Lennox Lewis: "Hey Vitali, Get Over it and Move On"

[Benny Leonard]

By boxingrules Lewis won the fight but stating that there's no need for a rematch is only partially correct. A rematch today would be silly and Lennox would just be KTFO. But a rematch then was so obviously the right thing to do after such an unsatisfying end to a fight. Lewis should have had the decency back then. Today? Forget it Vitali, and move on.

Did you read the rest?

If Lennox realized in the fight that he doesn't have it in him anymore to go through tough battles, why continue to fight?

He was already past his prime; he had the right to retire.

A fight 6 months later would just mean Lewis is 6 months older and farther away from his prime.

This was an Old Lewis; not a prime Lewis who fought again.

[BattlingNelson]

Did you read the rest?

If Lennox realized in the fight that he doesn't have it in him anymore to go through tough battles, why continue to fight?

He was already past his prime; he had the right to retire.

A fight 6 months later would just mean Lewis is 6 months older and farther away from his prime.

This was an Old Lewis; not a prime Lewis who fought again.

Point is that there was a need for rematch IMO. You said there wasn't. The defenders of Lennox usually claims that he wasn't in shape for the fight so given a good camp surely he'd be ready the second time around.

Of course one can say that Lennox had earned the right to retire but in doing so he left the boxing world uncertain and unsatisfied. It was not like when Rocky Marciano retired. Marciano KO'ed Archie Moore convincingly, but he was KD'ed in the process and realized that his fighting days were over.

[SHB]

The damage to Vitali was pretty convincing.

If Lewis didn't have the fight left in him then he was right to retire, even if a rematch was required to determined who was better at the time. Now it'd be slightly ludicrous.

[edgarg]

Did you read the rest?

If Lennox realized in the fight that he doesn't have it in him anymore to go through tough battles, why continue to fight?

He was already past his prime; he had the right to retire.

A fight 6 months later would just mean Lewis is 6 months older and farther away from his prime.

This was an Old Lewis; not a prime Lewis who fought again.

You seem yourself, to have not read anything nor seen videos, nor listened to what these people were saying.

Lewis, BEFORE the fight, STATED in the most egomaniacal terms, that he was in tip top shaspe and intended to fight for several years longer, that, since he wasn't a young punk, (he didn't say punk, but he meant it) out partying every night, he was in better shape than they were. That HE was a REAL world Champion, because he fought in different places. Perhaps here he meant the time he went to South Africa for the first Rahman fight. You may not know how that ended. Perhaps he'd forgotten, going by the smarmy, self-satisfied smile on his face.

He also said that he's eat the Klitschko's one for breakfast and the other for lunch. that they couldn't compare to HIM, LENNOX LEWIS the "Pugilist Expert", that he had Kryptonite for them, that VK would be looking up from the canvas at him, That VK was 1 dimensional, and couldn't compare to HIM the 5 Dimensional Champion. etc. etc.

And there was more, a sickening outpouring of egomania. I don't have all the quoted words exactly correctly, but both the words and sense are there.

AFTER THE FIGHT, with Lewis still trembling from the razor thin narrow escape he'd had from being himself the one to be looking up from the canvas, he was disgustingly malicious in the exreme, not wanting to give Klitschko any credit at all, in fact it was painful to see Larry Merchant forcing a most begrudging admission from Lewis that Klitschko was better than he'd thought.

But, he was quick to say, that in the return (YES he's agreed to a return) He'd mess up the right side of his face to match the left. Extremely truculent.

Is this the way for "our Lenny" to behave, this malicious, envious, most unexciting to watch, washed up fighter who aspires to be regarded as a Great heavyweight, to behave???

In fact the other day he called himself "the last of the Great heavyweights".....,

[edgarg]

Point is that there was a need for rematch IMO. You said there wasn't. The defenders of Lennox usually claims that he wasn't in shape for the fight so given a good camp surely he'd be ready the second time around.

Of course one can say that Lennox had earned the right to retire but in doing so he left the boxing world uncertain and unsatisfied. It was not like when Rocky Marciano retired. Marciano KO'ed Archie Moore convincingly, but he was KD'ed in the process and realized that his fighting days were over.

The interesting thing about your Marciano comment, is that it may be perfectly accurate, but in a RING Magazine interview with Nat Loubet, a few days BEFORE he announced his retirement, Marciano stated in NO uncertain terms, that he intended to fight for a good few years yet, that he was still learning, and had a way to go, etc. etc. .....................

I have that issue.

[Benny Leonard]

Point is that there was a need for rematch IMO. You said there wasn't. The defenders of Lennox usually claims that he wasn't in shape for the fight so given a good camp surely he'd be ready the second time around.

Of course one can say that Lennox had earned the right to retire but in doing so he left the boxing world uncertain and unsatisfied. It was not like when Rocky Marciano retired. Marciano KO'ed Archie Moore convincingly, but he was KD'ed in the process and realized that his fighting days were over.

If he isn't "Mentally" there anymore, it's time to retire. You can't prepare your body right if you aren't Mentally motivated.

There is only so much you can do physically at his age anyway with is long career.

[edgarg]

When did he make the promise?

Was it the little talk right after the fight when Vitali ran up to Lennox and begged him for the rematch?

What is Lewis going to say; "**** OFF."

Lewis was Champion and there is no need to rematch Vitali; he Won.

If Vitali had been lineal Champion, of course, I could see the Champion getting a rematch; I've always been for that.


What Lewis learned in that fight was that he was not motivated anymore and would have to decide to go on.

Vitali gave Lewis no time to think so even if Lewis said "AH, yeah, sure," Vitali should have taken that as "Maybe; let me see if I still have it in me to fight; I'll have to talk it over with my Family; I'll get back to ya."

The only time you could have held it against Lewis is if Lewis fought again since there was no better opponent out there than Vitali; but Lewis retired because he was past his prime and didn't have it in him anymore to fight. Vitali lost; End of Story.

BENNY LEONARD you're talking nonsense as I've pointed out in another of your letters.

He not only promised a rematch, but he confirmed it several times afterwards. THAT was what all that nonsense was in the NEXT FEW MONTHS, about by him stating that he didn't want to fight the rematch and find that Klitschko's eye was going to split open again, and he INSISTED that he wanted Klitscko (that poor guy who was getting the classic RUN-A-ROUND) to travel all the bloody way to London England, to have his EYE (surely he meant his eyebrow) Super Dooper inspected and examined by his Lewis's Super Dooper eye specialist. What ever the hell an eye specialist could do with a cut anyway. It needed a COSMETIC SURGEON, which is what kind of MD did Klirschko's needlework.

I'm going to my eye specialist tomorrow, and if I asked him to sew an eyebrow cut, he'd think I was crazy.

Lewis was/is a ****** egomaniacal twit, who couldn't admit that someone had come along who wan't afraid of him poking away at him, and could wade in and beat the shorts off of him.

Oh by the way, the REMATCH was fixed for December of that year, around the same time that Klitschko actually fought Kirk Johnson instead.

Finis..........

[edgarg]

for Benny Leonard

I keep forgetting to say that I like the Minoan (?) fighters you have. I have a vase with some such figures, a copy unfortunately........

[Benny Leonard]

You seem yourself, to have not read anything nor seen videos, nor listened to what these people were saying.

Lewis, BEFORE the fight, STATED in the most egomaniacal terms, that he was in tip top shaspe and intended to fight for several years longer, that, since he wasn't a young punk, (he didn't say punk, but he meant it) out partying every night, he was in better shape than they were. That HE was a REAL world Champion, because he fought in different places. Perhaps here he meant the time he went to South Africa for the first Rahman fight. You may not know how that ended. Perhaps he'd forgotten, going by the smarmy, self-satisfied smile on his face.

He also said that he's eat the Klitschko's one for breakfast and the other for lunch. that they couldn't compare to HIM, LENNOX LEWIS the "Pugilist Expert", that he had Kryptonite for them, that VK would be looking up from the canvas at him, That VK was 1 dimensional, and couldn't compare to HIM the 5 Dimensional Champion. etc. etc.

And there was more, a sickening outpouring of egomania. I don't have all the quoted words exactly correctly, but both the words and sense are there.

AFTER THE FIGHT, with Lewis still trembling from the razor thin narrow escape he'd had from being himself the one to be looking up from the canvas, he was disgustingly malicious in the exreme, not wanting to give Klitschko any credit at all, in fact it was painful to see Larry Merchant forcing a most begrudging admission from Lewis that Klitschko was better than he'd thought.

But, he was quick to say, that in the return (YES he's agreed to a return) He'd mess up the right side of his face to match the left. Extremely truculent.

Is this the way for "our Lenny" to behave, this malicious, envious, most unexciting to watch, washed up fighter who aspires to be regarded as a Great heavyweight, to behave???

In fact the other day he called himself "the last of the Great heavyweights".....,

At Lennox's age, and having already conquered Tyson, I feel he blew his load. It reminded me of what Foreman said about Frazier after Joe beat Muhammad...George said he knew that Frazier had peaked in that fight and would not be able to regain that ability Mentally because he beat Ali; Frazier was ready to be taken. That was Joe's goal; to beat Ali.

Lewis hung around so that he could finish off Tyson. Lewis called Tyson a "has-been," but said since everybody kept on him about Tyson this, Tyson that, he knew he had to fight him before his career was over.

Going on after that, it could have been that Lewis wanted some more money to cash out and possibly he liked finally getting noticed as "The Champion," especially by the American public.

However, he was having it easy because he had not been in a real tough War for some time. True, he was KTFO by Rahman, but that fight wasn't a War; it was a few good shots to hurt him a bit...finally setting Lewis up for one big shot to knock him out. But for Lewis, it was just one shot and it wasn't a tough battle.

Vitali gave him that battle and at Lewis's age, he may have conceded that he was not prepared Mentally and Physically to continue to go on with such a War.

He knew, he wasn't getting any younger and it was hard to get his old ass in shape. He was even considered by some to be already past his prime when he fought Tyson, but; unlike Tyson who was shot, Lewis was simply just past his prime.

You really don't know what you’re in for until you are in the situation. So Lewis can say what he wants but doesn't know it for sure until he is in the moment of a true battle/war.

Lewis was too old to go through wars and he knew it.

That's what I'm saying. You can talk whatever you want, but until you are in the battle being tested at that point in your career, you don't know.

Remember that movie Letha Weapon; this sums up Lewis's thoughts:

"I'm to old for this ****."


And, I wouldn't be surprised if there was pressure coming from both his MOM and his Girlfriend/Wife to retire...mostly his MOM.

[Benny Leonard]

I keep forgetting to say that I like the Minoan (?) fighters you have. I have a vase with some such figures, a copy unfortunately........

Well, thanks for the info above. So much to remember off the top of your head.


For Lewis's **** talking: yeah, he should have kept his mouth shut after the fight and just said it was a great fight...Vitali is a good fighter, etc.

But nobody will forget what Lewis did to Vital's face.

I can understand where Vitali is coming from, but to be fair, he has to understand where Lewis was as well.

For the Minoans: Big fan.

Copies are cool because you don't have to worry about them breaking; if they do, you can replace them. The good quality ones are very nice.

The originals, like Doctor Jones would say, "belong in a museum."