Vitali was beating Lewis, it got stopped on the cut. Bottom line is Lewis caught a lucky break. But , I agree Wlad turns his lights out in rounds 8-10. Vitali was on his way to doing the same thing
Lewis destroyed Vitali's face. Vitali was leading by 2 points after 6 rounds but it was only half way through. Not to mention that Vitali was holding on for his dear life at the end of the 6th round.
It was Lewis that was exhausted and totally spent. He could not even keep his arms up. Even the announcers including Foreman saw how done he really was. We won't even mention Lennox landed one of the greatest uppercuts in history and Vitali did not even blink.....Lennox was lucky. He would have been knocked out in the next 2 rounds no doubt......Lennox may have won on the cut, but no way he was winning that fight over the duration. Especially when he could not hurt Vitali even with his best punch. Both the brothers KO Lewis ....I give Lennox credit for his surviving the second round , but it was clearly being beaten by a better fighter. He got lucky, knew it and then refused to rematch and retired rather than face Vitali again.
Why would a 6'5", powerful punching, agile and fast-moving heavyweight, with over 80-inches in wingspan, need to fight in a style, imposed on fighters of around 6'2" with a 77/8-inch reach? As I've intimated before, to suggest Lewis couldn't launch an aggressive assault, with both the technical and physical advantages he had over Puritty, Sanders and Brewster, seems a bit dismissive of Lewis' capabilities and physical strength. We know Lewis enjoyed fast starts against the big men he faced - this is demonstrable on film - and I think it reasonable to suggest that he'd go at Wlad from the outset. Would he approach this in the same way as Puritty, Sanders and Brewster? Of course not - he'd be carrying a greater physical presence and arsenal into the ring with him. So, it also seems reasonable to believe Lewis would be able to execute an aggressive start and assault on Wlad with more ease than any of the guys who stopped Wlad. I can't, therefore, see stamina coming into it (although, I'm not sure why Lewis' stamina has been placed into question by you, anyway). Again - anyone who went at Wlad, invariably had him in some kind of trouble or won. And, I can't see a way that Wlad stands up to a fully-charged Lewis, save for Wlad landing the perfect right, which is a possible, but not the probable eventuality.
The thing is you comment everything from a fan's perspective. The reality is both were dead tired but Vitali was the one that was hurt at the end of the 6th. As for the uppercut, Vitali's head went up the sky and he sure was dazed as evidenced by his grabling on to Lewis. The rest is all your fantasy opinion how that fight would have happened. It is also telling that you do not take into the equation at all that Lewis was old and overweight when he fought Vitali, yet this thread is about a prime Lewis matchup against Wlad.
Would you actually gamble your life on that prediction? To categorically state there's "no doubt", when you can't possibly know this, is foolhardy. The duration was scheduled for 12-rounds. A shame it ended in 6. Who looked like they'd been in a car accident without wearing their seat-belt? But, the one brother that actually fought Lewis could not and did not, where others had, against versions of Lewis closer to his prime (inside of 6 rounds) Likewise, I give credit to Vitali for surviving round 6, but his face was an absolute mess and the first big uppercut, despite leaving Vitali standing, took the steam out of him. That much is obvious and anyone who ignores Vitali's lolling about and leaning all over Lewis, for the remainder of the round, is in denial. Lewis won the 6th round on all three of the official judge's cards, as well the unofficial cards of the AP, Lederman and McCory. There's easily a case for an even scorecard, by the end of round-6, but this is academic. Vitali was lucky the doctor hadn't stopped it earlier and should be grateful that the doctor stepped in at the end of round 6. The potential for more severe damage to be inflicted on Vitali was high and it would have been negligent to allow that to happen. Lewis had had his career, by then, and was more than entitled to hang them up. The "...but, Vitali was winning..." line is an extraordinarily tenuous link to some kind of greatly optimistic, alternative reality. The score was Lewis W TKO 6. Trying to extract anything more out of the fight than that is just an exercise in creating fantasy.
All the bleating, stomping of feet and toys thrown out of the pram will not alter the fact of T.K.O. 6. You have a way with words that manage to end a thread and put it to bed. I salute you sir!
Jesus these posts Lennox Lewis loved getting agressive against taller men like Wladimir. Wlad wont be able to handle the agression for a multitude of rounds. Lennox Lewis isnt glass chinned he got knocked out by punches he couldn't see. He took multiple attacks from Vitali Klitschko who is heavy handed. Someone debate me on this i wanna see the bull**** arguments
Excuse me??? Sanders was seen as yourneyman who was relatively unknown by the time of the fight and nobody in Klitschko camp took this guy seriously.
Lewis didn’t attack Vitali in the manner you suggest for a big man opponent or Bruno or Rahman. Maybe against guys like Botha and Grant he got super aggressive but I think he would attempt to be more tactical knowing the right hand Wlad had. Anyway peak Wlad was a highly skilled boxer once he was settled in with Steward and I believe his attributes would serve him well in this matchup. You don’t dominate for 11 years unless you can box. As I said I know many on this site prefer Lewis and that my point would be met with rebuttal. I’ve stated my case and stand by it. Cheers.
