gov135

Lennox Lewis vs. Vitali Klitschko is the best heavyweight fight, in my opinion, in several years. I think it may actually be a good fight, its Saturday at 9 p.m. EST on HBO. Here is Max Kellerman's and heavywieght Chris Byrd's takes on the fight.



http://espn.go.com/boxing/columns/ke...x/1569792.html

Max: Byrd's eye view of Lewis-Klitschko

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By Max Kellerman
Special to ESPN.com

Lewis doesn't appear worried, but some think he should be.
It looked like a disaster from the beginning. Mike Tyson was supposed to fight on the undercard of a Lennox Lewis title defense at the Staples Center in L.A., ostensibly to drum up interest in a Lewis-Tyson rematch. Lewis was to take on top 10 contender Kirk Johnson, a man who no one thought had much of a chance, and Tyson was to take on Johnson KO victim Oleg Maskaev. The two matchups were unappealing, and the point of the card -- to set up another mismatch between the champ and Tyson -- was deplorable.

Then Tyson decided against fighting on the card, and the Staples Center was left with an uninteresting Lewis title defense, no Tyson, and a bunch of tickets no one wanted to buy. And then Kirk Johnson suffered an injury and pulled out of the fight, which turned out to be a good thing. Enter Johnson's replacement, Vitali Klitschko.

Klitschko has never beaten a real top 10 heavyweight in his career, and he quit the only time he was ever in a tough professional fight, against the much smaller Chris Byrd. Yet at 6-foot-7, the elder and larger of the two giant boxing Klitschko brothers is two inches taller than Lewis, and he is skilled for a huge man. Vitali can also really punch -- especially with his right hand. Lewis, of course, has been knocked out twice in his career by right hands -- by Oliver McCall and Hassim Rahman.

Until his recent knockout loss to South African Corrie Sanders, the younger Wladimir Klitschko was generally regarded as the more skillful of the Klitschko brothers. It was Wlad who was groomed for a superfight title shot against Lewis until Sanders upset the apple cart. Yet Byrd, Vitali's conqueror, has fought both brothers and tells me that Vitali is actually tougher to fight.

Chris Byrd: Yeah, Vitali is more difficult because he fights more in the Russian style. Wlad is the more skilled of the two, but he fights more American, which is easier to deal with.

Max Kellerman: Can you describe the Russian style?

CB: The Russians are counter-punchers. They have a stand-up style. They stand tall, jab, take a half-step back, then shoot the right hand. Vitali is a good example of that style. Kostya Tszyu is, too.

MK: Why is that style more difficult?

CB: Because since we don't see that a lot over here, it is just harder to adapt to. In the amateurs, I fought Russians 10 times and only won four.

MK: Does Vitali have a shot against Lewis?

CB: Oh yeah. Vitali is a skilled big guy who knows how to throw his punches -- especially the right hand. And I think he's hungry now, too.

MK: OK, so how do you see Lewis-Klitschko going?

CB: It's not going to be an easy fight. Whomever connects with the right hand first will win it.

MK: So who will connect first?

CB: It all depends on Vitali. If he comes in scared, Lewis will knock him out. If he comes in ready to fight, it will be a barnburner. Vitali has range, and if he connects, Lewis will go to sleep. People say that Lewis was knocked out by Oliver McCall because he wasn't mentally prepared or whatever. McCall hits hard, but I have never seen Larry Donald hurt like he was against Vitali as an amateur or a pro. Vitali hurt him easily. He can really punch.

MK: Thanks, Chris.

My pick is Lennox by early knockout, say about the fourth round. Lewis is simply a higher caliber fighter than Vitali Klitschko. The champ is more experienced, more skilled, more athletic, and did not quit the first time he was in tough. Lewis has been criticized for fighting without passion, and for having a fragile chin, but there is no questioning his heart and will to win. Against both McCall and Rahman, Lewis got up from huge punches, and pleaded with the ref to let him continue. Against Frank Bruno and especially Ray Mercer, Lewis came through and won tough, bruising fights. If Saturday night's title bout becomes a war of attrition, it is hard to imagine Vitali winning.

Certainly, though, the challenger has chances, and not just because of his big right hand and awkward Russian style. Lewis is now 37 years old and has not fought in a year. He has not had a competitive fight in more than two years. Add it up, and it is not unthinkable that come Sunday morning we have a new heavyweight champ.


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So who you got? I'll take Lewis by decision.

BigGov

After watching Wladimer take such a whooping, it will be interesting to see how Vitali can take him.

Lewis stands a better chance I think though, he has more experience on his side, and can probably work Vitali over more.

With Lewis's methodical style, I'd look for a KO, sometime in the 6th.

__________________
One day an Englishman, a Scotsman, and an Irishman walked into a pub together. They each bought a pint of Guinness. Just as they were about to enjoy their creamy beverage, three flies landed in each of their pints. The Englishman pushed his beer away in disgust. The Scotsman fished the fly out of his beer and continued drinking it, as if nothing had happened. The Irishman, too, picked the fly out of his drink but then held it out over the beer and yelled "SPIT IT OUT, SPIT IT OUT, YOU BASTARD!"

Kurant

He's bigger then Lewis, almost the same reach. Lewis will get tested. The only thing Vitali doesn't have on his side is experience, and you have to question the guy and his will to win. He quit against Byrd because of a shoulder. After he was winning the fight easily.

This will be good. Lewis is finally stepping up to a bigger (not that there are alot of them) fighter. Who's fast, and has proven he can punch. Lewis is known for his jaw, or lack thereof, and Klitschko doesn't have to get inside to hit him. That could present itself as a problem.

Lewis never fought ANY big name heavywheight, other then Tyson and Holyfield, twice, and both fighters were on the decline of they're careers. He got knocked out by Oliver McCall (LOL, biggest joke in boxing, other then Grant) and Rahman. both with right hands, both big counter punchers. Just like Klitschko. It will be intresting. Personally, I can't wait to see Jones and Holyfield, then Lewis and Jones go at it. Although, if Lewis, by sheer luck loses this fight, I think he retires.

Gotta give the edge to Lewis though. He looked in awsome shape, he's got the experience, and he wants 1 last mega fight before he retires. He won't get it if he loses. I want him to win, so we can see a Lennox Lewis and Roy Jones fight.

Lennox wins. TKO in the 8th.

What I found appauling, some people actully consider Lewis to be one of the best of all time. How terrible is that, look at his fight history, it's pathetic. He woulden't even fight Chris Byrd, and he had to give the title to him. 30 years ago, in the glory days, they fought anyone, and everyone. Pretty sad to think this guy is going to go down as one of the greatest ever. Pretty sad IMO.

gov135

Won't go down as one of the greatest in my book. He just outsized everyone, plodded along. Which is why I am almost glad the Byrd fight was never made - though Byrd deserves a shot. It's just that Lewis has dismantled all "little heavyweights" in his career - like Tua and Tyson. When Lewis has had trouble it was with bigger guys.

I like the points you made though, Kurant. I agree with everything except the prediction. I think it will go the distance cause I don't think Lewis will take any chances. I hope he does take chances though, cause if he jabs all nite like usual I'm gonna fall asleep by the fourth.

Kurant

Too bad boxing and sport experts don't see it the way we do, I guess. I coulden't agree more with you. His sheer size allowed him to do what he's done. He just happend to be the bully in this era of boxing. Sad, sad indeed.

Good thing it's not PPV. I got a sticky feeling it's going to be a jab fest with lots of holding. If that's the case, Lewis has to win. It's all he's done his entire career. He knows how to do it better then anyone.

Porkchop

Good for you guys aint ppv but is in Britain are being asked to pay $25 for this event on sky. It should be available to subscribers really. Anyway the fight. I have never been a Lewis fan have been to see him and he just doesnt do it for me. Holyfield fan you see.
Klitschko has a chance although i thought M. Grant did also.
If Lewis has underprepared, which is doubtful or, he gets caught you never know.
I agree Lewis dominated because of his size and the time was right for him. Holyfield past his prime and Tyson way past his best or those results imo would have been different.

__________________
Be cool b*tch now b*tch be cool
Sport 1976 Taxi Driver.

Glory's Sun

I think it will be an interesting fight, but I think Lewis will come out on top. As far as Jones vs Lewis I don't think we'll ever see that. If Jones destroys Holyfield, Jones may get greedy but Lewis would destroy Jones IMO.

Porkchop

Just checked out the weigh in for this and Lewis is the heaviest he has ever been. Strange one that wonder if he is taking it lightly. Watching an interview of him he seems overconfident. I think an outside bet on Klitschko is in order here. Im probably totally wrong though.

__________________
Be cool b*tch now b*tch be cool
Sport 1976 Taxi Driver.

Kurant

No, it's not. I think your exactly right.

Lewis is at his worst when he's already thinking ahead. He's already thinking about Jones. He also hasen't fought anyone bigger then him, or anyone that punches as hard as Vitali does. While he may whoop him, don't be surprised if come tonight, Lewis is no longer the champ.

Lewis/Jones is going to happen. It's going to be the last fight in his career. Probably both of them. They are both looking at a 50-60 million dollar payday. Lewis said he wants to retire on a megafight, and the only way that's going to happen, is with Roy Jones. My guess is by this time next year, they will have fought. I think what's going to happen, personally.. Lewis wins tonight. Jones fights Holyfield in October/Nov. Jones or Lewis fights Byrd before the spring(Byrd has a belt he was given by Lewis for not fighting). He wins. He fights Lewis to unify the belts.

Oh how I leer to see Lewis laying on his back tonight. Won't happen most likely, I'll be the loudest yelling mofo on the planet though if it does.

Porkchop

well said kurant. This Was one hell of a fight i was jumping all over when lewis was in trouble. Klitschko was very unlucky. His face was a mess and rightly stopped. Shame as he should be the one wearing the belts today. Lewis escapes again. But for how long. His interview afterwards was a disgrace the way he dissed Vitali.

__________________
Be cool b*tch now b*tch be cool
Sport 1976 Taxi Driver.

docbungle

Lewis got his ass handed to him by a supposed chump with no skill. Vitali rocked him in the second round and he never really recovered. Totally classless remarks after the fight. No longer my favorite heavyweight. Someone please knock his ass out.

bender

Lewis should never have said any of that crap !!

Lyncher

man was I throughly upset by that mess

emopwr

lewis would send jones to the morgue. it would be very sad, but hey, we will probably get to see it so gg.

BigGov

Lewis is too slow and too old. He would need to focus on training and preperation with a passion in order to even be in a position to win.

__________________
One day an Englishman, a Scotsman, and an Irishman walked into a pub together. They each bought a pint of Guinness. Just as they were about to enjoy their creamy beverage, three flies landed in each of their pints. The Englishman pushed his beer away in disgust. The Scotsman fished the fly out of his beer and continued drinking it, as if nothing had happened. The Irishman, too, picked the fly out of his drink but then held it out over the beer and yelled "SPIT IT OUT, SPIT IT OUT, YOU BASTARD!"

cjvasco

Lewis was not at a good conditioning level (and may never be able to get back to a great conditioned level) for the fight, he only had 2 weeks notice, of course the same can be said about Klitscho, but either way, Lewis had his ass handed to him and then afterward was a complete dick about it.

emopwr

I dont get what you guys think he should do/say. He acted like a dick? what the hell is he supposed to do say "oh yeah, i was wrong, i got my ass beat' boxing isnt just about going out there and boxing, its a show, hes a showman. hes got the belt and you know hes going to be cocky about it. what would you do? lewis' career is almost over, he has the titles, hell yeah hes gonna be a cocky sonofa bitch. i would do the same. at least its not a crazy tyson with the belt.

and you guys are talking about lewis like hes washed up and has no chance against klitscho or jones. LOL. do you guys even follow boxing? do you realize how much bigger lewis is than jones?

BigGov

Lewis didn't have a chance against Klitschko, he was getting his ass whooped.

Being a showman is fine, but not if you're a disrespectful jackass, which Lewis is. He talks like he is superior, that he would have knocked Klitschko out in the next few rounds yet at the end of the 6th he practically collapsed onto his stool.

Meanwhile, Roy Jones Jr. truely has a legitamate shot at beating him because of his quickness. Bringing up the point of Lewis landing one punch and it's over makes no sense because if Lewis shows up for the Jones fight in that condition he'd only be able to hit Jones if Jones let him. If you caught the Ruiz fight (and Ruiz was in much better condition and much lighter and faster) Jones just toyed with him the entire match. The one punch I remember from that fight is when Jones has his hands down and is practically daring Ruiz to hit him, Ruiz bites and lunges with a knockout punch, Jones sidesteps and counters in one motion nailing Ruiz on the chin that sent him staggering. This isn't a fight like Ward vs. Gatti where they go and slug it out until one can't stand, this is "Pretty-Boy-You-Can't-Hit-Me" Roy Jones Jr. vs. "Washed-Up-Pompous-Jackass-That-Can't-Go-The-Distance" Lennox Lewis.

__________________
One day an Englishman, a Scotsman, and an Irishman walked into a pub together. They each bought a pint of Guinness. Just as they were about to enjoy their creamy beverage, three flies landed in each of their pints. The Englishman pushed his beer away in disgust. The Scotsman fished the fly out of his beer and continued drinking it, as if nothing had happened. The Irishman, too, picked the fly out of his drink but then held it out over the beer and yelled "SPIT IT OUT, SPIT IT OUT, YOU BASTARD!"

Porkchop

I hope and think Klitschko will get a rematch. Lewis wont want to go out like that surely. Lewis isnt that nice a person despite what his team say about him. I saw him in Vegas once and he hardly spoke to anyone. Plus he wasnt number 1 then, just had his team all around him. Yet Holyfield and M Grant. "I even found Moorer to be more approachable and he was something of a loose cannon back then." had time for fans. And they were fighting the next day.

__________________
Be cool b*tch now b*tch be cool
Sport 1976 Taxi Driver.

emopwr

'Lewis didn't have a chance against Klitschko, he was getting his ass whooped.
'
I'm assuming you watched the fight? I hope.
Lewis got his bell rung hard in the first round which threw him for a loop for a few rounds. If you watched the fight you would have noticed lewis slowly coming back round by round. he never really got his jab working too well, but he was slowly regaining somewhat control of the fight. if you do not rememeber this i suggest you go back and watch it closely. and did you not see the devastating uppercut at the end of the 6th round? klitschko was done. his eye was done. he would have went down in the next couple of rounds. they stop fights for a reason. not just to piss you off. he should be glad the ref ended it when he did to save him more permanant damage. 60 stitches? yeah what the hell are you talking about lewis was getting his ass whooped. they both were exhausted at the end of the 6th. both could have went down from a power punch (and klitschko almost did)

i also cannot understand how people continue to find faults with lewis' attitude and sportsmanship. hes a professional fighter. he goes in the ring, and pounds the shit out of someone until either they cant take it anymore, or he cant take it anymore. its rather violent and barbaric. yeah, tyson is a bit crazy/violent/crude, but lewis? lewis' stigma is the fact he seems too nice. he plays chess, hes from england. he speaks clearly. hes not very daunting. doesnt strike fear like say a tyson. all boxers are arrogant, you gotta be. thats the game. how pathetic would it have been if lewis would say 'yeah i was really wrong, i take back whatever i said, maybe im not the best' lol who does that. maybe he should write klitschko an apology letter for hurting his eye. lol

and youre comparing ruiz to lewis? ok ruiz sucks. i dont see why anyone would say that, but ok. ruiz is completely awful compared to lewis. why do you think jones fought him? why didnt superstar jones go after lewis for his first fight? yeah, thats probably because he isnt an idiot. lewis is 6 inches taller, has at least 40 pounds on him, and has 14 inches of reach on jones. and why didnt jones want to move up to heavyweight for the LONGEST time? because hes not stupid. he knows hes going to get rocked. jones caught so much shit for not moving up to heavyweight. jones has even said he has nothign to gain from moving up. but money makes the world go 'round and we shall see what happens.

tmoney

If that cut wasn't opened more by Lewis head butting, digging his dreads into it....Vitaly wins. Why let him fight the few rounds with the cut...THEN all of the sudden call the fight. I believe Lewis was an ass after the fight but I think he's finally realizing that being an ass makes you the big money!!

izzzzy

lewis wins by tko klischko got robbsd and tyson got front page headlines oh the irony

Per Djoos (#44)

Klitschko's cut man might have gotten him some extra rounds, but I still think that they opened up that cut more by wiping down on it after that round. Also, if he had done at least some defense on that side of his face, he wouldn't have been in that spot to begin with.

BigGov

Twice.

Slowly coming back? He was gassed the entire time, it was starting to become even, but Lewis would have been opened up in the 7th or the 8th the way it was going. Klitschko's eye was not done, in case you didn't notice, the best cut man in the business had stopped the bleeding, not one time, not two times, not three times, but four times. When the doc came in and stopped the fight, Klitschko wasn't done, he could have gone on easily. Hell, did you see him run up and across the ring? I highly doubt Lewis could have done that because he was so gassed.

Nice description, but you forgot 'cocky asshole'.

Well, two guys in recent memory contradict that opinion, Micky Ward, and Arturo Gatti

Or he could apologize for being a cocky asshole and just watch as damn near every sports publication will call him a gentleman and a true sportsman. One of the biggest problems with sports today is everyone thinks they need to be full of themselves to the extreme or else they aren't performing to their abilities. Hell, what am I thinking, everyone else has to be right. Guys like Johnny Unitas, Brett Farve, and David Robinson are just horrible people and athletes.

Why did Jones fight him? He'd be a easy fight to test the waters, and he held the belt. Jones almost assures himself he'd win the fight before he even accepts it. So how could Jones assure himself of winning a Lewis fight? By becoming faster, stronger, and gain endurance, by watching countless tape of Lewis fights, by hiring sparing partners that are similar to Lewis (I forget who, but one guy fights almost identical to Lewis and is the same size), and by fighting smart which he is very capable of doing.