Yes it was a great fight. Lennox got his ass beat post to pillar barring a head-butt and dirty cynical tactics like rubbing his laces in Vitalis eye.
It was a great fight. The problem was Vitali's thin white skin cuts to easy. If it were not for his weak skin this fight was a toss up. Both were dead tired after the 6th round. Lewis fell into his chair and Vitali's legs were pure rubber after Lewis landed that uppercut before the bell. I really think Lewis was going to ko Vitali in round 7 or Vitali's eye would have fell out.
A two- weeks trained, carelessly and brainlessly marching forward Vitali couldn't be stopped by a LL landing at will right on his face.... the only thing that this match has, is an impressive shows of heart and gut, but apart from that, it's not a particularly good to watch fight. It's not even a particular display of chin, many of the Klitschko's or the Lennox's opponents have taken more damage to the head than Vitali that night.
Dude, you are writing on a boxing forum (theorically), you should theorically write using at least part of your brain... The major part of the boxers would have cutted would have they been hitted so much and having take part in so many clinching-and -hitting actions.
All the haters here on both sides would give there ****ing grannie to see another HW fight as good and as competitive
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Yes with hind sight it was a great fight. But at the time it was seen as nothing more than a rather exciting heavyweight brawl. Only now looking back having seen Vitali have so much success and with a decade of poor heavyweight title fights has this fight now been elevated to greatness. It's still no rumble in the jungle or Bowe/Holyfield 1 but it's the last stand out heavyweight title fight. God knows how long it will be before we see another title fight that even compares.
TKO7: after the doctor allowed the fight to continue past the 6th, Vitali caught Lennox with a left hook to his glass jaw late in the 7th. Lennox got up on wobbly legs like he did against McCall, but the ref called it off.
Rather than focus on the outcome, it would be nice if people gave the fight the props it deserved. Merchant called it Ward-Gatti on the highest level. One thing for sure it that it was as just as much a fight as it was a boxing match.