Lennox Lewis Vs Vitali Klitschko 2- Who Wins A Rematch?

Lewis never lost a rematch

 

There’s the mental aspect to think about. After losing in South Africa, Larry Merchant talked about how it’s often harder for older, more accomplished champions to “get up” for each fight.

It’s easier to get motivated for revenge for a KO loss (Rahman) or the richest fight ever at the time (Tyson), than it is for a routine title defense.

Lewis didn’t even learn from the last time when he got knocked out by Rahman. He again underprepared for Kirk Johnson/Vitali Klitschko.

I don’t think Lewis had it in him to properly prepare for a title defense against someone as tough as Vitali. He had won the fight against Vitali, so there’s less of the motivation he had for Rahman 2 and Tyson.

While he beat Vitali, what are the chances of him landing that perfectly placed shot over the eye to cut him?

He probably knew he lacked the fire to go through another rough training camp for a tough opponent, so he retired accordingly.

There’s a good chance he again goes through the motions in training, and this time isn’t able to pull it off.

 

Yes. Lewis's resume is better than he is, Bowe's is worse.
Lewis' best wins: Holyfield '99, Bowe's best wins: Holyfield 1992/1995.

Which fights were better, which victory was more convincing?

Bowe's worst defeat: Holyfield 1993, Lewis's worst defeat: McCall 1994.
Which defeats were worse?

Lewis has a better resume, but was he actually better than Bowe? Considering his resume, Bowe should constantly be claiming he beat everyone he faced. But Bowe was never the face of HBO that could have made him famous.

 

Well, personally, I rate LL highly as a fighter, I've always enjoyd watching him fight. I think he belongs somewhere between 3rd place and the lower end of the top 10 all time HWs. Having him at 12th is a stretch, and really only makes sense to me if you heavily favor fighters of older eras of boxing.

A lot of very knowledgeable posters on this forum have him in a toss up with Larry Holmes for 3rd place, and that’s not some kind of mass delusion, as you seem to suggest. There are solid arguments for ranking Lennox as high as 3rd and I’m not even going to bring them up here, because I’ve seen you engage in discussions where those points were already made quite well, so let’s not pretend they don’t exist.

For the record, I don’t really have an issue with placing LL around 9th for example, behind guys like Frazier, Holmes, Foreman, Klitschko, Holyfield or Tyson. I don’t necessarily agree with it, but I can understand that perspective. What I don’t agree with is acting as if there are no arguments for Lennox being ranked above them because that’s simply being biased.

As for your analysis of Lewis’s career, you’re clearly viewing it through an overly negative lens. The same kind of criticism could be applied to any great fighter like Ali, Tyson, Wlad and so on. You seem to hold him to some nonexistent ideal standard but instead you should compare him to real fighters, all of whom had their own flaws.

Lastly, regarding how fighters are rated over time let me remind you that in 1975, Ring Magazine ranked Ali 9th on their all time HW list. Or consider how differently Wladimir Klitschko was perceived during his reign compared to now.

All of this comes down to one thing: you’re not being fair in your assessment of Lennox Lewis. And it stands out even more because, from what I’ve seen, you’re usually a pretty reasonable poster in other topics.

 

Lewis wins again.

 

Even a past it Lewis when motivated would school Vitali, I mean seriously what is Vitali's best win? Herbie Hide, Corrie Sanders? Briggs, Chisora or Larry Donald. Oh I got it,,Samual Peter.

 

Dave Allen is facing Filip Hrgovic next, and Hrgovic cuts a lot.

Now Hrgovic will highy likely win every minute of every round.

But If Allen lands a shot that causes a cut, then it'll be TKO 6 again!

Proving how it's a bull**** way to win a fight (in a fight you're losing). If you were losing, there has to be a rematch. Because every fighter is different when it comes to cuts.

 

I'd say it was Lennox Lewis. Considering he dominated the fight for 6 rounds. 58-56, 58-56, 58-56 on all three judges scorecards and on away turf in a country that's notoriously biased with judging.

Yeah, the Lennox Lewis who had just beat Mike Tyson in one of his best ever performances, that Lewis. The Lewis that no one said was past it before the fight, that Lewis. The Lewis that never ever spoke about retirement before the fight, that Lewis. In the Heavyweight division were late 30's is not old, that Lewis.

Vitali won the event.

 

Nah. If your body can't hold up then so sad too bad. It's this straight forward.

Lets cater for people with weak chins too. If they are winning when knocked out cold let run it again, and again, and again.

On his biggest night Vitali just couldn't hold up.

TKO6

 

Mendoza would be proud.

 

Mate he couldn't take it, end of the fantasy. Slinging out a 6 round scorecard where Lewis won the last round on every card just isn't doing it.

Lets go revisionist history and also change the rules of boxing so some can cope with something that happened over two decades ago.

Lewis just too good. Even not at his best he was above Vitali's ceiling. There's no shame in that, he's a H2H monster.

 

Revisionist history? The guy walked away from $50mm.

Lennox only had 44 professional fights. Vitali had 47 professional fights when he retired.

Lennox had only 94 amateur fights. Vitali had 210 amateur fights.

Lennox's last professional fight was at 37. Vitali's last professional fight was at 41.

Lennox was making plans to keep fighting after Kirk Johnson.

It's amazing how much you Lennox fans stick up for the guy when he CLEARLY didn't want to fight Vitali even though he had plans to keep fighting after Kirk Johnson.

 

Vitali Klitschko was making plans to keep fighting after Manny Charr. Does that mean he ducked Bermane Stiverne and David Haye?

"If David wants to fight, he has to wait because I have to defend my title against an official contender," he told the BBC Ukrainian Service. "After that maybe."

https://www.bbc.com/sport/boxing/21958348

 

That makes sense. The Charr fight wasn't a good one for Vito, despite his victory, and perhaps it made him realize his time was running out and he'd lose to tougher opponents. He was already 41 years old and busy with politics. Nobody offered him a payday for Haye or Stiverne. Haye was fought by his brother, who was clearly better by then.

 

Nobody was picking Haye to beat Vitali even at 41. I remember.
But your right. He felt it was time walk away. Same as Lewis. Its hypocritical to give Vitali a pass but bash Lewis for retiring.