Tweet
JENNA J: Okay Emanuel, let’s change things back to Wladimir as you mentioned earlier. There has been a lot of talk who his opponent will be if he actually fights in December. I hear rumors that he will be fighting Mormeck, a former cruiserweight champion, and I’m just curious what you’ve been hearing?
EMANUEL STEWARD: Well I’ve heard so many names that have came up, and I told Wladimir whoever you fight you won’t be criticized. That’s just how bad the rest of the division is, especially after David Haye and the way between him and his brother they’ve pretty much eaten everything up that is out there. So whoever it is, it will be acceptable. Nobody is going to like it because nobody is going to create the excitement like David did by talking, but there is no excitement out there from anybody I see. I have no idea myself still who it may be, and we talk fairly regularly.
JENNA: From you standpoint, do you think someone like Antonio Tarver would be somebody that could sell a fight and get American fans interested even though he is grossly outsized?
STEWARD: Well first of all I’d like to see him fight back in America, regardless. We don’t have too much to choose from. We got Antonio and we’re back to Arreola, again. I don’t know what’s going to happen with Thompson and Chambers. We don’t have too much, but I would absolutely think that Antonio Tarver would do better than maybe anyone against Wladimir because of the fact nobody is going to be favored to do that much. But through Antonio talking so much, which he’s a good talker—he’s one of the best that’s out there in the history of boxing that I’ve listened to. He can talk it up and make it a big fight.
JENNA: Emanuel there has been a debate amongst boxing fans, between Wladimir Klitschko and Vitali Klitschko, who is the greater fighter. From your perspective, when both men retire, who do you think will go down as the greater heavyweight?
STEWARD: You know when I’m watching and when they pull out statistics and things, it goes and shows Vitali. As Max Kellerman, my fellow broadcaster, was really going on about how Vitali’s never been behind on the scorecards, he’s never been off his feet, and a lot of this and that. Then a lot of people look, and even though Wladimir lost three fights by knockout he came back and I think avenged two of those. He is still the more talented, and gifted, and coordinated one. It’s going to be very interesting, but I think it’s a great situation for the two brothers to be up there and considered among the all-time greats and arguing about which one is better than the other. They enjoy that, themselves. There is still a lot of competition among themselves, which is good. They’re very competitive. Vitali was very upset that he didn’t get to fight David Haye, so if he gets the chance he would fight Haye probably even though Haye doesn’t deserve it, just so he can try to shut him up and beat him up better than his brother. So they do have a strong competitiveness.
I don’t think it will ever erupt or boil over to them fighting each other, because Wladimir said, “The last time we sparred, it was just so brutal. The ring would be bloody, and we would be fighting, and they’d call time, we’d still be fighting. So we just decided that’s it. We’re too competitive.”
I said, “That’s what makes a great fight if you guys ever fought”.
But he said, “One of us would end up with at least permanent physical damage”, and he said that very seriously.
But they’re very competitive, so they are going to be competing I think in the next few years by trying to outshine each other with opponents, in particular common opponents. But who will go down as the greatest in history? I really couldn’t say because right now I see a lot of people are pointing to Vitali because he did have that great performance and his signature fight in the fight that he lost! Lennox Lewis was his signature fight, and it’s funny. He got more credibility and was solidified by the fans from the fight that he lost more than any of the fights that he’s won. Now Wladimir has not had that signature fight yet. I think the signature fight was still with Sam Peter in the first fight, but people have forgotten about that. If he would have had a great fight and a competitive fight with David Haye then it would have been great for him, but it didn’t turn out to be that way.
JENNA: Emanuel I got to ask you about Lennox Lewis and Vitali Klitschko. Just from your perspective, have you ever wanted those two to meet again in the ring?
STEWARD: Yes. I told Lennox after. I said, “Lennox, I feel that we owe it to Vitali to fight this rematch. Sometimes you fight for your glory and money, but this is a fight that we owe to the fans. We’ve made millions of dollars in boxing. We need to do this”, and Lennox was in agreement for it. Even a year after Lennox had quit, he and I would be talking about the fight and he worked alongside me in the broadcast for one of the fights with Wladimir. He would say, “Look! He’s dropping his right hand when he jabs!” He was talking to himself like really getting wired up and envisioning himself fighting Vitali, but his wife was the one that said, “Nope! That’s it”. It was like one of the conditions when they were married. She didn’t want him to fight anymore, but Lennox did have the urge to fight again and if they did fight a rematch it would have been an unbelievably exciting fight. I felt that if they had fought within six months time I still said Lennox would have won the fight because he would have had better time to prepare for the size. Vitali is a tall guy and he fights tall. He keeps his body in an erect type statue-esque position, and he walks that way. He’s very, very tall. When he fights he’ll bend over and it’s a little funny the way he jabs at you, but it’s a jab where he could always pull back and move his head at the same time he pulls back. Him and Lennox would have been a great rematch and I think it would have been an exciting fight. It’s something that after about two years I told Lennox to forget about it, it’s too late now.
Right at the time when Vitali retired, I said, “Well if he comes back and you were to come back and fight, this would be the time you guys would fight”. If they would have fought, I would have naturally went with Lennox. Vitali and Wladimir made an agreement when I started that if a Lennox fight ever came up with either one of them, that I would work with Lennox and they understood that.
***
EMANUEL STEWARD: Well I’ve heard so many names that have came up, and I told Wladimir whoever you fight you won’t be criticized. That’s just how bad the rest of the division is, especially after David Haye and the way between him and his brother they’ve pretty much eaten everything up that is out there. So whoever it is, it will be acceptable. Nobody is going to like it because nobody is going to create the excitement like David did by talking, but there is no excitement out there from anybody I see. I have no idea myself still who it may be, and we talk fairly regularly.
JENNA: From you standpoint, do you think someone like Antonio Tarver would be somebody that could sell a fight and get American fans interested even though he is grossly outsized?
STEWARD: Well first of all I’d like to see him fight back in America, regardless. We don’t have too much to choose from. We got Antonio and we’re back to Arreola, again. I don’t know what’s going to happen with Thompson and Chambers. We don’t have too much, but I would absolutely think that Antonio Tarver would do better than maybe anyone against Wladimir because of the fact nobody is going to be favored to do that much. But through Antonio talking so much, which he’s a good talker—he’s one of the best that’s out there in the history of boxing that I’ve listened to. He can talk it up and make it a big fight.
JENNA: Emanuel there has been a debate amongst boxing fans, between Wladimir Klitschko and Vitali Klitschko, who is the greater fighter. From your perspective, when both men retire, who do you think will go down as the greater heavyweight?
STEWARD: You know when I’m watching and when they pull out statistics and things, it goes and shows Vitali. As Max Kellerman, my fellow broadcaster, was really going on about how Vitali’s never been behind on the scorecards, he’s never been off his feet, and a lot of this and that. Then a lot of people look, and even though Wladimir lost three fights by knockout he came back and I think avenged two of those. He is still the more talented, and gifted, and coordinated one. It’s going to be very interesting, but I think it’s a great situation for the two brothers to be up there and considered among the all-time greats and arguing about which one is better than the other. They enjoy that, themselves. There is still a lot of competition among themselves, which is good. They’re very competitive. Vitali was very upset that he didn’t get to fight David Haye, so if he gets the chance he would fight Haye probably even though Haye doesn’t deserve it, just so he can try to shut him up and beat him up better than his brother. So they do have a strong competitiveness.
I don’t think it will ever erupt or boil over to them fighting each other, because Wladimir said, “The last time we sparred, it was just so brutal. The ring would be bloody, and we would be fighting, and they’d call time, we’d still be fighting. So we just decided that’s it. We’re too competitive.”
I said, “That’s what makes a great fight if you guys ever fought”.
But he said, “One of us would end up with at least permanent physical damage”, and he said that very seriously.
But they’re very competitive, so they are going to be competing I think in the next few years by trying to outshine each other with opponents, in particular common opponents. But who will go down as the greatest in history? I really couldn’t say because right now I see a lot of people are pointing to Vitali because he did have that great performance and his signature fight in the fight that he lost! Lennox Lewis was his signature fight, and it’s funny. He got more credibility and was solidified by the fans from the fight that he lost more than any of the fights that he’s won. Now Wladimir has not had that signature fight yet. I think the signature fight was still with Sam Peter in the first fight, but people have forgotten about that. If he would have had a great fight and a competitive fight with David Haye then it would have been great for him, but it didn’t turn out to be that way.
JENNA: Emanuel I got to ask you about Lennox Lewis and Vitali Klitschko. Just from your perspective, have you ever wanted those two to meet again in the ring?
STEWARD: Yes. I told Lennox after. I said, “Lennox, I feel that we owe it to Vitali to fight this rematch. Sometimes you fight for your glory and money, but this is a fight that we owe to the fans. We’ve made millions of dollars in boxing. We need to do this”, and Lennox was in agreement for it. Even a year after Lennox had quit, he and I would be talking about the fight and he worked alongside me in the broadcast for one of the fights with Wladimir. He would say, “Look! He’s dropping his right hand when he jabs!” He was talking to himself like really getting wired up and envisioning himself fighting Vitali, but his wife was the one that said, “Nope! That’s it”. It was like one of the conditions when they were married. She didn’t want him to fight anymore, but Lennox did have the urge to fight again and if they did fight a rematch it would have been an unbelievably exciting fight. I felt that if they had fought within six months time I still said Lennox would have won the fight because he would have had better time to prepare for the size. Vitali is a tall guy and he fights tall. He keeps his body in an erect type statue-esque position, and he walks that way. He’s very, very tall. When he fights he’ll bend over and it’s a little funny the way he jabs at you, but it’s a jab where he could always pull back and move his head at the same time he pulls back. Him and Lennox would have been a great rematch and I think it would have been an exciting fight. It’s something that after about two years I told Lennox to forget about it, it’s too late now.
Right at the time when Vitali retired, I said, “Well if he comes back and you were to come back and fight, this would be the time you guys would fight”. If they would have fought, I would have naturally went with Lennox. Vitali and Wladimir made an agreement when I started that if a Lennox fight ever came up with either one of them, that I would work with Lennox and they understood that.
***
Comment