Lewis-Klitschko : the Headbutt

Absolutely, man. It has been discussed to death.
Besides the controversy, the other reason why it is still debated so much is because this was the last great Heavyweight fight we witnessed. Since this fight in 2003, the Heavyweight boxing fans have had nothing worth remembering.

 

MYTH

Vitali was staggering like a drunken sailor in the round prior to the stoppage - not from any punch , he was just totally ****ed physically while Lewis was catching his 2nd wind -

A prime vitali fought a good fight and shook the linear champion - then got his face re-arranged enroute to a TKO loss - deal with it , FFS

 

Bull,

Sergei/Brewster puts Vitali/Lewis too shame. But Brewster hasn't gone on a lengthy unbeaten streak since than, inspiring haters to make mocking threads of the last time they saw him in a losing effort because in nearly 10 years, they simply don't have any more material.

Everytime Vitali fights and wins yet again, same ****, "Opponent is crap and wouldn't be ranked in any other era, and btw, Vitali got cut by Lewis! TKO 6, *****"

 

Somebody get Radar in here.

 

This fight is a complex situation for denser fight fans to figure out. There is so much that could be said about it.

For one, we didn't know what a treat we were in for, that two ATG heavyweights, the two largest ATGs to ever face off, were about to go to war. And what a war it was. How often have we seen 500 pounds of skilled, aggressive fighting in the same ring in this sport? According to my records, once...and this was it.

Some more thoughts that I think are pertinent: it appears it was Lewis' long right that cut Vitali, not a headbutt. Personally, the cut looked bad enough to me that you could've justified stopping it AT THE END OF THAT ROUND, but the fight continued on for a few more rounds, thus I think Vitali was given plenty of chances in this fight. This was a serious gash, the kind that could've blinded him if it'd gotten much worse. The ref wasn't stupid, biased, or anything else...if anything, he was generous.

I had Vitali up 4-2 at the stoppage, but Lennox had won two of the last three. Lennox won the fight, clearly in my mind, but rendering Vitali unable to continue. That doesn't mean I'm saying he's absolutely the better man...I'm not...Lewis just benefited from this injury. The punch that ripped open the eye was probably the most important shot he ever landed in his career.

However, after the fight, body language says a lot. Vitali was enraged and seemed prepared to go after Lewis. He wanted more. Lewis, on the other hand, was unusually cowed and seemed like he just wanted to go home and not get too close to Vitali.

Neither man was as prepared as they could've been for the fight. I wish they'd fought again and even a third time. I believe Lewis won this fight, fair and square, and I'd have picked him to win again, but I'm not saying for sure that he's the better guy, because to me Vitali appeared to be physically stronger, just as quick, and very determined. This would've been a hell of a trilogy.

I empathize with the Klitschko fans who feel their man got robbed....he didn't, he just was quite unlucky that night. He deserved another shot, but I don't blame Lewis for not wanting to go through it al again.

It's complex, and it takes some degree of sophistication to handle complexity. Do you have it?

 

Overweight, out-of-shape, unprepared, unmotivated Lewis TKO'd a prime, hungry, roided up Vitali.:happy

 

Show me 10 cuts in the history of boxing that were as bad as this, otherwise stfu. Like I said I've been watching boxing before most were born on this site and those cuts were as bad as any I've seen.

 

I agree with most of what you said. The bottom line is that cut could have stopped the fight in the 3rd the additional 3 cuts that occurred afterwards didn't help as Vitali was swallowing blood by the time the 6th ended. That said, Vitali had 3 rounds in which go get to Lewis and get him out of there, as there's absolutely zero doubt that he wasn't aware of how badly he was hurt. So he had an assignment, which was to get Lewis out before they stopped the fight, and he failed to do so.

End of story.

I don't know who would have won the rematch but having watched Lewis' entire career I can honestly say I never saw him that rusty before. His timing was completely off during the whole fight. It may have had something to do with Vitali being the taller fighter but I can't say for sure. Grant was taller than him and it didn't seem to affect his timing any.

 

This at least :deal

 

Good post.

 

Long right? It was a right hand from the clinch that grazed and cut open Vitali's eyelid. Punches don't get any shorter than that.

 

Vitali is a typical bully and cheat. He looks good and is more than happy when he's beating up overmatched bums, but when faced with adversity it's a different story. He disgraced himself by quiting against Byrd and couldn't cut it against the worst version of Lennox Lewis to have ever stepped in the ring.

 

atsch VITALY is what made his timing off . Cause and effect . People here seem to have trouble comprehending .:deal

 

atsch Just wow ?

 

I just dont understand why people are still arguing over this old news. This fight was a credit to both and they are both great in my eyes. Lewis won legit but it was real close.