Vitali Says Why Lewis Never Rematched Him

For me it's similar to Calzaghe. When Joe beat Kessler the motivation just wasn't there to train as hard as he ever had before. Lewis' grande finale, sadly (for both guys) was a washed up Tyson and I think he lost the dedication to his craft that made him the great fighter he was after that night.

 

Well, dedication was one of the reasons, but he was also past his physical prime just like Holyfield was at the same age (37).

 

I do not believe Lennox ever used his Mum Violet as an excuse for there not being a rematch. Sure his Mum & his lovely wife ,also named Violet, were harassing Lennox to retire. But look at it this way.
Lennox TKO 6 over Vitali when he was barely 80 % ready to defend his title. Who else was there to fight?? Wlad took to the hills, Ike was otherwise occupied There was NO ONE worthy of another training camp
Lennox retired at EXACTLT the right time & is today a Happy Healthy Wealthy Married man with a great family
Enjoy Champ you earned it

 

Can't argue with that, such a shame Holyfield didn't call it a day after the Lewis' fights, he gave such a good account of himself in the rematch that it really would have been an impressive way to go out. Giving the next great heavyweight as good as he got despite the big size and age gap.

 

Lennox did fine. He did everything he was supposed to do. He fought everybody and got out with his $ brains Intact and respect as one of the greatest champions.

 

That's called Winning

 

I remember that in 2008, after Vitali came back and won WBC title again, there were a lot of talks about Lewis' potential comeback. He was still younger (43) comparing to Foreman that KO'ed Moorer and Holmes that arguably beat McCall. Lewis told Dan Rafael back then that he doesn't want to comeback for any money, but there is one fight he would take for free - against Riddick Bowe.

 

One of the saddest historical events in heavy boxing history. The fight that should've happened between Bowe and Lewis when both were in their prime. You would think Bowe would've been salivating to get Lewis back in the ring . But he rematches Holyfield ( in truth probably made more money, it's a business first) but a missed opportunity for both men .

 

Would fighting Riddick Bowe at that stage be worth anything? Not only are his skills gone he's also damaged goods as well.

 

Yes Lennox wanted Bowe BAD!!! After they renaged on the
deal to fight Lennox. Lennox Ko of Razor Ruddock scared Bowe Lennox had Bowe's number

 

Pretty sure Lewis and Vitali dropped a April fools day twitter prank half a decade ago or saying they were going to mix it up in the ring. Pretty sure it triggered a fair few fans

 

He didn't need to rematch Vitali, he beat him fair and square the first time.

 

I agree about fair and square. But McCall also didn't need to rematch Lewis, he beat him fair and square the 1st time.

 

By the way, if anyone wants to know how is mr Lennox doing nowdays, check his instagram page: https://www.instagram.com/mrlennoxlewis/

There are plenty of his photos, videos and his thoughts. He seems to be in pretty good shape for a 52 y.o. man