Was Lewis over Vitali the greatest heavyweight win since 2003?

Discussion in 'Classic Boxing Forum' started by Mendoza, Jun 8, 2019.



  1. cuchulain

    cuchulain VIP Member Full Member

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    I would rank his victory over Vitali as his single best and most significant win overall.
     
  2. thanosone

    thanosone Love Your Brother Man Full Member

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    Guys, who cares if he looked tired?????? In a fight with two super heavies. Who cares of he was tired?????? Hell of a fight tho. 12 rounds of that **** would have been awesome. A rematch would have been even better. Both time to prep. No excuses.
     
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  3. young griffo

    young griffo Boxing Addict Full Member

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    Exactly.

    Lewis looked tired and Vitali looked like road kill.
     
  4. JackSilver

    JackSilver Boxing Addict Full Member

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    Lewis was getting too old and Vitali was only going to get better. That a perfectly reasonable excuse for Lewis not to have a rematch.

    As for the thread question. Wlad’s 5th round demolition of the dangerous and unbeaten Pulev is the best heavyweight win since 2003.
     
  5. RightLeftCombo

    RightLeftCombo Active Member Full Member

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    Lewis beating Vitali was a big and important win for LL, but was slightly unsatisfactory because it ended on cuts. Cuts stoppages are often unsatisfactory and the fight itself got a little untidy. Would have loved to see a return.

    Tyson Fury going to Germany and beating Wlad widely is a greater win probably, but was not really an exciting bout.
    Andy Ruiz coming off the canvas as a big underdog to blast AJ with 4 knockdowns in seven rounds is a better win than Lennox-Vitali, I think.
    Wlad-Pulev was a good exciting fight, one of Wladimir's best.
    Brewster-Wlad I in 2004 was a shocker
    Maskaev-Rahman II was a good win for Oleg.
    Joshua-Wlad in 2017 was exciting.
     
  6. BCS8

    BCS8 VIP Member Full Member

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    This.

    There's absolutely no comparing Fury or Joshua beating Old Man Wladimir to Old Lewis beating a (prime or near prime) Vitali.

    Absolutely none at all.

    You'd have to have a warped view of reality to see it like that.

    I mean, ancient Holyfield was begging the Klitschkos for a fight. If either had taken him up on the offer and wiped the floor with him, would anybody be seeing it as some great win? Hell no. It would be a prime fighter beating a guy well past the sell-by date.

    I think Vitali > Lewis at that point, and Lewis did very well indeed to come with the grit of a true champion from behind and score the TKO. It was a fantastic win and its what puts Lewis into the top 3 HW in my view.
     
  7. RightLeftCombo

    RightLeftCombo Active Member Full Member

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    Everyone has different opinions on a forum, friend, so everyone is entitled to their view. There's no need for the rest of the "warped reality" talk. It's like overdone forum nonsense, with respect.

    Fury beating Wlad in Germany was a great win whether it's acknowledged now or not. Everyone is always wise after the event and while Wlad did show signs of slipping, at the time hardly anyone gave Fury a chance.

    To agree with you though, I'd have Lennox in my top five HW probably.
     
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  8. RulesMakeItInteresting

    RulesMakeItInteresting Boxing Junkie Full Member

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    I was impressed by LL's heart in the Klitschko fight...but as much as I admire LL overall, I don't think he would have won that fight without the cut stoppage.

    That said, I put Lewis behind only Ali, Louis, Holmes, Foreman, and Holyfield as ATG heavyweight.
     
    Last edited: Jun 9, 2019
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  9. dinovelvet

    dinovelvet Antifanboi Full Member

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    He didn't say Joshua , he said Fury. You are misquoting people again.

    Wlad who was 39 was expected to deal with Fury without any issue. Fury the huge underdog turned up to give Wlad a boxing lesson on his home turf.

    Because Fury was the underdog who pulled off a feat nobody expected him to is why his win is greater than Lennox win on cuts over a guy he was expected to beat.

    Wlad was also better prepared and was a lot more focused on beating Fury than Lewis was against Vitali.

    Fury -WK
    Ruiz- AJ
    Lewis - Vitali .. is how i see it.
     
  10. Brixton Bomber

    Brixton Bomber Obsessed with Boxing banned Full Member

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    One of the last great fights between elite level guys, IMHO.

    Lewis looked absolutely spent when the fight was near the end.

    Vitali looked like he'd been mugged. By four people. With baseball bats.

    Both men showed tremendous heart that night.
     
  11. BCS8

    BCS8 VIP Member Full Member

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    Sure, sure. I rate Valuev as #5 because of his crushing win over Holyfield. Not quite as good as Berbick's win over Ali though.

    Actually a lot of people called it that Wlad was looking old and that Fury had a good chance:

    Wlad is old:
    https://www.boxingforum24.com/threads/wlad-getting-old.549278/
    Wlad is afraid of Briggs and Fury:
    https://www.boxingforum24.com/threads/kind-of-feel-wlad-afraid-of-briggs.550874/
    Wlad gonna get detonated on and put to sleep by Fury:
    https://www.boxingforum24.com/threads/what-happens-when-fury-detonates-on-wlads-mandible.551077/
    Reminder that Steward picked Fury as the next big thing:
    https://www.boxingforum24.com/threads/steward-on-fury-he-will-be-the-next-great-heavyweight.551055/
    Klitschko saying Fury is going to be a tough fight:
    https://www.boxingforum24.com/threa...will-be-one-of-his-toughest-opponents.551479/
    Fury looking great:
    https://www.boxingforum24.com/threads/fury-looking-in-shape.551670/
     
  12. BCS8

    BCS8 VIP Member Full Member

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  13. sweetsci

    sweetsci Well-Known Member Full Member

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    Might be. It's one of those wins that looks great in hindsight, a la Sanchez-Nelson. We didn't yet know the career Klitschko was going to have.

    At the time Lewis taking on a late substitute and wasn't in the best of condition, the Byrd-Klitschko fight was still in our minds, and it wasn't a hotly anticipated super fight by any measure.

    The fact that Klitschko went on to have the career that he did and that Lewis pulled it out despite being less than 100% makes it a great win, with the benefit of hindsight.
     
  14. RulesMakeItInteresting

    RulesMakeItInteresting Boxing Junkie Full Member

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    lol
     
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  15. Gazelle Punch

    Gazelle Punch Boxing Addict Full Member

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    Yes. Hw division was rather uneventful the last two decades. Though I feel it picking up again