Why did Lewis turn down over 20 million dollars for a rematch with Vitali Klitschko??

[T-97]

Lewis dominated Vitali so much that he was losing 4 rounds to 2 on EVERY scorecard. Lewis may have "technically" won, but there was no clear winner since the fight ended prematurely from a cut that might have been caused by a clash of heads.

Fighting on short notice benefited Lewis much more than Vitali, since lewis had much more experience in title fights. Lewis was thinking about a rematch with Vitali and said Vitali had to fight Johnson to prove that his eye was healed enough and after seeing the beating VK put on Johnson, Lewis knew the odds were against him to beat VK legitimately.

Why did it take Lewis nearly a year and a dominating win by VK over a fighter (Johnson) Lewis considered to be a legitimate contender for him to retire?

Cause he wanted to keep fighting, but knew he was a shadow of himself. He took time off to sort his head out and eventually decided that he was done

[lennon]

Pretty much. If Vitali KlitschkO had lost to Johnson or Sanders I have no doubts that Lewis would've fought again, as Lewis was considering suing Tyson to force a rematch. There was a reason Lewis was going to fight Johnson while Vitali was his mandatory and it took some coaxing by HBO to get Lewis to agree to fight Vitali (on a weeks notice with Vitali already agreeing) after Johnson got injured.

Manny and Lennox knew Vitali was most likely going to beat him, so they tried to avoid him. When Lewis got a gift win by the referee not calling the accidental clash of heads in the third that would've gave Vitali a UD, Lewis knew better than to test fate a second time. Lewis even sunk to calling Johnson and Sanders to give them advise on how to beat Vitali. If either had been successful Lewis would be able to fight again without looking like a coward, which he ended up looking like anyway by retiring with unfinished business.

KlitschkO/Lewis deserved a rematch since there was no clear winner (I would feel this way even if the referee called the accidental clash of heads) and neither fighter had the time to properly prepare for each other. Lewis robbed the fans and his legacy by going out like a chicken!

there was no clash of heads causing any cuts in rd 3.

[sweeney19]

Lewis dominated Vitali so much that he was losing 4 rounds to 2 on EVERY scorecard. Lewis may have "technically" won, but there was no clear winner since the fight ended prematurely from a cut that might have been caused by a clash of heads.

Fighting on short notice benefited Lewis much more than Vitali, since lewis had much more experience in title fights. Lewis was thinking about a rematch with Vitali and said Vitali had to fight Johnson to prove that his eye was healed enough and after seeing the beating VK put on Johnson, Lewis knew the odds were against him to beat VK legitimately.

Why did it take Lewis nearly a year and a dominating win by VK over a fighter (Johnson) Lewis considered to be a legitimate contender for him to retire?

Some good questions there...in my opinion Lewis thought he had achieved all that he could in his carear, he was universally recognised as the top dog in the division....Maybe Lennox felt he was out of his prime & didnt want to take tha risk (He's not a *****, but a smart person for doing that) Lennox fought everybody taht mattered among the heavyweights(Apart from Bowe who bitched out)...i find it hald to believe that Lewis would be "scared" of Vitali, i think Lewis realised he was out of his prime whereas Vitali was in his prime so to speak, like i said poreviously Lennox retired the heavyweight champ of teh world beating every opponent he has ever faced, and made a**** load of $$$$ doing, he now commentats for HBO so he is still making money, and last time i heard he was married with kids, why jepordise that with a fighter you beat (allbeit controversually)

[Liaison]

He did an interview with an European tabloid where he said that he knew that at his age, he couldn’t keep up with a young Lion like Vitali, so decided that retirement was a better option than the rematch.

[Allucard]

because unlike many fighters, he knew when to get out with his brains intact and bank account high.

he must have knew he was losing motivation since he showed up in poor shape for a 2nd time in 4 fights.

of course, being in poor shape, he still beat the overrated qutting juice monkey, vitali "fredo" quitschko.

What he said. I would like to see more fighters knowing this as well.