Had the cut been by a headbutt then VItali would have won. It was not by a butt thus Lennox won. Wladimir, by the way has never been cut, except by headbutts.
To become linear champion in absence of one, you have to become the undisputed champion - by unifying the titles - there is no other way imo.
Sanders was never in the position to challenge Lewis for the title. The only time he had a high ranking with the sanctioning bodies was when he lost to Rahman, Rahman went on to fight Lewis. Sanders was not ranked anywhere near the top 10 when he fought Wlad, he had fought three rounds in three years and he has always had stamina issues. His sole reputation is based on his destruction of Wlad as it now stands.
I think he would have received credit if he rematched Sanders (especially immediately after the loss) given the outcome of the first find. And it says a lot about a fighter when he can avenge a loss, as more often than not the original victor wins again.
Lewis fought up to the perceived threat. He would likely take a skilled banger like Wlad very, very seriously. No prancing around literally asking to be hit like he did in South Africa. So in this imaginary match-up, I pick Lewis by KO.
WTF? The first Holyfield fight was one of the biggest robberies in boxing history, even Holy was shocked he got the draw. Lennox beat Mercer by MD and it was a clear win for Lennox and he beat Vitali!!!!!! When are you Klitites going to accept that the oldest, slowest, fattest version of Lennox Lewis TKO6 Vitali Klitshcko:deal
Second Holy fight was a draw, first one Lenox won fair and square. I don't pay attention to what judges say. Drawing with Holyfield puts you nowhere close to the great status, sorry. Either Klit KOs Evander in his prime 10 out of 10 times. Vit beat Lenox like a drum for 6 rounds and retired him. You can say all you want about the fight outcome, Lenox got beat down and out of boxing. Good fighter for the pathetic lineup back then, not at the Klit's level though.
Yes, and had Lewis followed up his imaginary headbutt with a pretend kick to the balls VITLAY would still have won. Unfortunately in this boxing match Lewis ****ed up VITLAYS face with punches, and won.