Yeah the irony of the whole thing is the second fight was a much closer one than the first despite the official results making it look the exact opposite
Say what you may about Lewis but he ducked no one his entire career .. pretty much every big name either ducked or avoided him at one time or another .. his signature wins were Ruddock, Bruno, Mercer, McCall rematch, Golota, Holyfield, Tyson, Rachman 2 and Vitali .. there is little doubt that from a H2H perspective the man is a top five all time heavyweight.
He ducked Vitali and strung him along for about a year before deciding to retire rather than risk giving Vitali a deserving rematch. Imagine if McCall and Rahman decided against giving Lewis a rematch when they knocked him out, how he would have felt but I guess he was only interested in second or third matches if he didn't win.
So you believe Lewis lost the fight as Wilder did? Or are you saying they should not have stopped it? It's not remotely comparable. Lewis had half of Vitali's face hanging off. The bout was impossible to let go on.
Lewis was more deserving of his retirement. McCall and Rahman were not close to retiring and neither of them gave Lewis a rematch out of willing sportsmanship. From mid-2002 onward, Lewis was only interested in a rematch with Tyson (a guy he'd already beaten) - and, he wanted that match for obvious reasons.
His best win is either Holyfield or Klitschko. While neither win is perfect, they are better than the best wins of many ATG heavyweights.
Ridiculous .. he was pushing 38 when he fought Vitali and despite a gutsy effort Vitali was a fading, gushing mess .. to say he ducked Vitali at pushing 39 is absurd. McCall and Rahman gave Lewis rematches as much younger fighters who needed the fights and the money from fighting Lennox .. for a loaded Lewis at 39 to retire was simply smart.
Hi all, I reckon Lennox was absolute prime the night he destroyed Golota in two. At that stage Golota had just been through the two Bowe fights and there were big wraps on the Polish fighter. Lewis looked brilliant that night and he absolutely destroyed Golota who was never the same fighter mentally afterwards. Cheers Peeps.