T.K.O. in 6

What? The previous year when he beat a shot Tyson seven months after he KO'd Rahman?

Neither win really proved he still had elite skills. Rahman was a good Heavyweight but not much more than that, no better really than the likes of Hide or Seldon, and Lewis should be beating that kind of fighter every time with little effot - and would if he wasn't so lazy - and Tyson had been feasting on bums for years and was no where near the fighter he'd been in 1997 let alone 1990. And Lewis had had a years inactivity between his fight against Tyson and his fight against Vitali. No way would his skills be as sharp as when he was having two/three fights a year from 1997 to 2000.

As to what he said or didn't say at the time of his retirement, well, I dont know what context he said the "my mum told me to" comment, it could have been said as a joke, he does make jokes every now and then. What I do recall him saying was: "It's not easy being heavyweight champion, even harder to keep it and stay at the top. If you can't give 110% then you shouldn't do it"

 

his mum told him to fact

 

Because he had lost a step and didn't have the same motivation he previously had, add all that with his closest advisors (His mom, Steward and Harold the Shadow) telling him to retire.

Vitali was a very worthy contender to his titles.

 

people are stupid to say lewis was scared.lewis was 50% of a fighter what he used to be in his prime

wise man knows when is the time to walk away.lewis was wise man.

why everyone have to fight until they start to lose?what that will prove?people here are really stupid.
i bet some moron oneday will say b-hop retired because he "ducked" somebody.

 

Terrible excuses. I admit Tyson was shot when Lewis fought him, but then so was Holyfield, which kinda proves my point that Lewis was overrated. In his prime he was getting sparked by McCall and Rahman, outboxed by Bruno, etc etc.

Lewis was a good fighter but not as good as the illusion he created makes him out to be. Tyson and Holyfield both went on to lose to absolute bums, yet at the same time Lewis fans use these fights as proof of his greatness.

Lewis only fought Vitali because he underestimated him, when he realised what he was up against he swiftly retired and never came back.

 

The point is, Lewis was at his self proclaimed peak a year previous, then as soon as he meets his match he's suddenly old and washed up.

He boasted about rematching Vitali and 'busting up his other eye', then retired and never came back.

If Lewis is gonna make such arrogant claims of greatness then retire as soon as he faces a live threat, then he must expect to be scrutinised.

 

tko6

 

He was past-it against Tyson, His last best performance was probably against Rahman II.

 

Manny Steward knew and he told it like it is : his mother told him no to rematch Dr K.

 

Lewis retired because he'd reached a point where his skills were starting to fade and he probably couldn't motivate himself fully anymore to go through all the daily grind of training.
Having said that out of shape and unmotivated Lewis was still good enough to bust up the robot,who's whole credibility and reputation as a fighter is based on that losing effort.

 

I actually think he did the right thing, although he went about it the wrong way.

A Vitali Lewis rematch would have been a war, and he's been able to dine out with his full health on tko6 ever since thanks to Vitali's incredible longevity. He might have ended up a wreck like Bowe.

 

so his expanded waistline was down to getting pummelled? could you explain how he was carrying it before the 1st bell?

as for his comment about his mum, who knows? maybe there was some truth in it and it appealed to his sense of humour?

1 thing's for sure, i ain't gonna criticize a middle-aged man for deciding he'd had enough of the toughest game on the planet against a legit opponent he'd already bested.

 

Vitali would have been stopped in a rematch. Lewis was walking through his punches in rounds 5 & 6, not respecting Vitali's power. It's vitali's only claim to greatness, to have fought valiently against an ATG but still losing.

 

You're not going to change his mind, no use arguing with him.

 

Not terrible excuse. Lewis was clearly at his peak in the late 1990's. From about 1997 to 2000 he appeared unbeatable, taking all the top up-and-coming fighter and cementing his place as the King of the division by dominating Holyfield - who despite being past his best was still a dangerous fighter and considered at the time to be the Heavyweight King - and claiming all three major titles.

When he struggled with Bruno and lost to McCall he had not yet reached his prime. He reached his prime under the guidance of Steward, he struggled with Bruno and lost to McCall before he joined up with Steward.

His loss to Rahman came at the tail end of his prime years and would never have happened if he hadn't been so bloody lazy and complacent.

The Holyfield fights certainly proved Lewis was the best Heavyweight around and that version of Holyfield was still a very dangerous opponent. It wouldn't be until 2004 - five years after he lost to Lewis - that he would start losing to "absolute bums". The Tyson fight, however, proved nothing because Tyson was shot.

And Lewis certainly took the Vitali fight because he didn't think Vitali was a challenge. Proven wrong and forced to face up to the reality of his declining ability he retired. Lewis from 1997-2000 would have taken the mandatory rematch and come into the fight fully prepared and confident of victory, Lewis from 2003 didn't have the motivation or the skills to do that anymore so walked.

That's not fear, that realism.

Lewis had nothing to fear from Vitali. He'd taken Vitali's best shots, he hadn't been dominated - as the scorecards show, it was a close and competitive fight - and he'd hurt Vitali and worn him down, all after coming off a years inactivity, at the heaviest he'd ever been, with his head not being in the right place because he thought he'd have an easy night and no real game plan in place or preparation done for the fight.

What that fight did prove, however, was that Vitali was a very dangerous opponent and Lewis would have to be the best he could be at the time to beat him, and it would be a difficult and tough fight. Lewis simply didn't want to put himself through the hassle, he didn't want to have another tough fight at that stage in his career.