How much longer could Lennox have reigned?

With Lennox it is all about temprement. After Tyson he had achieved everything he set out to acheive. Talent wise he could still be champion today if he hadnt quit, but realistically he wouldve probably lost to a guy who he was expected to beat along the way.

 

The whole thread is speculation, yes Lennox retired because he was filthy rich and didn't want anymore hard fights. Lets imagine for a miniute he loses all his money and regains his hunger to get in great shape for a Vitali rematch. He'd do better than in the winning effort of that I'm sure but it would still be a tough style for him to crack

 

In a recent Lennox interview he says he watches todays division and thinks he could most of them without even getting in shape (I'm paraphrasing)

 

I really don't think it's as simple as that.

Vitali was winning on the cards - that is not a guarantee that he would have gone on to win the fight - it's no different from being 1-0 up at half time in a football match - it doesn't guarantee victory at the end. I though the Lennox-Vit fight was up for grabs - cuts notwithstanding, but my gut feeling was that Lennox was getting on top and I think he would have stopped Vitlai in the next couple of rounds - although I obviously can't prove this!

Back to the question asked at the top of the thread - I think the most Lennox would theoretically have gone on for would have been a rematch against Vitali. Lennox wasn't one to overstay his welcome, he had the intelligance to realise that sooner or later someone will come along and beat you, and he wanted to get out with his reputaion, bank balance and health intact. His motivation was waning - there is always another contender to fight, someone who wants what you have as champion, Lennox was shrewd enough to realise this.

For what it's worth, if he had boxed again and Vitali had been the opponent, I believe a fully motivated, fully fit Lewis would have set the record straight and beaten Vitali convincingly. I do wonder if Lennox, in his private moments, wonders whether he should have boxed Vitali again, in the same way that Joe Louis rematched and defeated Jersey Joe Walcott after their first, controversial bout? I don't suppose we'll ever know.

 

Lenny would IMO still be the Champ now. :deal

 

Lennox would only have remained champ for another couple of fights. His motivation would have dwindled,and he'd have gone the way of many others.

 

It's ridiculous that this is being debated so much, even more ridiculous that some people think Lennox could have just ruled for ever "if he had wished to".

Fighers don't carry on for ever. Lennox Lewis had very good longevity anyway, without trying to add another 5 years on his reign.
Fighters lose interest, lose desire, lose their speed, lose reflexes, get old, they retire. It's pointless saying, "ah, yes, but what if they didn't ?", which is basically the path many here are going down.

Lewis started talking seriously about retirement in 1999, but stayed around for some paydays, managed to LOSE to Rahman, and probably carried on too long. He made his money, proved himself, and walked away.
Fighters are human beings after all. They can't carry on at the same level for ever. Lewis was wise enough to accept that, and content enough.

 

If Lewis was still fighting today, he'd be old and slow as a dinosaur, 270 pounds, shuffling across the ring trying to land a big haymaker.

 

I dont know, the division is so bad now. Lewis was a clean living disciplined fighter for the most part. Maybe his arrogance (as was the case in the Vitali fight), gets him into some sticky situations, but I think he could have carried on and beat a lot of the guys that Vitali and Wlad are beating. Even if he was as good as he was in the Vitali fight, I dont see him struggling with the likes of Danny Williams, Gomez, and that dude who stuck his tongue out the entire fight and laid against the ropes. They're really not much of any kind of threat...

 

Obviously if Lewis had continued to fight, he would have continued to slow down with age and would have been forced to pick his shots with more care. That said, with the type of power he had and his size, it's likely that a few well thrown punches would keep most of the current crop at bay and he would likely win most of his fights in dull fashion. But guys who were prepared to pay the price to get in on the inside would probably cause him more problems as the years passed. But I do think he's make short work of a guy like Briggs for example, as he'd still have the power to get those slow prodding type of fighters out of there.

 

He couldve reigned a small number of months longer, depending on when the rematch with Vitaly wouldve happened.
All you guys saying old Lewis would murder prime Vitaly are so delusional, its not even funny any more...
If it wasnt for that cut, Lewis wouldve most likely been KTFO by Vitaly that night and if he wouldnt manage to cut Vitalys face again in the rematch Vitalys chances were great.
That kind of stoppage was the best scenario for Lewis, never in a million years could he knock Vitaly down or even out and he was behind on the scorecards as well.
Lewis knows that, thats why he never wanted the rematch.
The truth is that prime Vitaly would have a very decent chance to beat even a prime-Lewis, journeymen like McCall or Rahman knocked him out, did you forget about that?
And to all the guys who say a rematch wouldve been pointless and wouldnt have added to Lennys legacy, the fact that years after the bout there are still at least 3 threads every week about that topic tells a different story.
Lewis was a great fighter but at no point in his career was he unbeatable, his time had come and it was a wise decision to go out on top before Vitaly could get his hands on him again.

 

Fact is, Klit fought in Dec. 2003; Lewis did NOT!:deal

MR.BILL:hat

 

That's great - no idea of the relevance to you pretending to be a medical expert but well done anyway.

Fact is Klit fought Kirk Johnson - nothing to worry about there.hat

 

Anytime a fighter's mind is straying the championship hunger that got him there in the first place, his days are numbered. It happens all the time, and Lennox was no exception to that. Lewis was already upset once when he was on top of the mountain and it nearly happened again after he regained the title vs Vitali. I doubt he'd have had more than another couple of defenses before it happened again, tops.

He made the right call to retire when he did even though that decision robbed boxing of perhaps it's biggest fight of the decade.