He had nothing left to prove, that wasn't the Lewis that fought say Holyfield, Galota ect it was a faded way past prime Lewis in there anybody could see that, he mostly fought on heart that fight because physically he wasn't in prime shape. Why risk legacy to fight somone he already beat? knowing after the fight he didn't have it any more and the fight could quite easily have gone either way.
Remember he said he still thought he had one good year in front of him and wanted to fight Jones Jr. in a big unification bout. Then Vitali came along and Lewis probably convinced himself he should rather retire than think about making a few more millions hunting just one more big fight. What difference does another $20 million make if you already got $100 million? I wish he hadn't taken 12 months to retire, holding the entire division hostage and making Vitali jump through all kinds of hoops though. Remember that circus show Lewis had him perform? Doctors permits to see if Vitali's eye really healed, then waiting until the very last day before the WBC stripped him of the belt etc. etc. That final episode of Lewis was just one big farce. An old warrior who couldn't let go. He should just have called it a day without that circus show at the end. That was unworthy of a champion as he was basically pissing on his legacy.
Lewis was in great shape for his fight with Vitali. If he hadn't been in great shape, he never would have survived the 2nd round. You don't get hurt like that and recover if you are in horrible shape.
Lewis got his ass wobbled by Vitali. He was lucky that Vitali got cut and that they robbed the ukrainian communist and waved the bout off on first occasion. otherwise Vitali KO7 would have been the outcome. so it was just the best time to retire and to prevent himself from another beating.
Thats my point.Lewis was losing on all three judges scorecards at the time of the stoppage. I would figure Lewis would want to come into the rematch knowing he did everything he could do in the gym,and not just come in with having a shitty half ass camp. Why would he want to go out with a gift win.The gift being Vitali getting cut. The rematch would have been well deserved any way you look at it.
For most of you who claim that Lennox ducked a rematch I call your bull****. Lewis was set to retire after the Tyson fight, but decided to give one final match back to Canada in fighting Kirk Johnson who at the time appeared to be a legit contender. Kirk got injured during training which scrapped the fight... However being that Vitali was set to fight on the under card they saved the card at Staples by putting the fight together on just 2 weeks notice. Lewis beat Klitschko fair and square in probably one of his tuffest fights since his fight with Ray Mercer... since then Lewis decided his legacy was secure he had acheived everything there is in the sport to acheive so he decided to retire... He owed Vitali nothing... Vitali should be grateful he had an opportunity to fight Lennox and he should be grateful that they allowed the fight to continue as long as it did after the cut had happend. any place else that fight would have been stopped as soon as the cut took place. Vitali was given several rounds to turn it around and fell short and now all becuase Vitali couldnt finish him but looked good in lossing, suddenly Lewis owes him? I dont think so.... Lewis retired cus there was nothing left for him to do.
ARE YOU SILLY OBVIOUSLY HE BEAT EVERYONE HE HAD FACED IF HE LOST THEN HE WOULD HAVE TO GFACE VITALI AGAIN, HE IS ONE OF THE GREATEST, THEIR IS NOTHING ELSE TO SAY. AS FOR YOUR POIT OF MAKING MORE MONEY ONCE A FIGHTER MAKES 180 MILL $ ISNT THAT ENOUGH?. WHEN THERE IS THAT MUCH YOU WILL MAKE MORE INVESTING AND IT IS ALOT EASIRR THEN FIGHTING :hi:
cause he got a ****en gift and didnt wanna get his ass kicked again.......what a ***** he was for doing that to the boxing world
Not great shape for Lewis, Id seen him in much better shape before that fight. I think he couldve been in better shape.
You need to check your history. Lennox was hoping he could either rematch Tyson or fight Jones Jr. in a unification bout. Prior to fighting Vitali he said he felt has still has "one good year of boxing" inside him and how he was looking forward to one more big fight (he didn't consider Johnson or Vitali big fights). This entire theory of how Lewis has nothing left to prove is BS. He wanted one more big fight, one more big payday, just not against Vitali. He wanted a Tyson rematch or Jones Jr., not a Vitali rematch.
Lewis was not in GREAT shape He wasn't "washed up" or "shot" or anything like that, but that was nowhere near the best shape he's been in. Immediately after the fight I came away with the feeling that Vitali had gotten the best of Lewis. In retrospect, and seeing how Vitali has dominated everyone else he's faced since, I think a slightly out of shape Lewis and a prime Vitali got the best of eachother really. Neither looked particularly good in that fight, which is why the fight was so good and entertaining. Lewis had shitloads of money, a top 5 heavyweight legacy, ended his career beating the guy who would go on to dominate the division (Wlad excluded) and realized that he wasn't what he once was and his heart wasn't there. Trust me, if that fight happened the same way it did in the middle of Lewis's career, his hunger would've been there to train his ass off and immediately rematch Vitali. Vitali just caught Lewis on his way out when he didn't have the heart left for a rematch in him. Again, I'm not saying a "prime" lewis would beat Vitali at all. All I'm saying is that he WAS slightly out of shape and on his way out of the sport. There is a HUGE difference in a fighter when he is primed out, coming up and hungry to prove he's the best than a fighter who has already reigned and been considered the best in the world and is approaching the end. That is all. :deal
He was in OK shape. Good enough to fight in spurts for 6 rounds or so. Had Vitali not suffered cuts he would probably have stopped Lennox in the next few rounds
Truth. He had proven himself beyond all doubt, finished Vitali (as much as that hurts Vitali fans to admit), and was aging and clearly fading as a fighter.