Lennox Lewis: Was he really out of shape agaisnt Vitali?

Unbeaten Grant? Are you ****ing kidding me?

If you list unbeaten Grant as an accomplishment for Lewis then I'll happily list unbeaten Arreola as Vitali's :deal

The best HW in his prime Lewis ever beat was Vitali. Not an old Holyfield or a shot to **** Tyson. Lewis' best and most impressive win and the most memorable fight will always be the TKO win over Vitali. Period.

 

how old are you?

 

Mate that is a very poor post for an experienced poster.

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. hes a ****ing knob head

 

Ok that's your opinion, let's look at some of the questions you'd have to answer:

* Why did Lewis fight a chessgame vs. Tua? Was that fight exciting and did it live up to the huge hype? No. Lewis stunk out the joint. A strategic masterpiece, yes. But far from exciting.
* Why did Lewis deliver two terrible hugfests vs. Evander? Was that Evander's fault? A man who we know can fight terribly exciting against a taller man as displayed vs. Bowe a total of three times. Why did the fights vs. Lewis turn out into 12 round hugfest affairs? Was that exciting? No it wasn't.
* Why did Lewis hug Tyson until he got a point deducted for excessive holding? Was it because Lewis thought that was exciting? Was it because Lewis was out there to please boxing fans?

Stop giving me this BS that Lewis was exciting against fighters he thought were dangerous. It's a charade. You're totally off-base.

Let's look at the evidence to my thesis that Lewis was exciting *ONLY* if he thought he was vastly superior to his opponent and could walk through them. Only then he took risks:

* Lewis vs. Grant -- Lewis knew Grant was a hypejob that'd implode on the first shot landed
* Lewis vs. Briggs -- Briggs came off an unimpressive win vs. a 60 year old Foreman. Lewis grossly underestimated the young Briggs thought he could walk through Briggs. It always went the other way, making for an exciting and very entertaining fight.
* Lewis vs. Golotha -- Lewis knew Golotha was nothing more than a Polish street thug with little boxing skill. Impressive KO.
* Lewis vs. Vitali -- Lewis bought into the idea that Vitali allegedly had no fighting spirit and would fall apart mentally as soon as he encountered the slightest opposition. That's why Lewis allowed the fight to be become very open as Lewis took huge risks and exchanged toe-to-toe with Vitali. Had Lewis known he'd be in for a ride to hell and back he would have fought more more carefully and way more strategic, making for a less exciting fight.

Thank God for us boxing fans Lewis was dumb enough to think Vitali was easy prey, otherwise it would have been another strategic Lewis stinker fight. deal:deal

 

Lewis hadn't fought for a year and had prepared for a totally different fighter
When the original fight was called off Lewis broke camp and only returned days later when the Vladimir fight was arranged
He was way over his best fighting weight by around 16lbs
Vitali started the fight extremely well and almost succeeded in ambushing an I'll prepared and unfit Lewis
Once stung Lennox relied on sheer skill and fighters instincts to get back in the fight, lack of conditioning was a burden but LL still had too much for Vitali who missed his opportunity or didn't have the power to get it done.
Lewis then just walked through everything Vitali threw at him in the full knowledge that VK couldn't knock him out.
In the 4th, 5th & 6th ALL the quality came from Lennox and despite his fatigue and lower punch rate he landed a greater percentage and more importantly he landed the power shots which visibly sank Klitschko on a few occasions.
The cut was caused by a big punch at the start of round 4 and made worse by another huge shot about a minute later.
LL then had the smarts to keep after the eye which by the end of the 4th and definitely the 5th was bad enough to stop the fight.
People crack on about the score cards but if Klitschko took the first 2 or 3 then Lennox took the next 3.
Vitali boxed with a lot of heart and played his part in a very good fight but he wasn't good enough to stop the worst version of Lennox Lewis I ever saw.
If a rematch had happened Lewis would have done what he always did in rematches and he would have entered the ring in the best shape and frame of mind he possibly could.
With Lennox in that kind of condition Vitali would have got dismantled and knocked out so it's better for him that he took great credit from this fight and not be destroyed in a rematch.

 

:dealGood post.
Just to be picky though the cut was caused at the start of the 3rd not the 4th. But hey, you may not of seen it for a while.

 

^ and not caused by a thump either, as some Klit-lickers want people to believe. And not made worse by the cutman or Lewis´s hair either

 

He was past his best, and not as well conditioned or prepared as he could have been, and hadn't fought for a year

No good saying he was only 6lbs heavier than he was a year before because a year before he was 36 and was past his best then too

He showed absoultely NO respect for Vitali's power during the fight and despite his poor conditioning walked through everything that was thrown at him, cut up Vitali and stopped him

showed a lot of grit

 

Lewis looked sloppy vs Vitali

 

National Conference Call Transcript World Heavyweight Champion Lennox Lewis,
Thursday, April 24 2003

Question: What kind of shape are you in?

Lewis: I am in great shape.

Question: Are you looking to fight twice this year?

Lewis: That is fair to say.

:hi:

http://www.boxinginsider.com/interviews/interview-with-lennox-lewis/

 

What fight were you watching? The only guy that was wobbled was Lennox. That's why the HBO commentators said 'all it takes is one more solid shot'.

 

WOW, aboxer lying about being in great shape.

Ive NEVER heard that before!!!!! atsch

Unfortunately his age, weight and inactivity tell another story

 

Yeah, and that's why he wanted to finish what he started like he did with McCall and Rahman.

Had the foul been called and the decision altered to Vitali TD 6.....guess what HATERS......Lewis still would have ran into retirement with his tail between his legs. He only wanted one other fight in the division and that was Junior.

If he couldn't fight Junior, he was retiring wanting no part of a Klitschko, EVER again.

 

If that's the way you see Lewis then fair enough, but i think you're in the minority.
I will agree on the Briggs fight.

The Holyfield fights i already answered in my op.

The Tua fight you already said is a strategic masterclass.:thumbsup
Or is it because he didn't risk his titles by going toe to toe with a squat KO merchant that your not happy about. If anything was bad about the Tua fight it was David Tua not Lennox Lewis. I suppose your dissapointed that Tua couldn't do **** with the formidable man infront of him.

Regarding Golota, well Lewis had just seen him give his old rival Bowe two beatings and scupper the last possibile chance of him meeting his amateur foe. Even if Bowe was over the hill in those fights, Golota was very impressive before being DQ'd.
Let's not forget Golota was the favourite (by fight time) to beat Lewis.
Lennox for me felt a genuine threat from Golota, which i think is obvious when you see how up for the fight he was.

The other obvious example is the Ruddock fight. Lewis' first big test at world level. This devasting Lewis was one that knew the danger infront of him.

For the most part Lewis done just enough in his wins throughout his career. But on the odd occasion he felt fear (Ruddock, McCall 2, Golota, Rahman 2), the man was sensational. Not in McCall 2, but it didn't look like any man would beat him that night, he was so focused.

On the topic of the thread though. NO, Lewis was not near his best against Vitali. To suggest otherwise is simply wrong.