V.Klit Vs. Lennox Lewis

Ruddock took a horrendous beating on the inside in both fights. Still he was better than Vitali there, he threw short hooks and uppercuts, something Vitali cant his offense is zero on the inside.

 

-Ruddock also had zero range offense, he just tried to time Tyson with one bomb at a time on the inside. Some of Tyson's better punches were off counters and just catching Ruddock while he stood waiting to react.

-Tyson liked his space and was prone to smothering himself against Ruddock, he often let himself be grabbed or grabbed himself just so he could reset.

-The key to Tyson's success would be making Vitali miss and trying to score over the top, which he is capable of doing if he doesn't get lazy with the bob and weave. Vitali likes to counter from range, I think it would be a very interesting and competitive fight.

 

I think both Bowe and Tyson would have an easier time with Vitali than Lewis had. Both could carry out that gameplan better than Lewis did. Remember Lewis was pretty ineffective on the outside in that fight, and was never a good infighter.
Holyfield would struggle the most because of his lack of power and Vitali's jab and awkwardness would cause him the most problems getting close.

 

Mongoose tries to disguise being unbiased and neutral for being a Vitali fanboy.

 

-He wasn't an infighter in the traditional sense but Lewis was very proficient at using the clinch to his advantage, he was very good at holding and hitting, suffocating his opponent, and hitting while being held. I can't say the same for Bowe and Tyson.

-Believe it or not, I think the Holyfield that beat Rahman would be a very hard fight for Vitali. I can see him suffering some bad gashes from his roughhousing and being frustrated overall by his offense in the clinch.

 

Yeah but at least hes not a dick about it like some of the haters on this forum. Its actually getting a little ridiculous lately. We all have our favorites, but some people are just so far off base.

 

I think if Bowe fought Vitali it would look like the Gonzalez fight.

 

:good ...to an extent. lol

That's certainly how I see Bowe approaching Vitali, walking him down behind his jab and looking for his big right. I think Riddick would be taking more punishment than he did against Gonzalez and I have my doubts if the outcome would be the same, It would be interesting to see how much success he has with his jab, I would go so far as that would be the deciding factor.

 

Yeah I wasnt implying Vitali would be as lost as Gonzalez was, only that the fight would be approached the same way by Bowe.

 

Yes, I'm a Vitali fanboy disguised as a neutral and unbiased poster. We should all be so lucky. I think my biggest bias is Heavyweights in general...clearly thats all I just about post about.

 

Could very well be the case, but I do think that Lewis proves to be more formidable 6 years earlier. Lennox was not Timo Hoffman or Sam Peter, and in all liklihood, was the only opponent Vitali ever faced who had the right blend of skills and physical tools to effectively land on him. Lewis was at a career high weight, 37 years of age and off for 12 months prior to facing Klit. I don't see a 1997 Lewis getting tired by round 6, and nor do I see Vitali landing as often against a sharper and more mobile Lennox. I think Lewis lands more often and with shots that probably have a bit more snap, while also getting hit less. I agree that Vitali never falls the way that Grant or Golata did, but I also don't see him leading on the cards going into the 6th round, when Lewis was fully primed.

 

I think if Bowe and Tyson fought Klitschko at the age Lewis did - They would both be KO'd in the same night

 

Gee what a shocking statement coming from you.

 

Very True, the dirty rough stuff is a little more American, However you would be surprised how much a fighter learns after a loss. Vlad also was weak at clinching but seemed to master that but is still a bit weak on the inside but showed improvement in the last Peter fight.

I think Lennox learned the rough stuff tactics from Emmanuel Stewart, showing him how to battle-back and toughen up. That is why an older wiser fighter can be better than a younger greener fighter.

I would have loved to see a rematch between these 2 because I think Vitali would have been more weary of the hit and hold tactics and the 1st fight gave him confidence. I am not sure who would have won but I think Vitali would have had the mental edge from fight 1.

Lewis knew it was time to go turning down 20-30 MM but I got to respect fighters like Lewis,Marciano and Tunney because they got out when they thought the timing was right. Also Lewis mother did not want him to rematch or fight again and Lennox agreed with her wish