It was very close and could have gone either way. Both looked very tired. No one knows coming in just what shape Vitali was in as a last minute sub. I know he was in training but at what stage. Lewis was old and at an all time heavy. He was puffing big time. Vitali's cut was terrible. Who knows ? Vitali did seem to lack his early round fire power.
Vitali WASN'T a last minute sub. I believe they both had opponents pull out closer to the time, even if he was Lewis was in the kinda' shape he was to fight Rahman the first time as he was preparing for Kirk Johnson, who woulda provided him nowhere near the headache that Vitali did. I see your point though, especially in HW boxing one punch can change everything.
I agree with the starter of the thread. We also have to consider that Lewis was 38 years of age, off for a full year, and showed up at a career high weight. This was hardly a prime version of Lennox.
Lewis was taking Vitali apart, plain and simple. had the fight not been stopped on cuts i think lennox would have knocked him out in another round or 2. Vitali wasnt ready for lewis at that point in his career, though it was a decent-ish fight, though i agree lennox was having a bit of an off day too. In my opinion there was no controversy. all that happened is lewis didnt give a rematch before he retired, thus giving Vitali's fans an excuse to say lennox was scared to fight him etc, but thats bull****. had they fought again i think lewis would have finished it quicker. going back in with rahaman took more guts than this rematch would have needed and look what happened there! Lewis had nothing left to prove and showed he was one of the best champs we had in heavyweight boxing in this era. i still miss him
And if some people on the gf are to be believed some cuts are caused by black people's razor sharp hair.
I'm with you. Fact is, nobody accuses Walcott of being better than Marciano despite the fact he was leading on the cards at the time of the stoppage. Marciano used his punch to stop Walcott much the way Lennox used his to stop Vitali. We could go on and on. An old, sub-par, post-prime Lewis stopped a bigger, stronger and prime Vitali Klitschko. The truth tends to hurt - for those that idolize certain fighters.
Lennox won fight fair and square. Yes, he lost 4 rounds, but he cut him with punch. But Lennox should've given a rematch, as he promised http://www.nytimes.com/2003/07/03/sports/lewis-interested-in-rematch.html
Vitali wanted the re-match. Lewis said he would give it, but declined even though a 15 million dollar purse was lined up for him. In sports we all know when we get lucky, and Lewis wasn't going to win the re-match which is why he retired.
Lewis was lucky that punch caused that much damage. It made the fight more equal. Vitali was having his way with Lewis prior to that cut. Lewis couldn't outbox a one-eyed Vitali so you Lewis apologists need to give credit where credit is due. It's funny how the commentators thought that Lewis was going to get knocked out and you saw the direct opposite.
Lewis had a good 6th round but Vitali was still landing some real good shots. Both men were exhausted by the end of that round although Lewis had the advantage since Vitali's eye was cut to bits. However, Vitali fought very well in the preceeding rounds even with the cut so it's not fair to say Lewis would have definitely won had it continued. It was an excellent win for Lennox and imo his best considering the quality and determination of the opponent, the physicality of the fight and the adversity he had to overcome. Lewis was very smart to call it quits after that. He was definitely deteriorating.