Should Lewis have given Vitali a rematch?

[ProBox1]

Rick, You're only seeing what you want to see. There is no way you can say with a straight face that LL was in complete control of that fight, rounds 2 and 6 were his WORST rounds! When have you seen LL throw over, over, overhand rights that went above his own head? Those were "wishful thinking" punches, thrown by a struggling, desparate fighter. You can't seriously sit here and argue that LL was in control of the 6th round, he started out ok, but by the end of the round, he was surviving. Does he owe VK a rematch, no, of course not, but the way he retired, only after learning that doctors thought VK was ready to fight was out of fear, not of VK personally, but of losing his title, and having to try to get it back again. Face it, LL is a very arrogant man, and if he thought VK would be a cakewalk the second time around, he would have given VK the rematch.

Don't create statements, I never said Lennox was in complete control of the fight and 6 was not his worst round of the fight. Lewis landed more punches in round 6 then most of the other rounds, including an uppercut that split Vitali's lip in half (required a decent amount of stiches to close.) At the end of the 6th, "both" guys were gassed but Lennox finished that round better. Vitali averaged over 70 punches per round, Lewis averaged 37 (20 of them being jabs)......the lowest output in the career of Lewis. Which means that Lewis weighing almost 260 pounds and barely throwing/landing any punches was able to damage Vitali the way he did why? The answer is simple, Vitali had no defense and made the fight a brawl when could of easily boxed and stayed away. He gave Lewis the chances by brawling and coming in close.

I doubt Lennox feared Vitali and that made him retire, people can wish for that but that is far from the truth. I'm sure Lennox saw Vitali as a big risk, I'm sure Lennox wasnt rushing to fight him again either. You could tell before and after the Vitali fight that Lennox lost his will to fight and to train. Vitali in reality had nothing to gain if Lennox fought him again, fat and throwing low numbers. People would just say Vitali beat an old out of shape Lennox and that would probably be true.

Lewis' best option was to quit on his feet unlike most fighters out there.

[onikami]

People would just say Vitali beat an old out of shape Lennox and that would probably be true.

Lewis' best option was to quit on his feet unlike most fighters out there.

Well said.

[leff]

Due to cut LL won, but he dident beat Vit.

Vit won twice as many rounds, and no rick LL dident control the last round Vit won it.

Vit also had more gas left.

I got the tape of the fight and if i tune upp i can hear VK asking for a rematch and LL saying yes, but he wouldent say it clear in front off the cameras.

Som people say LL only had 2 weeks to prepare for VK but so did Vk to.

And LL was preparing for a better fighter than klitschko.

LL should have kept his word.

He should have answered the questions in a rematch and not be as big mouthed as he was after the fight, that was just ridiculos.

[TheFairPole]

People might think that this is irrealovent but it's not! Lewis tried to sue Mike Tyson into rematching him saying that Tyson was costing him millions of dollars by not taking the fight! He was gaurenteed some 20 plus million to rematch Vitali! He beat the **** out of Tyson easily and wanted to take the easy rematch to make another huge payday for little effort! He did not want to earn his payday with a tuff fight with Vitali even though he would have made probably close to the same! To me this makes him a coward! Every time he was interviewed after he beat Tyson he said he would only fight for outrageous sums of money and Tyson was gonna take a few fights and then maybe rematch Lewis. So Lewis thought he would take an easy fight with Johnson to kind of stay sharp but ended up fighting Vitali, and Tyson wouldn't committ so Lewis bailed! Most of this is from articles I have read in the past on this sight and others, and I know some of you remember hearing this.

[Enayze]

lewis had nothing else to prove! He cut the hell out of vitalys eye and it was only a matter of time before vitay was out of gas.

Total bull****, and the poll speaks for itself. 25-5 Lennox defniately should've gave him the rematch, like Holyfield gave him.

[Enayze]

why? Because he's got the sense to call it a day when his skills are declining, his weight increasing and his motivation dwindling?

Do you think a fully motivated and prepared Lewis in his prime would lose to Klitschko?

To a fully motivated and prime Klitschko? Yes. Afterall didn't that Lewis already lose to Oliver Mc'Call?

[Enayze]

people ***** and complain that Holyfield is ruining himself by staying around to long, but then turn around and ***** and complain that the 39 year old Lewis should have fought on.

He's 39, has all his brain cells, a new wife, a new daughter, more money than he knows what to do with.

Olympic Gold Medal
3 Time Champion
16 Title defenses

he has nothing to prove to anyone.

Lewis was 37 at the time. Holyfield when he was 37 held the WBA heavyweight title. Holyfield is 42 now, and should retire because he clearly has nothing left. Lewis on the other hand was the heavyweight champion having only one fight left in which he had the world to prove. Although he refused the rematch and sank into retirement, after sitting on the belt for more than a year, waisting everyones time. Dont try to compare Lewis back when he just finished his fight with Klitschko to the Holyfield of today, they are nothing alike.

[bpapa420]

Awsome post

Don't create statements, I never said Lennox was in complete control of the fight and 6 was not his worst round of the fight. Lewis landed more punches in round 6 then most of the other rounds, including an uppercut that split Vitali's lip in half (required a decent amount of stiches to close.) At the end of the 6th, "both" guys were gassed but Lennox finished that round better. Vitali averaged over 70 punches per round, Lewis averaged 37 (20 of them being jabs)......the lowest output in the career of Lewis. Which means that Lewis weighing almost 260 pounds and barely throwing/landing any punches was able to damage Vitali the way he did why? The answer is simple, Vitali had no defense and made the fight a brawl when could of easily boxed and stayed away. He gave Lewis the chances by brawling and coming in close.

I doubt Lennox feared Vitali and that made him retire, people can wish for that but that is far from the truth. I'm sure Lennox saw Vitali as a big risk, I'm sure Lennox wasnt rushing to fight him again either. You could tell before and after the Vitali fight that Lennox lost his will to fight and to train. Vitali in reality had nothing to gain if Lennox fought him again, fat and throwing low numbers. People would just say Vitali beat an old out of shape Lennox and that would probably be true.

Lewis' best option was to quit on his feet unlike most fighters out there.

The vitaly cheerleaders should take notes!

[m00ks]

He should have cuz he said it but I wouldnt fault for not doing it. He wants to go out on a high notes, he'll go out on a high note. Still a man shouldn't back out of his word. He just should have said it in teh first place.

[Pno]

I'm sure I'll be hated and prolly sound like a little ***** after this post, but I just can't help speaking my mind...

-as far as the cut and how it was caused, whether to go to the score cards etc... It WAS a punch that caused it, but if you watch the tape closely (and if my eye sight was right and I'm correct) It was NOT the fair scoring area of the glove, rather the tape at the base of the glove, which would make it an accidental cut, like if it were an elbow that caused it, hence going to the scorecards. I'm sure this sounds nit-picky (can't believe I actually used that phrase), but IF a champion CAN loose a belt from an accidental cut going to the cards, it does hold SOME relivance. But I have been wrong before.. wouldn't be the first time, wouldn't be the last.

-something else to consider.. (DISCLAIMER: don't get me wrong at all. I'm not a racist. I have love for all people. If anything, I have a problem accepting and loving ignorant people that have too much pride for themselves and hate for others.)
When was the last white HW champion in boxing? IF Lenox did give VK a rematch and VK won, there could have been a chance that he would be remembered as the HW champ that lost the belt to a white boxer instead of being known for the legacy that he created and the acheivements that he succeeded in (I couldn't stand Lenox, but he does deserve credit for his boxing career.) Being that he retired and VK got the belt from a match with Sanders, Lenox was not to blame.

just something to think about... it may have crossed his mind at some point.