T.K.O. in 6

I think it is a good win for Lewis. Nothing earth shattering. Maybe a bit better than overcoming a completely shot Tyson, but, less impressive than his destruction of Ruddock, or his whitewash over prime Tua. Vitali was a legitimate contender, and Lewis was able to get the victory despite being in woeful shape. True champions usually find a way to win when the going gets tough. Lewis did just that. And the stoppage of Vitali was 100% justified.

On the flip side, I can't think of one fight where Vitali overcame adversity and prevailed. To his credit, he easily won matches over the mostly hapless opponents he faced. But, the only two times he faced adversity (Lewis, Byrd), he came up short.

 

And another thing, people need to accept that even though Vit and Lennox both had less than two weeks Vit was much more prepared physically. You really think that as a young, motivated contender Vitali wasn't training his ass off every day just hoping for a title shot against Lewis way before?

 

It is a great win on paper for name recognition but it will forever be tainted due to lack of a deserved rematch. Lewis promised a rematch but retired a coward after seeing Kirk Johnson destroyed.

 

I see where you're coming from. Lewis was very arrogant like most great champions. And while i think an in shape Lewis beats Vits, it would never just be an easy fight.

 

Lewis planned on and had been talking retirement since before Tyson. In the build up to the Johnson fight he said he wanted one more superfight. Roy or Vits. He got Vits and did what he said he wanted to do long before the fight even happened. Everyone would have liked to seen a rematch. But saying it detracts from this win is just sour grapes.

 

Uhm nope. TKOing Vitali was much more impressive than TKOing Ruddock. Ruddock never did anything extraordinary before nor after losing to Lewis. In 25 years, boxing historians won't even mention Lewis win over Ruddock but they will speak highly of Lewis taking out Vitali -- a young, up and coming future lineal HW champion.

 

I think these fights are on par. For Ruddock, Lewis was the hungry upstart going against a proven contender and murderous puncher. For Vits he was the elder statesman taking on the young lion who would eventually inherit at least part of his throne. Vit is a slightly better win, but for different reasons. Its pretty close though.

 

More than 75% of the voters so far see Lewis' stoppage of Vits a good to great win.

 

The Lewis / Vitali match marks two key and entwined milestones in Heavyweight Boxing:

1) Lewis representing the end of an era of Great Heavyweights:- An old, overweight and disinterested Lewis was still able to turn a fight around, which he was ill-prepared for, against a young, hungry man who would be king. A true mark of Greatness and a fine, signature farewell to Boxing.

2) Vitali representing the arrival of a revised standard of first-tier Heavyweights:- Even with youth on his side and a cracking start to the match, against an opponent in the late twilight of his career, Vitali was unable to get the job done. A mark that would leave him the shadow of Greatness but able to dominate in the absence of any other elite (or perhaps even first-tier) Heavyweights.


Rating Lewis's win over Vitali is, therefore, somewhat of a catch-22. The complexion of this fight was defined as much, if not more so, by the poor conditioning of Lewis than it was by Vitali's game effort.

I think it is fair to call it a very good (somewhere in-between good and great) win, if only for the reason that the circumstances of the fight gave Vitali an opportune moment to beat Lewis. It made for a great contest, with Vitali having been presented with a better chance to win than most of Lewis's previous challengers. Instead, Lewis stamped authority on his Championship, demonstrating just what a class act he could be, even in far less-than-ideal shape.

 

Lennox had never ever been that of shape ever ! Than he caught Vitali with the straight right I believe inside and the game changed radically. when they stopped it Lennox was the luckiest man since Jose Luis Ramirez. Great win !

 

How is it close? Ruddock was a contender for about 2 years before disappearing from the landscape. How many wins over top 5 fighters does Ruddock have on his resume? That alone greatly diminishes his value for Lennox' track record -- Ruddock's lacks in top 5 wins, title wins, consistency and longevity.

Value of Vitali's vs. Ruddock's scalp is not even close.

 

Voted 'good'.

Mainly because the win was a bit fortuitous.

 

Doesn't really matter if we're discussing track records. A win is a win. Even if Vitali slipped on a banana peel in the ring and got taken out of the fight with a broken leg. It would still be Lennox' best win.

 

I'm not sure I buy that, but okay.

 

And how many had Lewis beaten at that time? Ruddock proved he could hand and.earned massive respect for his fights with Tyson. Its why he was put in the 4 man mini tourney with Bowe, Holy and LL. Considering the timing of each fight i think they're close. Overall considering what Vittles went on to this win is better. This isnt a comparison of different opponents at different times though.