Lennox Lewis vs Vitali Klitschko - 20 Year Anniversary

It’s been 20 years since Lennox Lewis and Vitali Klitschko fought in a classic HW brawl.

Lennox Lewis had just KO’d Mike Tyson a year prior while Vitali Klitschko was rebuilding himself after a surprising defeat to Chris Byrd. Negotiations for a Mike Tyson rematch fell through for Lewis and Vitali was a late replacement for Kirk Johnson. Although Vitali was seen as the underdog he gave a valiant performance against the aging Lennox Lewis.

This fight would become a transition of a new HW era in boxing. Following the fight Lewis announced retirement while Vitali Klitschko became reigning HW champ alongside his brother Wladimir to become the most dominant pair of boxing champions.

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Great match. That cut was awful.

 

TKO6

 

Lewis pass his prime, Vitali not quite at his. Lewis was wise to retire after this

 

Classic ESB. For better or worse

 

https://www.boxingforum24.com/threads/t-k-o-in-6.422560/

 

You know looking at that vid, it’s hard to see why so many people here have said on past threads that Lewis was fat an overweight? He looks massive but still he is solid and muscular It’s not fat at all. He still looks like a monster not like Ali an Holmes who were packing on a lot of fat at the same age as Lewis was in this fight.

 

He was 37 years old in that fight and still looked in great shape. I think having a tough fight against Klitschko and being hit consistently gave that impression that he was fat. Slower perhaps but not fat.

 

I remember this was pitted as Gatti vs ward except at heavyweight was the ongoing theme after the fight.

 

had a party to watch this fight. has it been 20 years already? wow! where did that time go!

 

Instant classic, till this day every boxing fan knows what tko6 is.

 

Happy 20th Anniversary TKO6!!!

Every year Vitali's left eye sheds a little bloody tear in remembrance of the great violence done against it in the name of entertainment.

 

My assessment of the fight is a bit different. A prime Lennox Lewis faced off against a prime Vitali Klitschko.

Lennox started slow and Vitali had his moments in the first rounds, as the fight progressed it became a one sided beating. At the time ot the stoppage Lennox Lewis should have had a two point lead on the judges scorecards. Vitali really wasn't landing good punches on Lewis, most of the shots he threw landed on gloves, elbows and simply in the air, silly people that wanted to see Vitali win interpreted those punches rather freely however and remember them in a different way.

Lewis retired after this fight having nothing left to prove and probably feeling a bit bad about brutalizing Vitali like that. Vitali on the other hand soon found himself dealing with injuries after this fight and had to take a long time off due to them. These injuries were ofcourse caused by Lewis. Lewis would probably have legitimately ended Vitalis life is there would have been a rematch.

 

Stopping a HW title fight from a little cut like that is just criminal. LL was on his way to getting stopped again, it is what it is.

 

FOTC; twenty-first century