Would Lewis have had more matches IF

no lewis and vitali are different people entirely.

 

Lewis was done after Klitschko .He said himself he was now fighting guys of the next generation. I don't think he'd have been tempted back at his age tbh .

 

Lewis wanted to stay longer than he did, and money was the main reason.

Obviously if he had faced Johnson in June 03, he'd continue his career. There were possible rematch with Tyson (who still hadn't lost to Danny Williams badly), potential high paydays vs both Klitschkos, and Roy.

I don't think he intended to fight after 40 though, 3-4 more fights probably.

 

this.

to say he retired early is to say all hw champs retired early.

 

I think he would definitely have carried on. Who was out there that would have been favoured to beat him? It was Vitali that made him retire. He didn’t want no part of any rematch but he knew that people would have called him a fraud if he had carried on but avoided Vitali.

 

I doubt it, he was 37 had done all he wanted, was very rich and had lost the drive a champion needs. Lewis could have defended in Canada many times he had no interest in doing so.Lewis and Johnson would not have been a money spinner.

 

Johnson wouldnt have been a big purse and a rematch with Tyson was a non-starter he dominated Tyson.Jones wouldn't go anywhere near Lewis. Lennox did the smart thing.

 

I think he only stays on to fight Tyson again, but past that, Lennox got out at a good time, and not just because of Vitali.

 

I don't think a Tyson .Lewis rematch would have even come off .Tyson looked all of his years and more against Lenny, and Lewis had beat him conclusive .It's not as if people were screaming for more. There really wasn't many more challenging fight s for Lewis after Tyson., apart from vit who he did actually defeat. If Lewis really wanted to Carry on he would have , he was confident in his own belief.

 

"Lennox ducked a rematch with vitali in disguise" thread...get a hobby. This has been debated to death thousands of times more than any other topic except probably ali vs tyson.

 

If he had carried on and fought Vitali, he takes him seriously, trains better, doesn't come in fat and has that one last great performance.

He really wouldn't have been scared to fight Klitschko. Fat and poorly conditioned, having expected to face Kirk Johnson, he took all Vitali could bring. Vitali had fought beyond himself, Lennox within himself. I imagine that, deep down, both parties knew that.

 

I agree with you that Lennox did the smart thing.

After beating Tyson Lewis said that he is thinking about retirement.

But few months later he changed his mind and said he will go on. Kirk Johnson was the 1st fight after Tyson, and it wasn't a 'big money' fight. He intended to fight mandatory challenger Vitali Klitschko at the end of the year. And Roy Jones still was thinking about his future at HW, so his match vs Lennox was possible. As for Tyson, Lennox wanted that easy rematch and easy money.

Lennox said many times that he achieved all he wanted after beating Tyson, so it was all about money after that.