How shot was Lennox Lewis when he steelfisted Vitali

[Elroy1]

The real question is how prime was lewis when he got knocked the f u k out by McCall and rachman?

I've been dealing with the nutbags for years now.

And if I know the inner workings of the nutbag mind as decent as I think I do, then I believe there reasoning would go something like this...

Lewis was prime when he won the titles but suddenly slipped out of his prime just before he got sparked out by Oliver McCall.

Luckily, his "prime" miraculously returned to him for a great run until, almost like Austin Powers mojo, he lost his prime AGAIN! right before he was punched out by Rahman

But not to despair, after a few months, he stumbled upon his prime again which enabled to defeat Rahman and whack out Tyson.

According to the nutbags, Lennox wasn't very good at holding onto his "prime" and let it go once more for the Vitali fight.

Nutbag legend has it, that the thought of fighting Vitali again had nothing to do with his decision to retire. It was PURELY because he got sick of always having to look around for that bloody prime!

[thebigkabosh]

Since he called it quits after the Vit fight we have to look back on previous fights to see if he was slipping or not and it's pretty obvious in the Rahman 2 and Tyson fights he was very close to or right in his prime. Rahman 2 was perhaps the best performance of his career.
In my opinion he was still close to his prime but was just out of shape. As much I don't like the guy he showed heart and a chin that I never thought he had.

[Elroy1]

Since he called it quits after the Vit fight we have to look back on previous fights to see if he was slipping or not and it's pretty obvious in the Rahman 2 and Tyson fights he was very close to or right in his prime. Rahman 2 was perhaps the best performance of his career.
In my opinion he was still close to his prime but was just out of shape. As much I don't like the guy he showed heart and a chin that I never thought he had.

WTF!

You are not allowed to concur on ANY opinion I have whatsoever!

I can handle your abuse and constant trolling but I will NOT tolerate this form of "bondage" from a man of your reputation!! People will start talking!

[davef]

not shot but clearly fading he knew after that vitali fight he was done at the top level he just about had enough left to pull through that fight

[Elroy1]

not shot but clearly fading he knew after that vitali fight he was done at the top level he just about had enough left to pull through that fight

Utter ****ing BS!

Lewis could have fought at top/championship level for another 3 or 4 years, just as the Klitschko brothers did. They are stylistically and physically similar and coasted mostly undamaged.

The ONLY reason he retired is because he SUDDENLY was not the ONLY "Class A" boxer in the division anymore. Previously- LEnnox Lewis by his own admission had only ever faced Class B and C.

Lewis did NOT like fighting competition his own level, whatsoever!

[removed]

Utter ****ing BS!

Lewis could have fought at top/championship level for another 3 or 4 years, just as the Klitschko brothers did. They are stylistically and physically similar and coasted mostly undamaged.

The ONLY reason he retired is because he SUDDENLY was not the ONLY "Class A" boxer in the division anymore. Previously- LEnnox Lewis by his own admission had only ever faced Class B and C.

Lewis did NOT like fighting competition his own level, whatsoever!

Even if the fight wasn't stopped on cuts, Vitali would've quit anyway after Lennox started busting him up.

Once a quitter, always a quitter.

[thebigkabosh]

"Lightly regarded" Kirk Johnson?

Aahahaha

Johnson had never really suffered a proper loss through anything but his own ******ity and circumstances. He was rightfully regarded as a would be Lennox beater, was 260lbs! at bout (although terribly indiscreet) but very fast, very agile and an expert counter-puncher.

Funny, as soon as Lennox cleared out Tyson, the last of the "has-beens" he fought and a fresh crop of REAL contenders like Johnson and Vitali entered the scene, he was nowhere to be found!

Let's beat up on a stiff Rahman with no pedigree and a derelict Mike Tyson, that's cool but Kirk Johnson who (quote from VK vs Johnson fight) "Nobody has ever done this to Kirk Johnson in 12 years as a pro!"- is not a worthy challenge for Lewis? GTFOOH!

Lewis was trained as good as he was ever going to be for an opponent- skill-wise. He looked it too.

Johnson was a Vit opponent so your gonna have to talk him up. The reality at the time was Lewis had just blatantly ducked his IBF#1 contender Chris Byrd and a 10 mil payday so he could fight Johnson for a small undisclosed amount. Byrd was viewed as a very legitimate threat to Lewis for a host of reasons while Johnson was basically thought of as a no hoper.
No matter how you try and spin it Lewis was not in shape for the last minute switch of opponents. Lewis originally wanted to cancel the fight but HBO convinced him that Vit was just a Eurobum that he could easily knockout. Lewis came in at a career high 256 pounds and was very ponderous in the ring.

[Elroy1]

Even if the fight wasn't stopped on cuts, Vitali would've quit anyway after Lennox started busting him up.

Once a quitter, always a quitter.

Oh I'm not arguing the fight needed to be stopped. The guys face was mangled and he bleeding everywhere.

I don't think Vitali was quitting that fight for any reason.

Vitali should never have gifted his title and quit against Byrd. He wanted to ride through this one the "American" way, even if it was risky and ****** compared with how things are done at home as was asked of him and I reckon he gave a decent account of himself on that issue.

[Elroy1]

Johnson was a Vit opponent so your gonna have to talk him up. The reality at the time was Lewis had just blatantly ducked his IBF#1 contender Chris Byrd and a 10 mil payday so he could fight Johnson for a small undisclosed amount. Byrd was viewed as a very legitimate threat to Lewis for a host of reasons while Johnson was basically thought of as a no hoper.
No matter how you try and spin it Lewis was not in shape for the last minute switch of opponents. Lewis originally wanted to cancel the fight but HBO convinced him that Vit was just a Eurobum that he could easily knockout. Lewis came in at a career high 256 pounds and was very ponderous in the ring.

It was nothing less than a BREATHTAKING fight of extremely fast past, the extra lbs on Lewis being insignificant on his frame.

It's unbelievable you want to downplay the 50lb differences between my favourite fighters and yours at times but want to sell me that 5-10lbs for LEnnox is a worrisome issue (on an already 245-250lb guy!) No way!

I happen to be a LEnnox Lewis fan also, so I will in fact spin it EITHER way, depending on what's said I disagree with. More like you will ALWAYS try to bash Vitali under any circumstances so 'll always end up on that side of the defence

Kirk Johnson had an excellent record and an excellent skillset, combination of counter punching, agility, speed, size and power and chin. He was never stopped or dropped in over 30 fights until he met Vitali Klitschko!

His only defeat ever both prior and after Klitschko was to John Ruiz which he was disqualified in for low blows controversially as most felt it was not warranted and Joe Cortez, being Rican like Ruiz was accused of bias. He was regarded as a major threat to Lewis, as cited by the HBO team on the fight.

As for Lennox ducking Chris Byrd... The southpaw featherfist boxer whom was paid step aside money to by Don King?

Johnson was a legit threat and LEnnox always sought the best opponents, he PURPOSELY avoided fights like Byrd, Ruiz and Moorer for example because they had virtually no chance of winning!

Chris Byrd was a good little boxer don't get me wrong but he never had the firepower or style to trouble Lennox Lewis OR a Klitschko. He and his wife and family can continue to send Vitali a xmas present every year in exchange for his gifted championship reign.

[thebigkabosh]

It was nothing less than a BREATHTAKING fight of extremely fast past, the extra lbs on Lewis being insignificant on his frame.

It's unbelievable you want to downplay the 50lb differences between my favourite fighters and yours at times but want to sell me that 5-10lbs for LEnnox is a worrisome issue (on an already 245-250lb guy!) No way!

I happen to be a LEnnox Lewis fan also, so I will in fact spin it EITHER way, depending on what's said I disagree with. More like you will ALWAYS try to bash Vitali under any circumstances so 'll always end up on that side of the defence

Kirk Johnson had an excellent record and an excellent skillset, combination of counter punching, agility, speed, size and power and chin. He was never stopped or dropped in over 30 fights until he met Vitali Klitschko!

His only defeat ever both prior and after Klitschko was to John Ruiz which he was disqualified in for low blows controversially as most felt it was not warranted and Joe Cortez, being Rican like Ruiz was accused of bias. He was regarded as a major threat to Lewis, as cited by the HBO team on the fight.

As for Lennox ducking Chris Byrd... The southpaw featherfist boxer whom was paid step aside money to by Don King?

Johnson was a legit threat and LEnnox always sought the best opponents, he PURPOSELY avoided fights like Byrd, Ruiz and Moorer for example because they had virtually no chance of winning!



Chris Byrd was a good little boxer don't get me wrong but he never had the firepower or style to trouble Lennox Lewis OR a Klitschko. He and his wife and family can continue to send Vitali a xmas present every year in exchange for his gifted championship reign.

Compare Lewis' movement in his rematch with Rahman with his fight with Vitali. He is far more ponderous and he is visibility tired after only a few rounds. It wasn't a particularly good fight, very sloppy mid range slugfest with intermittent periods of holding.

Johnson was a decent fighter with a couple good wins but him being seen as a legitmate threat to Lewis was never the case, the Johnson star was on the fall. His abilities in the ring were diminishing as his waist line was expanding. Unlike Byrd who had better wins and was a perennial top 3 ring mag rated fighter. Furthermore Lewis having never faced a southpaw of quality in his entire career made the prospect of a fight with Byrd loom large.


Byrd/Lewis was supposed to happen after the summer Tyson fight in November.

The IBF only allowed Lewis to defend his belt against Tyson under the condition that he began negotiations with his #1 Byrd in September in the hopes of making a winter fight. HBO already had a November date set aside for Byrd/Lewis so there was no problem with the network.

Lewis was giving special leway and a fair amount of time to face both men.

Lewis and King came to the agreement on the vacation of his IBF title for some smaller compensation because both men had the same interest: to avoid a Lewis vs Bryd fight.
Lewis did not want to fight Byrd and this is backed up by Lewis' Lawyer who suggested Lewis had planned not to fight Byrd from the start:

http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/sport...ibf-belt_x.htm' lawyer on that exchange:
"This may set the record for the sale of ice in the winter," Burstein said, alluding the fact that Lewis intended all along to relinquish the IBF title.

Almost get the impression that you are happy, Byrd didn't get his deserved shot. Byrd beat Tua who was good enough to challenge Lewis as the IBF#1. And Byrd wasted a year of his prime waiting for a match that Lewis agreed to give him, only to trash the belt and declare he would never fight him.

BTW that "Good little boxer" on only 9 days notice made Quitali swing at air until his shoulder blew out and exposed his glass heart for the world to see.