T.K.O. in 6

It speaks volumes on just how great Lewis really was, that the worst version of himself still was in a very good position to win the fight EVEN WITHOUT the stoppage.

The one thing that confuses me is a lot of Klit Fans act like the score cards meant anything.
One free round was given to Vitali because the judges feel bad he was bleeding.

98% of Press Row had the fight at 3-3. I can link
Non British Press Scoring from
LA TIMES
NY TIMES
and numerous other scoring

They all had the fight 3-3 going into the 7th. For the people that watched all of Lennox's fights they should know that Lewis always fall behind early anyways. He was also in much bigger trouble against Briggs early on and against Bruno. He went on to brutally KO both.


(Ironically, 10 years after Lewis dropped Briggs 4 times in 5 Rounds, a shot Briggs then took Vitali to a UD 12)

 

you wouldn't mind posting those links would you? I'm just curious...

and why is it ironic? i don't think you're using the term correctly.....u mean a 40+ Vitali should have the snap to be a one punch KO artist? most of Vitali's stoppages come from accumulation do they not? so why is it ironic? Briggs took huge shots from both Lennox and Vitali the entirety of both fights so I think his chin speaks for itself...that and a prime Lennox no doubt has more 1 punch KO/KD power than a 40+ Vitali

 

Not to steal IB's thunder, but...

I'm not sure if the cut affected VK that greatly in terms of his performance, with the possible exception of compelling him to up his work-rate in the next couple of rounds. Of course, that would probably contribute to the fatigue that he displayed during the course of the sixth round so it obviously did have some sort of effect.

That said, I think the biggest effect that the cut had (aside from forcing the stoppage) was emboldening Lewis to fight through the fatigue and shock he must have felt after losing the first two rounds in pretty resounding fashion. He wasn't doing that badly in the last twenty or thirty seconds of the second...But cutting your opponent like that in the opening seconds of the next round is a damned good way to boost your confidence. :deal

 

Another boxing writer's opinion on Lewis-Vitali

""Sure, both Lewis and Vitali had been training for a fight at relatively the same time, but they were miles apart in the way they were going about it. In reality, Klitschko hadn't really ever stopped training since he turned pro, whereas Lewis hadn't been near a gym in a year. Klitschko, was still hungry and was fighting to prove himself and to erase the quitter label he'd acquired after his fight with Byrd. In his mind he couldn't slip up and had to be impressive every time out. A contender who has yet to win the title can always fight on short notice easier than an established champion who is unsure of his future.

On the other hand, Lewis perceived Klitschko as a cumbersome non tested cartoon character that quit versus a blown up super-middleweight. Which is the wrong way to approach any fight, especially when you're 38. Lewis accepted Klitschko as a replacement for Johnson without hesitation. He was thinking, I believe, that he'd pull one over on the boxing public, being that most saw Klitschko as his biggest threat and successor. Only he didn't see it that way and thought he'd get over beating a guy who wasn't nearly as good as advertised, and it almost backfired on him.

So the bottom line is going into their fight, Klitschko had the mental and physical advantages. The fact is Lewis wrongly didn't think much of Klitschko, and for Vitali, Lewis represented the king of the hill who he had to knock off. It's also a fact that when a fighter takes another fighter lightly he can't adjust during the fight because the opponent is better than he thought; this was something Ali found out after about the third round with Frazier during their first fight. Ali thought Joe was a walk in can't miss punching bag. When he realized that Joe was really a great fighter and knew how to fight him, it was two months too late.
"

 

i can agree with most of that....i do think its possible that an injury like that cut could drain energy just from the pain alone..not to mention the number of shots that continued opening it....on top of that it is possible his vision was altered from swelling/sagging of the brow

all im saying is that had both guys been given full camps to prepare for each other....the rematch would most likely be just as competitive

 

Well, it certainly didn't help Vitali's cause, that's for sure. I'll stand by my assertion that it didn't impact the quality of his performance in terms of his punch delivery or work-rate, but it was definitely something that was going to cause him problems for as long as the fight progressed.

Agreed.

At that stage in their respective careers, they could fight 10 out of 10, and all of those fights would be competitive, regardless of the result. They both had attributes that would allow them to trouble the other, at least to some extant.

 

Yea, without punch stats..id say punch output/workrate were probably around average average

 

:good

I had i 2:4 for Lewis. I scorred the first 2 rounds for Vitali but the other 4 for Lewis.

Maybe the fourth goes to Vitali too, i had it a draw.

But round 5 and 6, especially round 6 was a strong Lewis round. So Lewis found the range and he becomes stronger.

And the cuts where a result of punches. So i never will understand who anybody can say Vitali was robbed. Never.

TKO 6.

 

:shock: Your nut-huggerism of younger Klitschko is as pathetic as your blind hate for the older one. You manage to combine the worst of both Klit and Britland worlds.
Congrats :thumbsup

 

Bang on again Drew.
You're doing yourself proud on this thread mate.
I think if anything,Vitali's corner might have been best advised to advise him to go all out for the stoppage because that was never going to last the duration.I've never doubted that blood loss like that would have been catastrophic for any fighter at that level,and it must have had a detrimental effect and a positive impact on Lewis.
Also good to see some people acknowledging that there's a great shout for it being 3-3 on their scorecards.That's the way I had it because the third was a lot closer than some choose to remember.

 

I do not hate Vitali but i saw the fight against Lewis like it was.

Very bad corner work too. After round 4 Vitali´s corner had to push him to go for the knockout, it was obvious that the fight was stopped.

I am Fan of Wlad from Wlad because Wlad saw reality and he works on his mistakes with Emanuel Steward as his coach! And here where good reasons why he chose Steward and stopped working with Sdunek.

And not the bul**** "Wlad does not want to see the truth, he does not want to be critizes and all thi ****."

Lewis won TKO 6 and this has nothing to do with hate.

 

This content is protected

 

This content is protected

 

while i like this meme, don't you think you've posted it enough?

did you read the last few pages? a discussion was ensuing....are you capable of that without hating on Lewis?

 

I know, eh?

There are actually a few decent talking points that can be addressed regarding the topic of TKO6; such as how one would score the fight, and the idea of how a rematch between the two would play out. Other topics too, such as how Kirk Johnson might have done in VK's situation.

But it becomes more difficult to have this conversation when you constantly have to scroll past the same meme over and over again.