Was Lennox Lewis set up to lose against Vitali Klitschko?

[BKM-]

Tony Ge and Billeau2's interaction made me go back and watch the Merchant interview (I am assuring that is the interview being addressed.)

All that Billeau2 suggests about the interview seems correct, in spades, (really obvious when Lewis grabs the microphone leaving poor Larry to hold on to it like a child struggling with an adult).

But I am going to argue that it was Lewis who blew-up the interview and turned it into an argument. All he needed to do was throw Vilali a bone, make some respectful noises early on and Merchant would have backed off.

Merchant saw blood in the water and moved on it.

Billeau2 argues that the problem is systemic to modern journalism, and while there is no doubt a truth to that, I believe had Lewis made the right noises upfront, from the get go, Merchant would have backed off.

Also their argument quickly degraded into apples and oranges; with Merchant trying to force Lewis to say something "respectful," the apples. With Lewis believing he was being challenged regarding the legitimacy of the stoppage, the oranges. The two were talking pass each other.

I don't feel there is a legit comparison to Ali. Ali was never given a fair shot, anything he said was going to be considered wanting and unacceptable, Lewis wasn't in such a tough spot, a little less swagger and a little more "being a mensch" would have gotten the job done.

In short: Lewis could of diffused the entire event with just a few upfront kind words for Vitali; Ali was never in such a position.

But again, I would like to repeat, I think Lewis misunderstood how he was being challenged and mistakenly became defensive regarding the stoppage. After that it snowballed, with Merchant trying to bait Lewis with phrases like "you're still saying he has no heart"

(Merchant was trying to bully Lewis, as he often does; Lewis was reacting to the Boos, although he claimed he wasn't.)

God I loved seeing Merchant desperately trying to hang onto his microphone; Score: Fighters 1, Announcers 0.

Lewis was gonna go in hard, he was just about to claim that Vitali was gonna feel the pressure and pain and would have "quit again" referencing the Byrd fight. Too bad Larry interrupted him there.

[billeau2]

- -U fat again?

Lewis had an 8 week training camp on top of a two week pretraining camp with Manny 3 months before the aborted fight with Johnson.

Vitali tapped on 3 wk notice to fill in for Tyson who pulled out of the copromoted undercard of their Proposed rematch.

Vitali tapped as replacement on two weeks notice.

Yeah, we know U still nursing on mommy back then, but no more excuses for not knowing the details now.

Lewis had 5 more fights planned killed by Vitali.

Put down the bottle it is affecting the little judgement left on that side of what goes for a brain... Lewis was training for a very lightly regarded, smaller, slower opponent and did nothing to prepare...And most of us would have also not felt the need to prepare. I forget the guys name Lewis was supposed to fight, but he was not big, not strong, not fast, and not good...had no power...

Vitalie was obviously in good shape for the fight, Lewis was obviously not. Look at them after your alcohol saturated brain comes down a bit!

[QueensburyRules]

Put down the bottle it is affecting the little judgement left on that side of what goes for a brain... Lewis was training for a very lightly regarded, smaller, slower opponent and did nothing to prepare...And most of us would have also not felt the need to prepare. I forget the guys name Lewis was supposed to fight, but he was not big, not strong, not fast, and not good...had no power...

Vitalie was obviously in good shape for the fight, Lewis was obviously not. Look at them after your alcohol saturated brain comes down a bit!

- -Kirk Johnson very quick and talented was hardly small. Only his dedication had been questioned.

I stand by the Lewis training I outlined. Lewis like most big men had been steadily building wt over his career.

I could go further but I don't like to pick on schoolgirlish mentalities. Just facts 101.

[billeau2]

- -Kirk Johnson very quick and talented was hardly small. Only his dedication had been questioned.

I stand by the Lewis training I outlined. Lewis like most big men had been steadily building wt over his career.

I could go further but I don't like to pick on schoolgirlish mentalities. Just facts 101.

Really? Reallllly? Come on Queenie! Give me a break! Johnson was not talented when compared to professional fighters, and there was no way he was ever a threat to Lewis. Lewis could have beat Johnson with one hand behind his back and a leg tied to a fence post...Come on...

Thanks for sparing me by not going further with a school girl.

[Willie Pep 229]

- -Kirk Johnson very quick and talented was hardly small. Only his dedication had been questioned.

I stand by the Lewis training I outlined. Lewis like most big men had been steadily building wt over his career.

I could go further but I don't like to pick on schoolgirlish mentalities. Just facts 101.

Certainly big, but I don't see evidence of "no heart" -- Don't see this guy as an "easy" mark!

CBS Sports: Kirk Johnson to fight Lennox Lewis?

Johnson, who stands 6-foot-3 and is nicknamed "Bubba", is one of the top ranked heavyweight boxers in the world. He is ranked No. 8 in the world by boxing's three most important sanctioning bodies, the WBC, WBA and the IBF.

His record is 34-1-1 (25 KOs). His only loss came when he was disqualified for low blows in fight with former WBA champion John Ruiz last year.

Johnson resurrected his career in March, scoring an impressive fourth-round knockout over Lou Savarese in Dallas, Texas.

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ESPN: Friday, June 6 2003: Lewis looking for replacement for June 21 bout, By Michael Katz

Article: Katz Examines the Situation and possible replacements.

[billeau2]

Certainly big, but I don't see evidence of "no heart" -- Don't see this guy as an "easy" mark!

CBS Sports: Kirk Johnson to fight Lennox Lewis?

Johnson, who stands 6-foot-3 and is nicknamed "Bubba", is one of the top ranked heavyweight boxers in the world. He is ranked No. 8 in the world by boxing's three most important sanctioning bodies, the WBC, WBA and the IBF.

His record is 34-1-1 (25 KOs). His only loss came when he was disqualified for low blows in fight with former WBA champion John Ruiz last year.

Johnson resurrected his career in March, scoring an impressive fourth-round knockout over Lou Savarese in Dallas, Texas.

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ESPN: Friday, June 6 2003: Lewis looking for replacement for June 21 bout, By Michael Katz

Article: Katz Examines the Situation and possible replacements.

If one looks at Johnson's competition, whom he beat, and watches him fight... he certainly would be in the top percent of boxers in the world, but within that number he never beat a top contender on the order of Lewis.

By the time Lewis fought Vitalie he had dismantled many more aggressive, hard hitting contenders... Like Briggs, Grant, Golota, to name a few.

[billeau2]

- -Kirk Johnson very quick and talented was hardly small. Only his dedication had been questioned.

I stand by the Lewis training I outlined. Lewis like most big men had been steadily building wt over his career.

I could go further but I don't like to pick on schoolgirlish mentalities. Just facts 101.

One of these days you should tell me why you are such a Holmes and Lewis hater.

[QueensburyRules]

One of these days you should tell me why you are such a Holmes and Lewis hater.

- -I stick to the facts.

U genuflect Ginsberg and Kilroy Was Here and Alice B Toklas as boxing experts broadcast thru U navel.

[Lomadeaux]

Good observations as usual. I have always looked at the post-fight interview as uncomfortable and odd, it didn't help that Larry Merchant was twice as confrontational as he usually was. Although I still get a good laugh out of Lewis repeating "look at the state of his face" over and over again, it really was a disgrace how this great champion was treated after the fight both by the fallen challenger and the media, yes.

Just listen to what he said about Vitali before the fight, and then watch the fight.

The media just calls it like they see it. He said Vitali shouldn't be in the ring with him and he was getting his ass whipped.

That's all there is to it.

[billeau2]

- -I stick to the facts.

U genuflect Ginsberg and Kilroy Was Here and Alice B Toklas as boxing experts broadcast thru U navel.

You and Rusty...I swear lol. Look up the definition of a fact one of these days.

QueenB you know I look forward to your own style of posting, thats not my issue. But seriously, Facts?