Comments Thread For: Seven Degrees of Lennox Lewis: Champ Discusses All

[BIGPOPPAPUMP]

Over seven years have passed since Lennox Lewis retired from the sport of boxing taking the linear, undisputed title with him. Wladimir and Vitali Klitschko have since stepped into the void, the two brothers control the division yet there is still a distinct sense that the Klitschkos stand behind the likes of Lewis, Evander Holyfield and Mike Tyson in the all-time rankings especially given the fact that Lennox’s final fight saw him overcome Vitali, considered the more formidable of the brothers, via a sixth-round TKO. Lennox caught up with BoxingScene to mull over his career, outlining the seven important steps that were successfully negotiated during his fourteen-year fighting career.

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[edgarg]

Over seven years have passed since Lennox Lewis retired from the sport of boxing taking the linear, undisputed title with him. Wladimir and Vitali Klitschko have since stepped into the void, the two brothers control the division yet there is still a distinct sense that the Klitschkos stand behind the likes of Lewis, Evander Holyfield and Mike Tyson in the all-time rankings especially given the fact that Lennox’s final fight saw him overcome Vitali, considered the more formidable of the brothers, via a sixth-round TKO. Lennox caught up with BoxingScene to mull over his career, outlining the seven important steps that were successfully negotiated during his fourteen-year fighting career.

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Pretty sickening GOOP the whole thing. Obviously Dooley wrote out and edited this stilted mess. Lewis doesn't either talk nor articulate like that. Dooley phrased the whole article in the way the thought a writer-I mean a REAL writer- would set out his comments. Like a text book.

I was particularly taken by the part where Lewis with 14-0, is fighting Mason The Lonsdale belt holder, the British Champ with 35-0 and, then comes in Colin Hart the premier boxing writer, who NATURALLY fancies Mason....Who would't, based on the records. Lewis is supposed to have said "come on, what's this" he always picks against me in big fights""etc.etc

I wish that Dooley had mentioned how many BIG fights a then 14-0 Lewis had had where he had triumphed over the greatest odds. Then he says (Dooley-Lewis) "I was determined to prove him wrong"...or "I felt I had to prove him wrong". I just couldn't keep going back to the article so this is paraphrasing. I really felt as if I was reading something from a Frank Stockton book, like "The Adventures of Terry and Bob in the Wilds of Liverpool"

Anyway to me the whole piece of crap is as DULL and artificially constructed as ANY Lewis interview or "analysis" has ever been. He even makes sure not to miss "...ABSOLUTELY..."

If the reader finds this post a little disjointed my excuse is that I caught it from the article, like a communicable disease, and also that I dozed off twice whilst writing it.

[ShoulderRoll]

I thought it was a good interview. Covered a lot of Lennox's career that I didn't know about...like how Bowe regrets that they never fought.

It makes me long for the days when we had great heavyweights and great fights in the division.

[Sadistic]

Vitali Klitschko vs Lennox Lewis

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 barely survived the 2nd round, he was badly hurt, holding on for dear life, wobbling everywhere and staggering around the ring like a drunk. Lewis was badly hurt several times in the fight and was getting outboxed, outworked, outmuscled and outlanded by Vitali.

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 clearly 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.

After the fight, Vitali intimidated the shit out of Lewis and made him look like a bitch.

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 his bitch ass into retirement.



George Foreman: "Vitali was winning the fight. Lewis got lucky. There has to be a rematch!"

Jim Lampley: "A lucky escape for Lewis who was clearly losing the fight"

Even Emanuel Steward was upset and pissed off at Lewis for blatantly ducking a Vitali rematch.

Lewis is scared to death of Vitali.

[Sadistic]

Lewis was coming off the KO win over Tyson. In the Lewis-Tyson post fight interview Lewis stated "I'm like fine wine, I get better with age"

In an interview right before the Vitali fight, Lewis said "I'm at the peak of my powers, I will keep fighting for many more years"

Vitali dominated Lewis and scared him into retirement. That's a FACT.

[BennyST]

Lewis was coming off the KO win over Tyson. In the Lewis-Tyson post fight interview Lewis stated "I'm like fine wine, I get better with age"

In an interview right before the Vitali fight, Lewis said "I'm at the peak of my powers, I will keep fighting for many more years"

Vitali dominated Lewis and scared him into retirement. That's a FACT.

Yet Lewis still beat Vit's face into a scary pulpy mess and won by TKO. That's a FACT.

Lewis vs Klit = Lewis W by TKO. That's not guessing. It's what actually happened.

[tennis-legend]

lewis should've given vitali a rematch

it takes the shine off his career for me tbh

lewis was the best HW of the 90s
bowe was no.2 imo
holyfield is a great fighter but he's too small- an ATG cruiser weight for sure

i think vitali in the 90s would have been up there with any of them

[BennyST]

Vitali Klitschko vs Lennox Lewis

THE TRUTH

Vitali took the fight on just 10 days notice.

So did Lewis. They both were at the end of training camps for other fighters, so they both took the fight on 10 days notice. The big difference is that Vit was in great, prime shape while Lewis was in the worst shape of his career and fatter than ever looking at a tune up fight.

But guess what? Lewis still won the fight by TKO. FACT.

Tennis-legend: Are you serious? One fight, which he won by TKO, takes the shine off his entire 50 or so fight career? One in which he beat every single fighter he ever faced and retired as champion having beaten all the greats and young champs to beat? Really?

[tennis-legend]

why did he retire when larry merchant asked him if he'd give a rematch and lewis said yes?

thats textbook ducking

as for the 10 day notice- a rematch would adress the issues
and lewis wasn't past his prime- he was hitting his prime- he was a late bloomer- he never looked as good (his chin never looked better)

the fight was only 1 year after dismantling tyson piece by piece

lewis had a great 50 fight career but he didn't fight against bowe- and he didnt beat vitali imo

you know i sometimes use ross purrity against the klitschkos

well ross had 20 losses against the biggest hitters in boxing- but you know what- NO ONE STOPPED HIM in those 20 losses except for 1 guy

vitali

when i compare ali's chin to vitali- to me there is no contest
cooper knocked down prime ali
frasier knocked down 70s ali

ali could take a punch but he also could get knocked down by 1 punch

vitali never went down

corrie sanders is one of the biggest punchers of the last era- he knocked down 17 guys in the first round

but vitali hits harder

[Neckodeemus]

Pretty sickening GOOP the whole thing. Obviously Dooley wrote out and edited this stilted mess. Lewis doesn't either talk nor articulate like that. Dooley phrased the whole article in the way the thought a writer-I mean a REAL writer- would set out his comments. Like a text book.

I was particularly taken by the part where Lewis with 14-0, is fighting Mason The Lonsdale belt holder, the British Champ with 35-0 and, then comes in Colin Hart the premier boxing writer, who NATURALLY fancies Mason....Who would't, based on the records. Lewis is supposed to have said "come on, what's this" he always picks against me in big fights""etc.etc

I wish that Dooley had mentioned how many BIG fights a then 14-0 Lewis had had where he had triumphed over the greatest odds. Then he says (Dooley-Lewis) "I was determined to prove him wrong"...or "I felt I had to prove him wrong". I just couldn't keep going back to the article so this is paraphrasing. I really felt as if I was reading something from a Frank Stockton book, like "The Adventures of Terry and Bob in the Wilds of Liverpool"

Anyway to me the whole piece of crap is as DULL and artificially constructed as ANY Lewis interview or "analysis" has ever been. He even makes sure not to miss "...ABSOLUTELY..."

If the reader finds this post a little disjointed my excuse is that I caught it from the article, like a communicable disease, and also that I dozed off twice whilst writing it.

Guys, thanks for the reads, much appreciated, but there's some fundamental lack of understanding of the rules going on in this thread. I'll deal with Ed first.

Eddie, you realised the article was terrible within a few paras, read it anyway, logged on, posted a long rant and will no doubt hang onto this reply yet your one chance to actually make a point and show some boxing nous and you fall on your ass, what? Are you by any chance a Surrey housewife or Mary Whitehouse. "This show sickened me from the start so I watched it all the way through and am now writing to complain, blah, blah, blah."

Lewis was 14-0, Mason 35-0 therefore Mason is favoured to win, right? OK. Oscar De La Hoya 18-0, Genaro Hernandez 32-0-1, why oh why did so many predict Oscar to win when this isn't called 'boxing' it is called 'counting' and you can clearly infer that Genaro has more wins and is therefore the guy who is going to win, no?

People with a bit of nous about the sport tend to use ring records and the '0' as a jump off for a more reasoned analysis. Mason had picked up some eye damage the previous year, his style had started to show signs of slippage and one or two people in the know knew that Lewis had amateur pedigree, Olympic gold, was the fresher pro and was on the rise, just as ODH was in the example above. So Lewis, in his opinion, had reason to disagree with Hart & as a former champ with 44 fights under his belt has earned the right to express this, he may not be quite as well placed as yourself yet he has earned the right to espouse a word or two about his own career.

As for Vitali. As one guy mentions, 'but vitali hits harder', than most. Yet this huge hitter teed off on Lennox's chin for three rounds, didn't budge him, got cut himself as his own defence is lacking and was legitimately stopped. If the KO didn't come early then it wasn't coming late.

'punches landed

Vitali 156

Lewis 102'

OK. How about this for a stat. Cuts inflicted: 1 on the nose of Lewis Vs 2 to the eye of VK, 2 bad cuts to the eye. As I say, too many modern fans think that trotting out stats proves a point. Well I'm trotting out the rules like a boring old fart and the rules clearly state that if a punch causes a cut and the cut ends the fight then a TKO defeat verdict is rendered.

As for the onus of a rematch. Lewis was at the end of his career. He can say what he likes pre-fight but on the night his legs were gone, his timing was also and he had to rely on grit and the steam on his shots. He did this and won fairly. Lewis earned the right to retire over his career. He had achieved everything he wanted to.

So this leads us onto the 'lucky' win. Yes, a 256lb man hitting another man square in the face and causing it to cut is lucky. Or it could be design seeing as the shots went out there. Luck would have been, say, Jack Dempsey getting pushed back into the ring and barely beating the count versus Firpo as it was luck that he landed near guys who cushioned his fall. Or if a ring light had fallen, hit Vitali in the eye and caused the cut, that would have been luck.

HBO, Merchant et al all jumped on Lewis post-fight, I recall Larry trying to cast it as a controversial ending when it was not, it was a legitimate TKO finish and they basically knew that most fans do not understand the rules of the sport and used this to paint an image of the fight that did not marry up to reality. This the network which had a senior member who claimed that, "I prefer both Klitschkos to Lewis as they at least stop and speak to you if they pass you on a corridor." Basically HBO had a Jones for the K2 bros at that time and thought Lewis was yesterday's news.

The outcome of HBO's courtship of the two brothers? Well they got a WBC champion who earned his stripes by beating a fat, semi-retired golfer and Danny Williams before retiring due to injury and a younger brother who whilst competent bored so many US fans in the fight with the Sultan who don't swing that HBO lost interest with the heavyweight scene, traditionally a staple of US networks.

The sport basically tried to railroad Lewis into one fight too many whilst crying its eyes out over Holyfield's refusal to retire. Can't have it both ways. Lewis timed it perfectly. Vitali had a great start but faded both in and out the ring and is now having to fight on in order to secure his own legacy after years spent bleating about a fight he lost fairly and squarely and being allowed to do so because so many people fundamentally don't understand the TKO ruling and the difference between luck and circumstance.