T.K.O. in 6

The above post pretty much sums it up. Good post.

 

majr, nobody would call for a rematch if prime, focussed lewis had fought vitali. apart from that i agree entirely.

 

lewis wanted to retire at the top, rather than demean the HW title to regional level with defences against nobodies.

 

Top 10 ATG ? :rofl

 

Wasnt he clamoring on about how he wanted a Tyson rematch and how he could go on for years leading up to the Vitali fight?

I think Lennox wanted to go on in his career but after the Vitali war and end to the fight the fans were clamoring for a rematch and if Vitali wasnt next Lennox was gonna take a lot of flack late in his career when he already established himself capable of being great and going away on his own terms

I think he retired because he did not want to have to fight Vitali again despite still wanting other fights out there but and this is importantLennox had done more than enough to retire and built a large legacy like him or not and despite the fans wanting the rematch Lennox did not owe him any

I do think Lennox is bitter about the Klitschkos as Vitali stole some of his thunder at the end and both continue to dominate now that he is gone

I think when Wlad in 03-04 looked like he was the biggest bust ever and Vitali retired on injuries I think Lennox thought the division would be without greats comparable to his name and when Wlad and then Vitali came back so soon and took the division in their names Lennox was jealous that his name didnt have more of a honeymoon period

 

Vitali is the great what could have been for me. Had his chance for the big win vs Lewis he lost but he wasnt really beaten. He was ahead got cut it happens, fight didnt have a natural conclusion

Then he won the title and was the man before succumbing to injury. Based on his performance vs Lennox, his KO ratio and his lone brutal defense of the WBC along with his popularity in America being as high as it was he might have had a shot at the HOF on his first career alone,

not definite but borderline

Then he cameback and just added on being dominant for what 6, 7 years beating some very good fighters of the era, certainly ones that if they were on Wlads resume would be huge additions like Peter when he had the belt, Arreola, Solis, Adamek, Chisora, even Gomez is a pretty good win not ATG level but a solid win

Basically for me Vitali can do whatever he wants now he has fought past 40 and has remained dominant and really everything he has done since fulfilling the dream of being champions at the same time after beating Peter has been gravy on top

Vitali lacks the resume department but has the longevity and dominance part down and the technical aspect, just watch the guy fight if you cant tell if he can fight or not i think you got problems

Hes no top 10'er like Wlad could be argued to be but Vitali has had a career better than many other heavyweights

 

:rofl

 

How can anyone call him a ATG he has beat no one, he lost against the best fighter he fought and has made a career bashing bums about since.

IO have no doubt he is a good boxer and think would have been a legit top 10 in most eras due to his iron jaw and decent skills, but to call basically a untested fighter who lost his only fight agains Elite opposition an ATG is very wide of the mark

 

How noble. Shame it's not true!

Lewis loved fighting nobodies and washed up has-beens, if he loved challenges so much he'd have rematched Vitali.

 

Lewis knew that he couldn't continue fighting without giving Vitali a rematch. So he had no choise but to retire. I was a smart thing for him to do. He would have lost a rematch.

He had to prove that the first fight wasn't a fluke. He didn't fight Byrd so it wasn't like was running out of opponents.

 

:good

 

you're much more guilty of picking your battles on this thread than lennox was in his career.

 

I have no idea what you mean by 'picking my battles', I think you're talking horse ****.

This is a thread on why Lennox Lewis retired, try to stay on topic.

 

Lewis looked unbeatable during that period because he fought a string of has-beens and never-weres.

If he didn't prepare for Vitali properly then...tough ****, whatever, he was still afraid of a rematch, as I'm sure he figured that even if he turned up in shape Vitali would give him hell.

And he WAS afraid of Vitali, you cannot deny that Vitali took it to Lewis like no one else, wobbled him, beat him on scorecards and would most likely have KOd him if not for the cut. Lewis knew this, so he retired to avoid the rematch, it's that simple.

 

it was a direct response to your point about lennox ducking challenges.

if you ain't prepared to stay on topic, don't demand that others do.