Lewis vs Vitali

[manute bol]

THE TRUTH

Vitali took the fight on just 10 days notice.

Vitali was clearly winning the fight 4-2 on all 3 scorecards at the time of the controversial doctor stoppage. Lewis was badly hurt and was staggering around the ring like a drunk, he barely survived the 2nd round. Lewis was getting outboxed, outworked, outlanded and was hurt several times in the fight.

punches landed

Vitali 156

Lewis 102


Lewis was exhausted, worn down and hurt from the accumulation of punches and was ready to get KTFO again, 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 and would've KO'd Lewis for sure if the fight had continued.

All the fans at Staples Center cheered for Vitali and booed Lewis after the fight.

Lewis promised Vitali a rematch.

Vitali destroyed Kirk Johnson in 2 rounds and called out Lewis again in the post fight interview. The scared Lewis retired shortly after that fight.

Lewis turned down 30 million dollars for a rematch and retired like a coward because he knew he would get destroyed by Vitali.

Vitali dominated Lewis and scared him into retirement.

Your as ignorant as you are ******. You say it was a controversal stop? your ***ing braindead dude seriously. That cut was dangerous and should have been stopped on the spot. Its great to support someone and be a fan but your just a classless ******* and a moron. Not to mention biased and narrow minded.

[Motofan]

Surely I can't be the only one who saw Lewis winning that fight comfortably before the stoppage?

Just finished watching it again, Lewis was taxing Vitali's ass at times and landing the heavier shots by far. Besides the early scare I nearly scored every round to him.

Im a big fan of Lewis, and I also watched the fight again about a week ago. Vitali was ahead in the fight. There is a reason why damn near everyone had Lewis losing. They werent very hard rounds to score. In fact, until the cut happened, Lewis hadnt landed much of anything. People act like Lewis all the sudden came on and was dominating. He wasnt. He just went from being hit and standing around to actually hitting back. By time the fight was stopped both guys were so gased that nothing serious was happening from either guy. Who would have won? Hard to say. Go back and watch Lewis vs Briggs. Briggs was beating his ass (people forget about that fight) and rocked the **** out of him several times. But Lewis adjusted and knocked him out. But Vitali has never been down and also knocks out 90% of the guys he fights. It could have gone either way.

[nomadman]

It astounds me how polarising this fight is, even after all these years, and how many different interpretations people have not just of the way the fight would have gone but how it had gone up to that point. I'm a fan of both fighters so I hopefully have a less biased view than most (a totally unbiased view is of course impossible).

First some annoying crap that I want to get out the way. Lennox may have entered the ring at a career high weight but he was not "fat" nor was he old or shot or any of the other disparaging things people like to say about him in order to discredit or downplay Vitali's competitiveness in the fight. Lennox was a late bloomer and nothing in that fight or the Tyson fight a year earlier showed me that he had significantly slipped in speed, power or skills. No, he was not at his absolute best, but then neither was Vitali, whose best years were still to come. Secondly this was Vitali's first major American fight. That sort of situation has to affect you and it's likely (and observable) that Vitali's performance was atypical because of that. Therefore it's silly and unfair to rate Vitali's entire career on that one fight.

So saying all that what's my take on the fight?

I've decided to treat this almost like a play by play, since it seems so much of the fight gets misinterpreted. One thing before I start, however: I've long felt that the HBO commentary gives a very skewed series of events to this fight and I recommend anyone viewing the fight analytically to switch it off. It almost seems at times that they confuse the names of the two fighters. It's very biased towards Vitali. So, with that out the way...

The first two rounds were pretty easy to score to Vitali so I won't bother going over them. The third onwards is where it gets interesting. Lennox opens the cut on Vitali with the very first hard punch of the round, a looping right hand at 2:52. Vitali responds well by taking charge of things with his jab, landing a series of four consecutive jabs not long afterwards. Lennox strafes him with a right up close as Vitali's moving away and begins to establish his jab himself. Vitali lands a short right that clips Lennox at 1:42 of the round. Both fighters have difficulty landing clean shots. Lennox starts to press Vitali back yet it's Vitali's who's landing the majority of jabs. Vitali catches Lennox with a right at 1:01 that seems to knock Lennox momentarily off balance. Lennox responds with a very hard jab at 0:56 that visibly rocks Vitali backwards. Vitali starts whiffing punches as he's pushed back. Lennox catches him with another hard jab. Vitali lands a series of shots at 0:33 but none of them has much mustard on them. Both fighters close the round with lunging right hands. Vitali's clips Lennox, Lennox's goes just wide. Close round that I just give to Lennox based on the more damaging shots, though you could give it to Vitali based on higher workrate and clean connects.

Round four Lennox starts out with a hard series of shots including another connected looping right that forces Vitali to clinch. Vitali throws an uppercut as he's pressed against the ropes but it doesn't look like it lands (angle makes it hard to see). There's a tackle and a fall. Lennox helps Vitali to his feet. They both throw combos that are blocked. There's an enchange but only Lennox's right lands with any authority at 2:19. Vitali lunging more with his shots, finding it difficult to find his range. Long jab pushes Vitali back at 2:05. Vitali starts to clip Lennox with some short hooks and jabs, not much on them. Vitali lands a short right at 1:32. Now Lennox seems to have trouble landing his shots. Vitali boxing, keeping Lennox at range. Lennox lands a right at 0:46, Vitali lands a right soon after. Lennox lands another jarring jab at 0:37. Both fighters look a little winded, heavy on their feet. Another close round that I gave to Lewis based on landing the marginally solider shots though again you give give it to Vitali based on workrate.

Round five. Lennox again comes forward aggressively though nothing lands. Vitali throws a right and is countered by a hard uppercut that forces him to clinch where he's hit by another uppercut. Lennox lands a stiff left hook at 2:26. Vitali lands a right not long after. They get into a lax clinch where Lennox starts pounding repeatedly away at Vitali's left side. Vitali lands an uppercut that makes Lennox clinch up. Both guys swing wildly away at each other, Vitali lands a right. Vitali starts throwing some shots that cause Lennox to go into a shell then get pushed back against the ropes. Action starts to get a bit sloppy as both fighters are visibly tired. Lennox blocking more of Vitali's short punches, responds with a wild overhand right that doesn't land cleanly. End. Lennox's round based on clean and hurtful uppercuts and jarring hook.

Round six, Vitali starts out the aggressor, catches Lennox with a few shots. First minute is all Vitali until 2:08 where Lennox lands a massive uppercut that snaps Vitali's head back. Both guys very tired at this point, a lot of clinching and inside punching. Second minute and Vitali still have the slightly better success in landing his shots. At 0:30 Vitali starts to push back Lennox and catches him with two short lefts and a right that seem to visibly stun Lennox. They clinch and Lennox lands two overhand rights that catch Vitali on the side of the head and cause him to cling to dear life to Lennox's midsection. lennox punctuates the round with another short uppercut. Hmm, despite the fact that Lennox seemed to be getting the better of Vitali at the end I'm going to give it Vitali based on the first two minutes where, aside from the uppercut, Lennox really wasn't doing much. Doctor stops the fight after this due to the cut.

My point in doing this PBP is not to argue that Lennox was winning on the scorecards (I had it 3 rounds a piece personally). After all the scorecards were irrelevant given the premature end of the fight, and there were many close rounds that could've gone either way. My point is to hopefully show that the fight was competitive, that both fighters were tired, that both fighters were hurt, that both fighters showed tremendous guts and heart, and that anyone claiming that either fighter was "dominating" or "destroying" the other is quite frankly talking out of their arse.

[Rosseboi]

Nobody in history has ever legtimately knocked down Vitali let alone KO'd him.

Vitali took an uppercut from Lewis that could launch a space shuttle into orbit and walked through it like a schoolgirl punched him.

Lewis has been KO'd twice now.

Vitali has the highest HW KO % in history.

Lewis was exhausted @ the end of round 6; Vitali wasn't.






These are the facts. Using these you cannot use the logic of a narrowly won 5/6 round to conclude Vitali would have been KO'd. If anyone does they're clearly hating for the sake of it or members of the pro Lewis crowd.

[Mushroom]

While Vitali won the first 4 rounds Lewis was starting to take over the fight and was timing him when he was coming in. Imo Lewis would have most likely won the fight if it had continued.

[BattlingNelson]

It astounds me how polarising this fight is, even after all these years, and how many different interpretations people have not just of the way the fight would have gone but how it had gone up to that point. I'm a fan of both fighters so I hopefully have a less biased view than most (a totally unbiased view is of course impossible).

First some annoying crap that I want to get out the way. Lennox may have entered the ring at a career high weight but he was not "fat" nor was he old or shot or any of the other disparaging things people like to say about him in order to discredit or downplay Vitali's competitiveness in the fight. Lennox was a late bloomer and nothing in that fight or the Tyson fight a year earlier showed me that he had significantly slipped in speed, power or skills. No, he was not at his absolute best, but then neither was Vitali, whose best years were still to come. Secondly this was Vitali's first major American fight. That sort of situation has to affect you and it's likely (and observable) that Vitali's performance was atypical because of that. Therefore it's silly and unfair to rate Vitali's entire career on that one fight.

So saying all that what's my take on the fight?

I've decided to treat this almost like a play by play, since it seems so much of the fight gets misinterpreted. One thing before I start, however: I've long felt that the HBO commentary gives a very skewed series of events to this fight and I recommend anyone viewing the fight analytically to switch it off. It almost seems at times that they confuse the names of the two fighters. It's very biased towards Vitali. So, with that out the way...

The first two rounds were pretty easy to score to Vitali so I won't bother going over them. The third onwards is where it gets interesting. Lennox opens the cut on Vitali with the very first hard punch of the round, a looping right hand at 2:52. Vitali responds well by taking charge of things with his jab, landing a series of four consecutive jabs not long afterwards. Lennox strafes him with a right up close as Vitali's moving away and begins to establish his jab himself. Vitali lands a short right that clips Lennox at 1:42 of the round. Both fighters have difficulty landing clean shots. Lennox starts to press Vitali back yet it's Vitali's who's landing the majority of jabs. Vitali catches Lennox with a right at 1:01 that seems to knock Lennox momentarily off balance. Lennox responds with a very hard jab at 0:56 that visibly rocks Vitali backwards. Vitali starts whiffing punches as he's pushed back. Lennox catches him with another hard jab. Vitali lands a series of shots at 0:33 but none of them has much mustard on them. Both fighters close the round with lunging right hands. Vitali's clips Lennox, Lennox's goes just wide. Close round that I just give to Lennox based on the more damaging shots, though you could give it to Vitali based on higher workrate and clean connects.

Round four Lennox starts out with a hard series of shots including another connected looping right that forces Vitali to clinch. Vitali throws an uppercut as he's pressed against the ropes but it doesn't look like it lands (angle makes it hard to see). There's a tackle and a fall. Lennox helps Vitali to his feet. They both throw combos that are blocked. There's an enchange but only Lennox's right lands with any authority at 2:19. Vitali lunging more with his shots, finding it difficult to find his range. Long jab pushes Vitali back at 2:05. Vitali starts to clip Lennox with some short hooks and jabs, not much on them. Vitali lands a short right at 1:32. Now Lennox seems to have trouble landing his shots. Vitali boxing, keeping Lennox at range. Lennox lands a right at 0:46, Vitali lands a right soon after. Lennox lands another jarring jab at 0:37. Both fighters look a little winded, heavy on their feet. Another close round that I gave to Lewis based on landing the marginally solider shots though again you give give it to Vitali based on workrate.

Round five. Lennox again comes forward aggressively though nothing lands. Vitali throws a right and is countered by a hard uppercut that forces him to clinch where he's hit by another uppercut. Lennox lands a stiff left hook at 2:26. Vitali lands a right not long after. They get into a lax clinch where Lennox starts pounding repeatedly away at Vitali's left side. Vitali lands an uppercut that makes Lennox clinch up. Both guys swing wildly away at each other, Vitali lands a right. Vitali starts throwing some shots that cause Lennox to go into a shell then get pushed back against the ropes. Action starts to get a bit sloppy as both fighters are visibly tired. Lennox blocking more of Vitali's short punches, responds with a wild overhand right that doesn't land cleanly. End. Lennox's round based on clean and hurtful uppercuts and jarring hook.

Round six, Vitali starts out the aggressor, catches Lennox with a few shots. First minute is all Vitali until 2:08 where Lennox lands a massive uppercut that snaps Vitali's head back. Both guys very tired at this point, a lot of clinching and inside punching. Second minute and Vitali still have the slightly better success in landing his shots. At 0:30 Vitali starts to push back Lennox and catches him with two short lefts and a right that seem to visibly stun Lennox. They clinch and Lennox lands two overhand rights that catch Vitali on the side of the head and cause him to cling to dear life to Lennox's midsection. lennox punctuates the round with another short uppercut. Hmm, despite the fact that Lennox seemed to be getting the better of Vitali at the end I'm going to give it Vitali based on the first two minutes where, aside from the uppercut, Lennox really wasn't doing much. Doctor stops the fight after this due to the cut.

My point in doing this PBP is not to argue that Lennox was winning on the scorecards (I had it 3 rounds a piece personally). After all the scorecards were irrelevant given the premature end of the fight, and there were many close rounds that could've gone either way. My point is to hopefully show that the fight was competitive, that both fighters were tired, that both fighters were hurt, that both fighters showed tremendous guts and heart, and that anyone claiming that either fighter was "dominating" or "destroying" the other is quite frankly talking out of their arse.

Nice work there ^^^^^

You need to tell a little of how you saw the end. I found Vitali the fresher of the 2. Lewis slumped down on his stool like a man at the brink of destruction. I don't think he could have hanged in there much longer TBH. Of course it's academic as the fight was a legit TKO but still....

And let's be real. Lummox is a douche for not fullfilling his promise of a rematch. One can say that he earned his right to retire, but he shouldn't over and over have said that he'd give Vitali a rematch.

[Khmelnytsky]

Vitali was winning 4-2, any1 who disagrees is either british or legally blind.

Great fight none the less

I have the SKY version. They had it even wider for Vitali i believe and the commentary was even more in praise of Vitali than the HBO crew.

[starkiller]

Should have had a rematch.

[Khmelnytsky]

Nice work there ^^^^^

You need to tell a little of how you saw the end. I found Vitali the fresher of the 2. Lewis slumped down on his stool like a man at the brink of destruction. I don't think he could have hanged in there much longer TBH. Of course it's academic as the fight was a legit TKO but still....

And let's be real. Lummox is a douche for not fullfilling his promise of a rematch. One can say that he earned his right to retire, but he shouldn't over and over have said that he'd give Vitali a rematch.

Who is the girl is the pic with Kessler in your sig? Very nice.

[BattlingNelson]

Who is the girl is the pic with Kessler in your sig? Very nice.

Caroline Wozniacki.

:wank: