active fighter and trying to make other matches, suddenly retired.

The optics were clear. Vitali chased Lennox into retirement. LL is still trying to do damage control two decades later.

[JAB5239]

The optics were clear. Vitali chased Lennox into retirement. LL is still trying to do damage control two decades later.

And 2 decades later Klitschko fans have still not gotten over TKO6.

Let's make one thing empirically clear, Lewis won his biggest fights, and beat other greats. Vits didn't.

[Willie Pep 229]

Hard to argue with that statement. Fans also expect or at least hope for a timely rematch. If they do not get that they can never be satisfied by an untimely one, such as Leonard v Hearns II.

The difference is Lewis' willingness to retire. That tru-mps all other precedents.

[JAB5239]

The difference is Lewis' willingness to retire. That tru-mps all other precedents.

If he had come back and made another fight I would get their point. As it stands he did not. I don't see how we can fault a man for retiring and staying that way when so many others cannot.

[4truth]

I think Lennox was always going to have problems with fighters he couldn't knock out, fighters like Mercer, McCall and Klitschko (Vitali not Wlad). I don't think Lennox felt confident he could defeat Vitali, not after seeing what he saw in the first fight.

[Bennyleonard99]

If he had come back and made another fight I would get their point. As it stands he did not. I don't see how we can fault a man for retiring and staying that way when so many others cannot.

He could not come back after running from Vitali into retirement. Vitali checkmated him out of the game.

It may sound harsh but it's the truth, Lennox distaste for the Vitali rematch ended his career prematurely. But he covered it up with the baloney, "Oh I was going to retire anyway."

It does not shade LL's greatness at all, his career speaks for itself. One of the finest in ring history, any weight class. But the public and boxing history were denied a spectacular rematch that would have generated over $100,000,000.

[Willie Pep 229]

He could not come back after running from Vitali into retirement. Vitali checkmated him out of the game.

It may sound harsh but it's the truth, Lennox distaste for the Vitali rematch ended his career prematurely. But he covered it up with the baloney, "Oh I was going to retire anyway."

It does not shade LL's greatness at all, his career speaks for itself. One of the finest in ring history, any weight class. But the public and boxing history were denied a spectacular rematch that would have generated over $100,000,000.

No!

It is not premature if he actually stays retired. He did. It was the right time.

You're not allowing the man the right to exit when he knows he hasn't got it anylonger.

That his right and he should be respected for it, not demeaned.

Your argument gives no fighter the right to retire.

You seem to believe that he has a obligation to get hurt just to entertain you.

[Bennyleonard99]

No!

It is not premature if he actually stays retired. He did. It was the right time.

You're not allowing the man the right to exit when he knows he hasn't got it anylonger.

That his right and he should be respected for it, not demeaned.

Your argument gives no fighter the right to retire.

You seem to believe that he has a obligation to get hurt just to entertain you.

It's the hurt business pal. Rahman and McCall gave Lewis the rematch. Duran gave Leonard the rematch. Johansson gave Patterson the rematch. Frazier gave Ali the rematch. Tunney gave Dempsey the rematch. Marciano gave Walcott the rematch. Vitali deserved the rematch.

Lennox planned on having more fights after he expected to beat Vitali, video evidence exists on the HBO broadcast tape. But Vitali changed all those plans and sent Lennox to retirement earlier than he wanted. The rematch was so big nobody would have paid to see Lennox fight anyone else do he quit. Boxing is a cruel business and Lewis learned that. To get booed out of the ring after his final fight was a cruel exclamation point to a historic, legendary career.