Was Lennox Lewis anywhere near prime when he fought Vitali ?

The question is ,does anyone think he was near prime? The answer from unbiased and objective posters is a resounding NO!

 

When he was prime he was knocked out by one shot from a crack head and looked horrible vs a lumbering Bruno.

 

No. His prime was after he fired his old trainer and hired a new one who maximized his potential. The years we're looking at are probably 1995-1999. Not 1993 and certainly not 2003.

 

Lewis wasn't one of those fighters like Moore and Walcott who had the gift of longevity.

 

If a man is not prime at 28 then there is something amiss.

 

Bernard Hopkins wasn't viewed as prime at 28 either. Sometimes its a flaw in a fighter's style or training habits or something that's as you say " amiss". In Lewis's case there was.

 

He had good longevity vs many others tho. He was a top fighter for a long time. He was however past it by the end, how could he not be.

 

Walcott lost his title at 37 - the very same age that Lewis was when he defeated a very formidable opponent in Vitali.. Of course Joe had ONE fight several months later at 38 in which he was dispatched in one round. I don't think his longevity necessarily trumps Lewis's, although he did have more pro fights.

 

Where does it say a man is in his prime at 28?

 

The answer to the question is no.

He was 38, at his career heaviest and retired after, signs that a man is not in his prime.

 

Not Prime, post-prime but still great.

 

Funny I thought he was on his feet when the first McCall fight was stopped.:huh Oh ,and that wasn't his prime.:-(

 

Lewis was positively past it when he fought Vitali.. If this were a discussion about any other 38 year old heavyweight who had fought only once in 19 months, was at a career high weight and who was recently KO'd by a fringe contender he'd be labeled as "totally shot." You don't hear anyone claiming that Ali was prime against Holmes or that Holmes was prime against Tyson or that Louis was prime against Marciano... The whole argument that Lewis was anything but washed up against Vitali is one of the worst ones ever put forth.

 

Lewis was not "washed up". He had deteriorated from his ideal prime form, sure, but I can pick fights from his younger days where frankly he looked WORSE against lesser opposition.

 

Find me a fight where he got his **** kicked for four strait rounds and was gassing by the fifth the way he was against Vitali... You won't.