Vitali vs. Lewis - Replace Vitali With...

Wlad seems to be much more skilled than his brother Vitali. Point is he does not at all have the chin of his brother.

Lewis had undisputed power. Can Lewis get to him early and kayo him . Absolutely!

On the other hand, Lewis could also be caught and kayoed. Oh, I know the arguments. But the fact is he could be. Can't argue with facts. Wlad can hit. Can he catch Lewis and get him out of there? Could happen.

4 to 1 Lewis scores a knockout win.

Can the fight go the distance? Hardly likely.

If it does, who will win. Intriguing. Maybe, just maybe Wlad.

 

True, but the question was not "would Wlad have been standing after taking the shots Vitali took?"


What no one here has mentioned is the fact that Wladimir Klitschko probably hits as hard as anyone in the history of the sport. There have been only two guys who went the distance with him and even at that, they were knocked down repeatedly or hurt.

Vitali is more of a grind-you-down type of puncher. Wlad can knock you out with one punch. For this reason, he'd be a huge threat to Lewis, especially the 37 year old one. It's hard to judge this when Wlad is still active today and in fact, attempting to unify exactly one week from now.

Remember that Vitali got to Lewis before Lewis got to him. At the end of the 2nd round, Lewis was wobbly on his feet and staggered a bit before going back to his corner. So, to turn the what seems to be here interpreted-answered question around: would Lewis still be standing after taking those shots from Wlad instead of Vitali?

 

My comments are that Lewis would not come into the ring to fight "current" Wlad in the same shape and mindset he did vs Vitali. Vitali was very much a sleeper in the division and proved to be a damn good fighter. As Lewis showed time and again, the more dangerous the opponent the more focused he became.

Could this older Lewis even if focused beat Wlad at that career stage? Debatable.

 

It's hard to say. On one hand, the unprepared Lewis of the Vitali fight might have made easy pickings for Vlad, who is much more fluid and athletic than his brother. Conceivably Vlad's fast, explosive offensive might have finished the 2003 Lewis off early.

On the other hand, I cannot picture Vlad standing up to the brutal blows that Vitali absorbed from Lewis in their 2003 fight. Vitali has a much tougher chin than Vlad. So, conceivably, Lewis might have put Vlad down for the count that night had they fought.

Who knows.

Of course, we are talking here about the aging, poorly prepared Lewis of 2003 and not the tigerish Lewis that was an all-time great earlier in his career.

 

I think if you inserted the 2003-2004 version of Wlad who was nowhere near as dedicated and confident as he is now then Lewis would win by knockout. If you put the Wlad of today, who is as focused as ever, in with that version of Lewis who fought Vitaly I feel like Wlad would knock out Lewis.

 

hard to believe this fight is damn near five years ago. I once wrote a big long article about how I felt that Wlad would beat the Lennox Lewis that Vitali fought. Due to Wlads punch output and being able to land more effectively.
Prime vs. Prime I go with Lewis of course.

The real question is...what corner would Manny be in?

 

no way would wlad allow lennox to hit him like that. wlad has much better D and foot movement that his brother. he will move and stay on the outside, tie lennox up inside neutralizing his superior inside game. he has much better handspeed than older lennox. better two-fisted skill and power. wlad wants a tactical battle. lewis has to turn into a brawl but i think lewis would be hesitant to chase such a big and quick puncher.

i would favor wlad by pts against the lennox who fought vitali. prime lennox (1998-2001) would probably win 3 out of 4 though.

 

Lewis, Wlad is not in the same class.

 

This is way off the mark. In the Leiws vs Klitschko fight, Vitlai has better hand speed, better defense, better countering ability, and better stamina. Vitali was out boxing Lewis, and had him hurt. Lewis was down 4-2 on all three cards prior to the cuts stoppage. To say the only reason Vitlai had success with Lewis was his iron chin is not so.

 

I don't think Vitali was outboxing Lewis to the degree many of his supports contend. Yes the score was 4-2 after 6 rounds but that's only a one round swing, and Lewis won the 6th round on all the cards. Basically the first round, which was a feel out round, went to Vitali, had Lewis won that round, which he admittedly didn't deserve to win, it would have been a 3-3 round. I mention that, not because I think Lewis should have won that round, he shouldn't have, but because no significant power shots were thrown to the extend either man was hurt.

As to whether or not Vitali had better handspeed, defense, countering ability, stamina, I would agree to a point. Certainly at the beginning that was true, save for the stamina, but considering the upper cut Vitali was hit with in the 6th, I wouldn't brag too much about his defense. I think the stamina issue is an open question. One can speculate about whose stamina would have been better had the fight not been stopped, but that's all it is, is speculation.

 

And that is the key. Wlad is not built for wars of attrition or brutal slugging matches. Lennox would have been just too tough and durable in that sort of fight for Wlad.

I

 

A current Wlad would do better against that underpar Lewis and would stand a very good chance of beating him. I think he could well take it into the later rounds and win a decision, ultimately, though I reckon that despite being ahead on the cards he would be KO'd somewhere near the 9th round. Wlad's better than Vitali overall with the exception of one key factor: punch resistance, that's what would count against him here.

Peak for peak Lewis all the way.

 

I think Lewis beats Wlad via TKO in 2003. Wlad did not have his confidence or Steward's preferred style for him down by 2003. In 2007-2008, Wlad is a much better fighter, and I would pick that guy to TKO the 2003 Lennox Lewis.

I disagree a bit regarding Vitlai. I don't know why posters only think Vitlai had better punch resistance. If you watch the films, Vitlai has better ring smarts, superior punch anticipation and defense, better aggressiveness, better stamina, better nerves under fire, better counter punching, and quicker ( Not smoother ) footwork in comparison to his younger brother.

 

In all fairness, Vitali Klitschko had Lewis well outboxed in that fight. He was comfortably ahead on all judges scorecards if I recall. Of course, this was a fading Lewis, and yes I agree that Vitali's chin helped him out, but truth be told, Lewis was the one under fire that evening, and not Klitschko.