Should Lewis have given Vitali a rematch?

[Pno]

Beating a dead horse goes along with the typical nut hugger mentality.

And you're not adding to the discussion anymore after you've said the same thing in 40 posts.

I didn't see one person that said they wouldn't have liked to see a rematch. I said I would have like to have seen one, but as was pointed out by several people, the choice was up to Lewis, and he earned the right to walk away from the sport when he did.

You seem to be unable to accpet that without adding "he's scared".

And that's because that makes you feel better.

It makes you feel better because it hurt your feelings to see Vitali unable to pull the trigger agaisnt an old and inactive Lewis, and to see him lose to the 2nd of the 2 two best fighters he ever fought.

So you, like the other nut huggers on here, try to mend your hurt feelings by discussing this topic to death.

It's been 3 years, and a thread like this gets started by a guy like you every month.

refer back to an earlier post of mine regarding not making judgements of others and/or making it personal based on what people say and their opinions. you dont know anyone on this forum, so if you want to appear half wise, you shouldn't make statements that presume you do know anyone here.

boxing is a sport and it's entertainment, I won't 'feel better' just because of what you, me, or anyone else thinks of meaningless sport and entertainment, it is what it is, it's enjoyable, but not all-important.

[Mike_R]

dude you just completely changed everything you were talking about. somehow it went from vitali-lennox debating/discussing to you taking a 'holier than thou' humanistic stance over bozo. can we just let this thread slip away into obscurity? please? for the love of god?

[j]

good points bozo, but look at the opponents out there. you also have to keep in mind the circumstances in which vitali is in. how many credible opponents are there in the division right now? surely it wouldn't be vk's fault that most of the rest of the division is looked at as being poor to mediocre at best. add to the fact that don king is trying to play games with the division, it makes for very complicated circumstances.

what if lennox was in vitali's shoes(position) right now. how would he be viewed? and how would he be able to make a hall of fame career?

[Bozo_no no]

good points bozo, but look at the opponents out there. you also have to keep in mind the circumstances in which vitali is in. how many credible opponents are there in the division right now? surely it wouldn't be vk's fault that most of the rest of the division is looked at as being poor to mediocre at best. add to the fact that don king is trying to play games with the division, it makes for very complicated circumstances.

what if lennox was in vitali's shoes(position) right now. how would he be viewed? and how would he be able to make a hall of fame career?

Lennox benifitted from something Vitali's unwilling to do.

He signed on Don King as a co promoter.

That allowed him to make and WIN fights he woudln't have gotten otherwise.

But it's a moot point as of now.

Vitali has one of four straps, and won it agaisnt Corrie Sanders.

He would need to unify titles, beat the best current fighters available, and retire undefeated (from this point on) to even generate some discussion about possible HoF consideration.

I don't think that's going to happen.

Is it unfortunate for Vitali? Maybe, but he didn't even realy enter the "scene" until he was 32, and has fought just 4 times inbetween now and then.

At that rate, and with the poor opposition available that he hasn't even got around to fighting yet, time isn't on his side.

[Kid Achilles]

Without a doubt Lewis should have given Vitali a rematch. Historically, when the challenger gave the champion a very, very close fight, or was winning on all scorecards at the time of a stoppage, there was an eventual rematch. We all know that Vitali gave Lewis hell and handled him in a way no one else had in his career. After looking so vulnerable, and after taking such a beating himself, you would think Lewis would have wanted to get into the best shape of his life and end his career on a high note.

[RAESAAD]

He probably should have but hey he is one of the few who knew when to say when give him his due credit....It does not diminish his career in anyway IMO.

[nohero]

The biggest problem I have with it was that after destroying Tyson they interviewed Lewis in the ring. The only thing he kept repeating was how he was in his prime and that he's like fine wine and gets better with age, so on and so forth.

He fights one more and then retires?

What the hell kinda prime is that? a prime that lasts 2 fights?

I was always hard on Lewis for not being agressive enough in the ring for me to consider him top 5 heavies. After the Tyson fight I was starting to get on the bandwagon a bit but I think he should have rematched & beat Vitali and then beat little bro Wlad then call it a career. At the time Wlad was considered the better fighter, Lewis beating him would have further enhanced his legacy. Lewis had a good chance at beating both, he is good in rematches.

I am one of the few who seems to "not" like the way he ended his career...

[Pno]

The biggest problem I have with it was that after destroying Tyson they interviewed Lewis in the ring. The only thing he kept repeating was how he was in his prime and that he's like fine wine and gets better with age, so on and so forth.

He fights one more and then retires?

What the hell kinda prime is that? a prime that lasts 2 fights?

I was always hard on Lewis for not being agressive enough in the ring for me to consider him top 5 heavies. After the Tyson fight I was starting to get on the bandwagon a bit but I think he should have rematched & beat Vitali and then beat little bro Wlad then call it a career. At the time Wlad was considered the better fighter, Lewis beating him would have further enhanced his legacy. Lewis had a good chance at beating both, he is good in rematches.

I am one of the few who seems to "not" like the way he ended his career...

apparently I'm not supposed to post on this thread, but just wanted to say good points, and aren't you from one of Lewis' main countries?

[TheEvilSaint]

yes, vitali deserves it and vitali has the right to say that he sent lewis into retirement.

[InThisCorner]

I don't think Lewis should of gave Vitali a rematch. It was his choice and he wanted to go out on top beating every single fighter he faced. I see nothing wrong with that, and people are bashing him for this. Why?

Like I said a while back, when we look back on this fight in a few years we're not going to remember how Vitali gave Lennox trouble. We're going to remember one of the worst cuts in the history of the sport VIA Lennox Lewis, HOFER.