Would Vitali have beaten Lennox?

- Particularly by Klitschko fans yes.

- I didn't mention any of those guys. The possible names I threw out were Sanders and Jones, but do you really think that if he took those fights you mentioned he would have gotten a mere challenger's salary?

- My point is that he didn't have to wait for that fight or even promise the winner anything. He could have pulled a Riddick Bowe, dropped the WBC in the trash for the second time in its history, and gone and sparked the man who sparked Vitali's brother. He would have retired undisputed in that scenario or damn close enough to it.

 

-That's revisionism. The entire boxing media in this country was calling for Vitali/Lewis II, England may have gave him a pass..I don't know, but it would have been unacceptable for him to fight anyone else.

-Remember Lewis turned down two of these fights as Champions because he said the money wasn't good. Coming in as challenger, he certainly wouldn't earn the 10 million he was initially promised against Byrd.

-But he did. Unacceptable, Lewis/Vitali II was the only fight in demand at this time.

 

It's disgusting that any fans should have beef with his retirement, especially since it's proven to be genuine and lasting.
But obviously plenty of so-called fans are morons.

 

Can't agree. Lewis was being a dick when he promised us a rematch.

 

- It was unacceptable for Spinks to turn down Tucker in order to fight Cooney but no one seemed to mind.

- We have no idea what he would have earned. If he had taken those fights, he would have been considered the draw. Not the defending plastic champions.

- The problem I have with this argument is that it completely bypasses the reality that Lewis had beaten Vitali. Its like that never occurred. Would you have had more respect for him if he had retired immediately after fighting Vitali rather than taking a few months to think about it?

 

Right. Seems like the only way for the man to get any respect was for him to get his face pounded into the canvas, which seems like the only thing that Klitschko fans wanted to see regardless of the fact that he was obviously finished.

 

You talk as if heavyweight boxing isn't a serious matter.
But professional boxing in general IS a serious matter, not to be played with. Elite level heavyweight boxing is not something to be done half-heartedly.

ANY TIME a professional boxer has serious doubts about carrying on he should be free to retire without critcism from the armchair idiots, most of whom have never taken a solid punch to their heads in their lives.

 

-Cooney was the bigger draw. In this case Vitali was the biggest draw and deserving contender. Vitali sold out the Gardens and Staples in his next two fights, whatever HW was doing that?

-The problem is that Lewis already made it clear he wasn't fighting Ruiz and Byrd while in position as Champion to earn more guranteed money.

-Think about or wait to see who his mandated opponent would be?

 

Yeah, the massive contradiction from the Klitschko fans, most of whom insist :
1. Lewis would have been beaten up in a rematch.
and
2, Lewis was wrong to retire.

atsch

 

And I'll ad that Lewis shouldn't be criticized for not retiring immediately and waiting for several months to see how things panned out. A multi million dollar career isn't something that a person decides to throw away on a whim. There are a lot of key decisions to consider.

 

Eveything Lewis said at the time contradicts this.

 

Nothing he or anyone else said contradicts it.
It's the obvious truth. Boxing is dangerous. Fighters who carry on to long get damaged. There's nothing to contradict that.

The fact is, he retired and stayed retired. Rich man and didn't have to take any more punches to the head. Fact.

 

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- You can't have it both ways. Spinks ducked a mandatory and relinquished a title to take on a low risk high reward opponent, which you've just deemed as ok. But according to you, Lewis fighting Tyson instead of Byrd or Ruiz, or passing up a Klit rematch to fight Sanders or more eminently retire was unacceptable. That's contradiction at its finest. And in one of those cases, Lewis had already BEATEN the challenger in question ( Klitschko. ) You make some good points and in truth I agree with some of them.. But you're making way too much out of Lewis's decision to contemplate fighting further before deciding on retirement .

 

I'm not even sure what the argument is concerning Lewis's retirement.
He retired. He stayed retired. I don't understand the bitching.

 

His position is that Lewis had ducked both Ruiz and Byrd, and was doing it for the third time against Vitali Klitscko. Klitschko was promised a rematch by Lewis, had he beaten Kirk Johnson. When Klitscko delivered, Lewis recanted and THEN retired. So what he says has some validity. I just think he's making too much of it.. Lewis had already beaten Klitschko who was only supposed to be a last minute opponent anyway.. Byrd and Ruiz was not in high demand.