Would Vitali have beaten Lewis if he didn't get cut?

When i see a big muscled guy all i think to myself is "that guy is going to need a lot of oxygen to keep all that muscle going" and it usually turns out they have stamina issues. Naturally big guys make the best hw not the guys that bulked up.

 

LEWIS TKO6 VITALI. FACT.

 

Vitaly and Lewis would go through Joshuas and Wilders like knife through butter.

 

CAN OF WORMS R OPENED

 

I think Vitali is tuff as nails...sadly his career defining moment was getting carved up by an out of shape unmotivated twice KTFO Lennox Lewis.

 

I am a Vitali fan, but anyone could see he was taking more cuts and damage to the face than the one cut under the eye

Lewis was coming on and getting to him, but at her same time, Vitali was landing those huge overhand rights and he had Lewis stunned much worse than Lewis had him stunned

Toss up, but I lean towards Vitali folllowing up and taking Lewis out had it continued

 

I would have backed Vitali to get the KO late or win a clear decision. He was on top at the time of the stoppage and also 4-2 up.

Lewis retired to avoid the rematch. At 37 he wasn’t old.

 

Tough to say. It shouldn't be fighting words to have an opinion... Lennox won beyond legit. But if there were no cuts on Vitali's face, I would pick Vitali to keep it up and pick up the win.

 

Would Vitali have beaten Lewis if he didn't get cut?
Probably.

And from the what the two guys had left in their tanks at the end of 6, probably by stoppage.

However, Vitali DID get cut and later, stopped.

So Lewis holds a good win over the second best HW in the world that night.

 

You bet!

 

Didn't Vitali come in as a "replacement opponent" and have only a short time to prepare for a Title fight of this magnitude?

 

I was at the fight and I don’t know how either man was still standing…with the cuts, Vitali was furious when it was stopped in true terminator fashion…Lewis determination appeared to have the momentum in his favor the last round or two…but it was back and forth throughout…

Both had an iron will to win, something had to give, which turned out to be the flesh covering the terminator’s face…That Lewis retired rather than rematch Vitali I think says a lot…That said, I respect the heck out of both men as fighters, both true atg’s…And at the end of the day, Lewis heart found a way to win, it’s hard to second guess whether he wouldn’t have pulled it out another way…It’s a testament to Vitali that we still do…

 

Vitali was a very good fighter and Lewis despite his bravado was coming to the end of a long am and pro career. Had you had a younger Lewis retire an older fading Vitali I wouldn't hold it against Vitali but K bros fans hate Lewis with such a passion they can't let this fight go.

 

Hard to say. On one hand Vitali's cuts, which there were multiple, were caused by huge right hands he was taking again and again. Lewis wasn't throwing much but when he was he was landing crunching shots. Even if Vitali wasn't getting cut taking big shots alone would take their toll on him.

The cut definitely gave Lewis some hope in a fight where he was struggling. Did seeing Vitali cut goad Lewis on? Did it change his performance? Impossible to say.

I don't like these hypothetical threads they are pointless you can set a scenario to suit your opinion. What if Lewis was in better shape? What if Lewis was prime?

 

It was a brutal fight that took a lot out of both men but by the 6th round only one was getting any effective ofense in and that was Lennox Lewis - he was walking through Vitali's punches and showing no respect for his punching power while landing heavy shots clean almost at will.

Vitali came out too hard, too fast hoping to end it early and he failed, he then kept up a high work-rate for rounds 3, 4 and 5 trying to pick up the cards but in the process had exhausted himself and wasn't throwing punches with any kind of power behind them anymore.

Lennox, by contrast, weathered the storm of rounds 1 and 2, got the better of round 3 and was landing the cleaner, stronger and more effective blows thereafter. He might not have been in the best of conditions but he was clearly getting the better of things by round 6.

A stoppage win for Vitali, I think, is unlikely after round 2 - because of the high pace he set for himself he simply didn't the energy to do it - he might have been able to pace himself and recover late on but his best chance for a KO was early, on the other hand Lennox was looking good heading into the later rounds and would likely have clawed away at Vitali's lead on the cards as the fight went on.

I think I'd still favour Lennox to win on the cards but it would likely have been close - with Lewis taking most of the middle rounds, Vitali taking most of the early round and coming on strong late, enough to make it a close decision but not enough to take the win.