Klitschko has only defended the HW title TWICE....

This description of Byrd's win over Vitali leads me to believe he surpassed Lewis' performance.

I think credit should be given.

 

For the type of shape Lewis came in at his best, he was fat. Are you saying he was in the best shape he could be in given his age?

 

Thats really nice and i respect your right to that opinion.

 

I haven't gone through your posts. I am figuratively speaking because each time there is a thread about Klitschko, it is not hard to notice you jumping in with your usual "Vits quit against Byrd", "Vittles is overrated", "fat out of shape Lewis stopped Vits" and such phrases.

I have often called posters, whose opinion I usually respect, on their bashing of certain boxers and pushing their agendas, so I have no problem with that.

I haven't seen much of your posts other than your bashing/discrediting of Klitschkos, so based on that, I surely don't view you as a reputed poster but it doesn't mean that I wouldn't agree with you if you conducted fairly and/or made a fair point.

Ok, you hate their delusional fans. Most of the great/popular fighters have their own share of delusional fans, especially recently. I am sure that many people dislike certain boxers or their fans/extreme supporters for some reason, but I doubt that you will find decent people almost exclusively bashing those boxers.

There you go. You can equally spin it to "missing some shots or not, he was clearly winning the fight, but was forced to pull out due to injury" for example. Did he quit because he was missing a lot of shots and was supposedly tired or because he suffered an injury? Logic says that he wouldn't just quit out of frustration/fatigue while winning the fight by a margin.

If you want to keep it real, check the record books, Wladimir has 22 title defenses. After all, that is the actual topic.

 

Ok, lets get on the topic of how he hurt his shoulder than. As a former amateur fighter i can tell you the type of injury he suffered happens more often than not from missing punches. Do you agree with this? If that is the case he lost as a direct result of what Byrd was doing. Ive already stated and can prove Vits never missed so much or after in his entire career. And yes i truly believe he was as frustrated as he was hurt and thats why he conceded. No there is no way for me to prove that anymore than there is a way for you to disprove it. But lots of fighter get hurt and continue on. This is much more difficult when you cannot land at the rate you are use to and it is inevitable frustration will play a part. But again, this is just my opinion.

 

So fat for Lennox Lewis is lean muscle, 8 pack abs with no visible fat, and only 3-6 lbs over previous career highs in a 10 year span?

Was Lewis fat when he came in previous career highs? How about the 251 for McCall II? or 250 for Botha and Tyson? 254 for Rahman? The 6 lbs between Tyson and Vitali isn't even the biggest gain in his career over a 12 month span.

I'm saying he was not fat. I don't think there was ever a point in the man's career he could be described as such. Unless you want to abuse the term and use it to simply describe someone when they are heavier than previous weights by a few pounds.

Perhaps we should it simply and reserve the term "Fat" for fighters that actually fit the description? Should we lump a sculpted Lennox Lewis in there with other fat men like Solis and Arreola?

 

You didnt answer my question.

 

I did. You asked if I was saying that Lewis was in the best shape he could be, and responded by "I'm saying he was not fat."

You didn't answer mine at all.

Wlad was just at his career heaviest by a few pounds for Thompson, would you say he was fat?

So fat for Lennox Lewis is lean muscle, 8 pack abs with no visible fat, and only 3-6 lbs over previous career highs in a 10 year span?

Was Lewis fat when he came in previous career highs? How about the 251 for McCall II? or 250 for Botha and Tyson? 254 for Rahman? The 6 lbs between Tyson and Vitali isn't even the biggest gain in his career over a 12 month span.

 

Saying he wasnt fat is not answering the question. So again, do you think Lewis was in the best shape he could have been in given his age?

 

Your question was in regards to what I was saying. I answered it.

This is a new question because its asking what I think. Yes, I think he likely was in the best shape he could be for his age. The official reason he took the short notice fight was because he had what Steward felt was his best training camp since Holyfield II and they didn't want to waste it.

Now please, answer my questions if you are going to be demanding of me.

 

Surprise me, JAB. Answer the questions, at the least the one I asked first. I have a feeling you won't.

 

So you think he was in the best shape he could be in because Steward said so? You must think Dawson was in the best shape he could have been against Ward because Scully said so before they fought. Its not like trainers dont exaggerate and lie about their fighters condition, is it?

As far as your question....Wlad has always come in shape and been a consummate professional always staying in shape between fights. Lewis is know to have been lazy between fights and to pick and choose which fights to train hardest for. First and second Rahman fights are a perfect example. I could be wrong, but i doubt he thought he really had to train that hard for Kirk Johnson before he dropped out and Vits stepped in. Vits on the other hand is on record saying he had been training for Lewis for the past year.

 

Guess you were wrong again. No surprise there.

 

Because the explanation makes sense to me. Because Lewis did not appear to be in bad shape or "fat". The weight gain was not unusual or drastic. Steward was truthful regarding the Lewis/Rahman I training camp and the poor focus and strategic short comings, and unlike Sully has never came out and said anything else.

What was reported makes sense to me:

"Lewis was reportedly in his finest shape since his first meeting with Evander Holyfield and may not want to waste a training camp in the Poconos."

So we can agree that coming in at a career heaviest doesn't mean a fighter is fat. So answer the other question. Was Lewis "fat" for McCall II? Since that was also his than career heaviest by 4 lbs. And only 5 lbs removed from his weight against Vitali 6 years later.

 

Can we agree coming in at a career high in weight after a year layoff (longer than Sanders retirement) doesnt equal being in the best shape? He was fat for an elite boxer who should have come in the best shape possible, not Arreola or Solis fat. And of course Steward didnt come out like Scully afterwards. His guy won, there was no reason to.