1997 Lennox Lewis vs 2003 Vitali Klitschko

I love that fight too, despite the fact that I was rooting for Vitali. I think that both men proved something that night and are enhanced, not diminished, by the fight. :thumbsup

 

Good reply. I'm always a little confused about having to hate one particular fighter in order to support another. They both deserve far more appreciation then they get for giving us such an entertaining fight.

 

noone ever thought that rahman would always beat lewis at all.

 

I most emphatically agree!:good

 

I agree they both enhanced their legacies. I'm no Lewis hater by the way. I view him as the 3rd or 4th best of all time and said that before he meet Vitali.

 

There is just no logic to anyone picking Vitali.

The past prime, ill conditioned Lewis stopped him, prime Lewis beats the **** off him.

 

HerolGee doesn't post much information. With him its just 2-4 sentences of nothing. I find him to be a flimsy poster when it comes to the history of boxing and the facts. His best stuff, and its not even good is lame insults.

 

While I can see this line of reasoning, it's also worth noting both men had a very short preparation for that fight.

I don't blame Lennox for retiring on a high note, but we won't ever know what would've happened if each had a full camp to prepare for each other. Maybe Vitali wins, maybe Lennox beats him more comprehensively. It's a megafight I wish we got the chance to see.

 

I posted worst lewis tko6 prime vitali, which was all the information that this thread ever needed.

clinical and to the point. don't be a sore loser.

 

That's a good post, but I think you are sort of missing my point. Which is basically that while it is obvious to most that Lewis > Rahman* going on the eyetest alone, if Lewis had for whatever reason been unable to avenge his loss to Hasim, there would be many people arguing that the case of who was better had been settled in the ring by KO5. That's the ****ogy I am making regarding Vitali vs Lewis.

*Actually I think Rahman is a lot better than most give him credit for, at his peak he could hang with the best.

 

But this thread is about a 6 years younger , prime Lewis fighting that version of Vitali.:huh

 

Vitali was peak 98-00, and the 03 version did not have a proper camp. To say the Vitali that went in with Lewis was absolute prime Vitali, don't think so. He was retired due to injury twelve months later.

 

It wouldn't be that version of Vitali, as that version of Vitali didn't have a full camp to prepare for Lennox. The same way Lennox didn't have a full camp to prepare for Vitali.

The first bout was competitive enough that one side preparing better could've easily had a meaningful effect on the outcome.

As such, too many conclusions are drawn about a fight that, had it happened 40-50 years ago, would've had a proper rematch and possible trilogy to give us a much better idea of how things would've shaped up.

 

I would also add Lewis was in training for a big power puncher in Johnson,Vitali was training for low level journyman. Lewis clearly had the edge in preparation,combined his years as a pro fighting elite fighters. Lewis himself said the layoff helped him to recover in full and his boxing at the age of 15 will result in the layoff having any effect on him,he says this himself yet they want to brush that under the rug. What they want to believe is Vitalis 7 months off is a huge difference to Lewis's 1 year lay off,add in the experience factor its still a lewis advantage..