Is Vitali really an H2H monster?

But Lewis could take sustained punishment it's big right hands out of nowhere where he got complacent that was his undoing.

Vitali was also starting to take punishment which he wasn't used to taking.

The difference is with Vitali's other late stoppages is that he was in complete control of those fights.

Where as Lewis was starting to come on and land big power punches of his own. With the hardest punch of the fight being an uppercut from Lewis in the 6th round.

Vitali wasn't used going back and forth in a very competitive fight and then scoring a late stoppage that's unknown territory for Vitali.

I agree no one knows for sure what would've happened without the cut.

But again Vitali did have a good opportunity for a passing of the torch fight against an older Lewis. Who was at a career heigh weight and Vitali couldn't deliver.

Some may say Vitali was unlucky or etc.

But again Vitali could've proved more in his career by mixing it with more upper echelon Heavyweights which he didn't do.

So Vitali is a bit more of a what if and more known for his historical losses and that's the problem when rating him.

No one truly knows how good Vitali was because IMO he didn't prove it enough against better opposition.