Vitali Klitschko: "Lennox Lewis Promised Me a Fight"

[Roger Mellie]

that's because he was beating the **** out of Lewis the doctor saved him Lewis hit him with all he ha dand could'nt knock him out look at that fight again before you make a remark and what do you mean past his prime stop making excuses Lennox was calling both Klit bros out and when he got in there and saw what he was dealing with he aint want no more of that

He was hardly beating the **** out of Lewis,and the notion that Lewis wouldnt want any of Wlad is beyond ridiculous.

[BEEHOP]

that's because he was beating the **** out of Lewis the doctor saved him Lewis hit him with all he ha dand could'nt knock him out look at that fight again before you make a remark and what do you mean past his prime stop making excuses Lennox was calling both Klit bros out and when he got in there and saw what he was dealing with he aint want no more of that

He still ended up with a win. That's that/

[JM1]

wow.. let this **** go vitali. move on

[$partacus]

FanHouse: Can you discuss your performance against Vitali Klitschko?


Lennox Lewis: I had taken a year off after fighting Mike Tyson, and I came back to fight Kirk Johnson. I had prepared for Johnson, but it was supposed to be a tuneup fight for Klitschko, who I was supposed to fight at the end of the year. [Johnson was injured and pulled out of their fight.]. I took the fight with Klitschko on ten days notice. I had one sparring session with a guy over six feet tall, and he only gave me five rounds.

Klitschko was actually training for a while for me. Klitschko wasn't a fight where I was trying to out-box him, I was trying to knock him out. My style was just to go walking through a guy that was bigger than me, and I wanted to see if he was tougher than me.

I'll admit, he was successful in the first two rounds, but after that, it was all me. I was really taking him into the deep end. This was a war. We're gladiators. After that fight, I realized that at my worst, I can beat Klitschko, so at my best, I know that I can beat him. So there was no real hunger for him. So that was the right time to walk away from the game. Besides, he's not a guy who said that he was going to eat my children or anything, so I could walk away, no problem.

http://boxing.fanhouse.com/2009/09/0...are-off-in-ri/

[WESS]

He's never going to stop talking about Lewis, never.

Thats because Lewis was getting an ass whoopin. He wanted no part in a rematch. I to this day have ZERO respect for Lewis.... Although because of the Klits killing the HW's it would be nice is he came back just for drama sake.... Something needs to happen.

I dont even like the klits but I do back them up when they speak about Lewis. Saying that I hope Chris beats V-Klit so we can have some real drama in the HW's again. Nobody wants to see 2 brothers fight each other....

[WESS]

He was hardly beating the **** out of Lewis,and the notion that Lewis wouldnt want any of Wlad is beyond ridiculous.

Compared to other HW's of that time, he was doing just that!

[araindon]

Vitali was clearly winning the fight 4-2 on all 3 scorecards. Lewis was badly hurt and was staggering around the ring like a drunk, he barely survived the 2nd round, was getting outlanded and was hurt again later in the fight.

punches landed

Vitali 156

Lewis 102

Lewis was exhausted and worn down from the accumulation of punches, he collapsed onto his stool at the end of the 6th round, Vitali was the fresher of the two, he was a man on a mission that night and would've KO'd Lewis if the fight had continued.

All 20,000 fans at Staples Center cheered for Vitali and boo'd Lewis after the fight. Vitali was the real winner of that fight, he battered Lewis into retirement.

Lewis promised Vitali a rematch if he could beat Kirk Johnson.

Vitali destroyed Johnson in 2...The scared Lewis retired like a coward shortly after that fight.

Lewis turned down 25 million dollars for a rematch and retired like a coward because he knew Vitali would destroy him and tarnish his legacy.

Yet....Vitali Klitschko has an L and TKO on his record to? Lennox Lewis. Yes Vitali is a great fighter, but Lewis proved he's beyond great by digging deep and finding a way to win. That cut was one of the worse I've ever seen in boxing! How many stitches did he need again? Lewis TKO'd Vitali, and thats the bottom line and how it will be remembered.

[Fairweather]

Lennox never called out the klits. In fact he had left Vitali out to dry as his mandatory for a very long time and it was only because of a pull-out that Vitali got his shot. Otherwise he might never had had it, although that's speculation.

A fight with Vitali was looking likely a lot earlier but he quit against Chris Byrd and lost his title and that intially scuppered it.

Both fighters eventually took the fight on short notice when Lewis's warm up pulled out but it's obvious who was more physically prepared. If they'd had a rematch and Lewis had gotten into shape I'd expect he'd have won quite convincingly but it's disappointing it didn't happen.

[BattlingNelson]

A fight with Vitali was looking likely a lot earlier but he quit against Chris Byrd and lost his title and that intially scuppered it.

Both fighters eventually took the fight on short notice when Lewis's warm up pulled out but it's obvious who was more physically prepared. If they'd had a rematch and Lewis had gotten into shape I'd expect he'd have won quite convincingly but it's disappointing it didn't happen.

No offense but you (and several otheres) could learn a lot of the timeline and Lewis training by reading the 2 outstanding posts below by one of boxingscenes top posters:

** Here's the flaw in that thinking: The last time Lewis fought in the 230s, 238 against McCall, he was KOed.

Are we to discount the dozen or so fights in the 230 and claim he was just lucky to win being so out of shape like is claimed against Vitali?

He was 250 for Botha, and 249 against Tua two fights before coming in at 254 against Rahman. Need I remind anyone that with a fighter this size, he could break wind and lose 4 lbs? Moreover, heavies often don't bother to weigh stripped down so weights are not always accurate.

Lewis incrementally increases his fight weight over time like just about every heavy who's ever lived, indeed, most fighters who've ever lived. Because of the Klitchko's accension along with Byrd and Ruiz, Lewis saw a series of very tough fights late in his career, so why bother? He was always a bit lazy in the ring, always seemingly doing just enough to confer points advantage unless someone pressed him and made him slug it out.

It's a fact he had a minimum 8 week training camp. Early against Vitali, Lewis is waving in the wind on weak legs. Stamina had very little to do with it. Lewis, and everyone who ever stepped in against Vitali as it turns out, struggles with his timing and his style. Should this be a surprise anymore?

Maybe it wasn't the best Lewis, but I don't see how it could be the worst Lewis when he showed enough guts and stamina to get back into the fight after being barely able to sit on his stool without falling over. Couldn't have done that without being in at least decent shape with a good camp.

Maybe Lewis did indeed approach "the wall" where a fighter doesn't have it any more like Popkins against SuperJoe, but look at Poppy's masterclass against Pavlik? Was everyone claiming Poppy was overweight from his prime and in poor shape against Joe?

No, of course not, he's American and walks on water according to supporters.

** Joey, son, step away from the diapers and into the world of training pants.

I never stated Tyson pulled out 3 weeks before, I stated Vitali stepped in for Tyson on 3 weeks notice. Now, you do show supporting documentation that he was talked about as early as May 5 or so, about the length of Lewis' training camp.

I only get my news from F1ght New$, not preferring the endless parade of fanboy rumours floated by other sites and FN archives are impossible to access. I understand you were too young to remember Joey, but Vitali was Lewis' last mandatory of his last belt, the WBC that he refused to face for going on a year. Many fights rumoured to have been made and cancelled by Lewis with Vitali claiming Lewis had backed out of two contracts forcing Vitali to sue.

Here's 3 reports mentioning Tyson on the undercard. I favour the last one which is an AP release May 15, 5 weeks before the match, a more credible report. I suspect I got my 3 weeks figure from when Vitali arrives in LA to train which was probably when the contract was officially signed. One week later the Boswell fight is cancelled and Vitali Lewis is on.

Originally Tyson was scheduled against Maskaev, but he objected so they brought in Boswell at which point he backs out leaving them scrambling for a week or three. With the three biggest cards cancelled and Lewis finally agreeing to fight Vitali, he was pulling out all the stops trying to yank everyone over, suing Tyson to force him to rematch and then suing King after Tyson pulled out, claiming King forced Tyson out and Vitali having to sue to get his shot, a complete fiasco.

Now, don't bother coming back until your properly potty trained Joey as this a waste of my time.

http://www.********boxing.com/boxing...idelec0905.php
http://www.411mania.com/sports/boxin...-Klitschko.htm
http://i.tsn.com/boxing/articles/20030515/473703-p.html

[larry x]

this is getting sad