If two guys are on the inside holding and one is throwing it’s called working on the inside despite how crude it looks. That’s why you don’t see any complaints from Vitali he knows he should be throwing back or tying him up more effectively.
This was the right call, Vitali could've suffered career ending damage to his eye, especially when there were 6 whole rounds left for Lewis to inflict more damage.
@@user-si4nt5gt9b It could have been, but we will never know. It could have been that Vitali's eyesight got worse and Lewis picked him apart, we will never know. Anyways, that was the last great heavyweight title fight for sure.
Was very similar to the Joshua uppercut on vlad. Don't think aj would've withstood the shots Lewis took in this fight tho, took only 1 heavy shot from vlad to drop him.
Lennox was arguably one of the heaviest hitters of all time.... if you take into account the sheer volume of heavy punches he landed in a typical fight
To all the guys who are saying that Vitali could have won it. The cut over the eye, was a legal punch not a headbutt. So the TKO is the right result. If the fight would have continued, Vitali might have been blind on one eye for the rest of his life. Additionally, he would have lost the fight by KO in the later rounds because he wouldn't have seen anything anymore. so how on earth can an almost blind guy win a fight of such an intensity? I think the answer is clear.
Vitali thought He could Conquer The World. But Boxers like Lewis or mike tyson in his Prime were just NEXT LEVEL Boxers...they could knock people out immidiately
You can clearly see Lewis is out of shape mainly because age. He's slow and gassed out very quick. But with his huge fighting arsenal and warrior spirit still managed to get W. Vicious uppercuts and left hands through a fight were totally amazing.Vitali's chin was just IRON. these uppercuts could put down almost everyone, including Wlad. But Vitali took it without problem. Probably the best heavyweight fight ever, if we take in notice size and level of two boxers.
@@khayree7929Won by luck look at the guys face 😂 As important as points are not letting your eye getting battered into a hamburger is equally important.
To be fair lewis showed his toughness in this fight. Dude would never get up when he gets dropped, but in this fight he ate alot of punches that should have dropped him, but he fought through it.
The hairs are up watching this epic encounter again. Watched it live at the time and it was BRUTAL. Tyson Fury had his hands full with either of these warriors…
Great fight, from memory Lewis was supposed to fight Johnson but he pulled out due to injury and Klitschko stepped up as he was fighting on the same card, would loved to have seen a rematch with both given right time to prepare.
That’s even more impressive considering Vitali ended up being one of the best heavyweights ever, a shame he didn’t want to box for many years the same his brother did.
Correct, but Lennox is the king (even though Vitali would've beat Lennox in a rematch, Prime Lennox would beat Prime Vitali, the Lennox here is out of his prime)
@@aspiknf He wasn't out of his prime, prime isn't really altogether dependent on age, he had ring rust and was slightly out of shape. Any fight between Lewis and VK would've been entertaining, but Lewis would've definitely won. He was fundamentally a better boxer and more dedicated to the sport than Vitali.
No he’s not stronger than Wladimir lol. He has a stronger chin and better boxing ability yes. But Wladimir is definitely stronger and hits harder than Vitali
Going into the 7th round. Vitali was only up by 2. Lewis was starting to land more frequently and Vitali was starting to hold more. Which was allowing Lewis to consistently get his uppercut off which was knocking Vitali's head back each time. So as much as some like to go "Oh Vitali could have won this..." I am not so sure he'd have been able to take the constant punishment to his head and to his eye that Lewis would have dished out over the next 5 rounds. Vitali likely would have been stopped on his feet somewhere around round 10 or 11.
Didn’t Vitali at the beginning of his career have a hard time with stamina? I think he gassed out quite often, and one of them was looking like they could keel over just as the ref stopped it.
True, worse, Lewis could have permanently injured Vitali's eye and denied him a career. I am not sure how people often miss the fact on how badly damaged Vitali's eye was. And why they don't credit Lewis's power. They simply wish to harp on the "ifs and buts" on how Lewis should have rematched or how he was "lucky" to have got the TKO. To be honest, if anyone was lucky, it was Vitali on how he managed to exit the fight with his eye undamaged.
@꧁Sindano Negongo꧂ Klitschko lost deal with it Lewis was rocking him with uppercuts all night who gives af who was winning on points it’s a twelve round fight not six
@@thegreatestfinesser2338 he's saying he would've lost if there was a rematch ffs. Also you're saying klitshxmo was rocked all night did you watch the second round I don't think klitschko was the only one getting rocked
The biggest myth here, just like Vitali Byrd is that Vitali looked good and was still strong. Vitali looked gassed and his punches had no zip. He couldn’t handle the Olympic gold medal caliber boxing skills of Lennox.
When you get hit by a shot and man says "mmmm" you don't recover too well. The jabs from Vitali challenged, but you can't deny, the uppercuts from Lennox sent messages home.
The only thing lewis did wrong was not to ensure a rematch 2 a very brave & worthy opponent,Klitcko deserved it but to say that klitcko won the fight if not 4 the eye cut is complete bullocks. Lewis had done more damage 2 klitcko than klitcko had done 2 him at that stage in the fight so a technical knockout win for lewis was definitely in order.
Klitschko was winning on points. Thats why it was a scam. Lewis was lucky with that cut on klitschko's eye otherwise he'd loose just as he'd loose in the rematch. He just chickened out of the bussiness. Thats why he became so disrespected after this fight.
Klitschko was winning on points. And the amount of damage shown varies by person, it’s really not that simple. Some people swell and show damage with the slightest punches, some don’t. Complexion plays a big role as-well, after all, it’s much harder to see the amount of damage done with a darker skin.
@@supersecularboypants winning on points after 6 rounds ,in a 12 round fight ,vitali could of got career ending injurys if he was aloud to carry on Lewis was coming on strong them upper cuts were landing
@@johnwilliam9446 That one uppercut that Lewis landed was brutal. But I agree, the fight had to be stopped because of the cut. It's a shame, really. I believe Klitschko had a chance of winning.
@@supersecularboypants he did but Lewis was at the end of his career and he wasn't supposed to fight vital till later that year ,there's a good Lewis interview done today by Tunde and Spencer fearon which goes in to detail about the Klitschko fight definitely worth a watch
Some great shots from Lewis but Vitali was winning all the way. One of my favourite fights of all time because its the last time that the heavyweight division was decent
Shame Lewis could'nt give Vitali more credit at the end of the fight, seemed very defensive and cocky with Larry Merchant, tough fight which both boxers deserved maximum credit, rematch would have been interesting.
@@alternatifci When the hands are free you can keep punching your way out of a clinch. Learn the rules before you judge something you know nothing about.
@@alternatifci Don't try and cop out. I understood you just fine. You were commenting specifically on the body shots at 3:00 which were perfectly legal.
Vitali can score points but Stamina is NOT his property. Lennox has advantageous Stamina and STRONG Right Hand. Lennox can even go for 15 Rounds and still can throw the Hammer Right Hand. This was Round #6 , Vitali was almost exhausted not considering the Bruises on his Face. In the next TWO Rounds( 7 and 8 ), Lennox would have done his Right Hand Knock Down on Vitali.......Watch Lennox Lewis's Fights, at first he never threw serious jabs ( Rounds 1,2 and 3) but kept on with Confidence. See Bruno vs Lewis, Shannon Briggs vs Lewis, Grant vs Lewis, Biggs vs Lewis, even Rakham vs Lewis ( first fight) etc. When he finished his analysis of the opponent, he came with destructive strategy.
C'moon Vitali, if that fight was left to continue Lewis could have gorged your eye out. Be a man accept defeat, you didn't come to the ring with a cut in your eye.
that eye spurred lewis on , and got vitali on the back foot , it would have been very interesting to see a rematch without vitalis eye getting cut , i would say a vitali win tbh
Fun Fact: Klitschko was ahead 58-56 on the scorecards with two judges giving Lewis only rounds three and six and the other rounds five and six before the stoppage that's why Lennox Lewis ducked Vitali for a rematch coz he knows in his heart that he should've lost in this fight if not for the cut/Dr stoppage.
Stop with the nonsense. Lewis was extremely out of shape even in this fight. If we're going to be spouting stupid hypotheticals, then might I say if Lewis was in his prime he would've laid out Vitali. A Prime Vitali lost to an Old Lewis, let that be noted
@@GradeAmonster Excuses.. excuses... excuses.. Then why did Lewis opt out from having a rematch against vitali and make sure he's in shape then??? You point is non sense...lol
@@jaysonpareja30 That's a bit ironic. You're making excuses for Vitali's loss, while simultaneously trying to argue an imaginary scenario. Vitali got beat by an old Lewis, plain and simple. Nothing to be ashamed of
This was NOT the highlights, as it makes it appear that Lewis deserved the win, when in reality Klitschko was ahead 58-56 on the scorecards with two judges giving Lewis only rounds three and six and the other rounds five and six. Lewis was given the win, technically, but he was not winning. Otherwise, he would have honored the rematch clause. Instead, he smartly retired, to avoid losing. Much like Marciano retired, as not to fight Cashius Clay/Ali (My favorite ever).
These dudes out here defending all the jabs and punches with their faces like damn those are hard shits. Tyson fury would most probably do much better with his head movement
Oh please do SHUT UP! As Lewis absolutely demolished Klitschko for most of this fight although these highlights don't do him much justice. And I'm sure that if there ever were a rematch that Lewis would have beaten him again but even more convincingly
One of the greatest fights ever. Vladimir was winning on all the score cards, respect to them both. To me, they are equals and both absolute warriors. This is what boxing is missing.
Haz Butt, not only a simple winning, i bet he would've destroyed him as he promised before the match.. Lewis was just lucky and even he fought someone who had only one eye during 4 rounds, he couldn't drop him, it's not so hard to guess what would happen if Lewis had the same eye..
@@SuperDetroit9 This was a fortuitous injury stoppage of a fight Vitali was winning. Had the injury come due to clash of heads, this would have gone to cards.
If Lewis would if gave him a rematch 6 months later, than klitschko would if knocked him out. He won the fight by points and he looked in a much better shape then Lewis. That’s why Lewis retired because he knew he would lose. If lose would if been a true champion then he would if gave klitschko a rematch. He is a chicken.
Kinda agree lewis was 37 at this point too most likely wanted to retire on top though rather than what alot do and carry on until they lost 3 fights in a row
It would be pretty stupid to take more punishment when his career was ending, at nearly 38 he was 7 years older than Klitschko. Yes, Klitschko was in better shape, not surprising considering where each was in their careers, this makes Lewis win more impressive not less. That he protected himself where possible is surely part of why his speech is perfectly fine, unlike a number of other former boxers unfortunately. Was Lewis meant to just keep getting older, slower, & weaker, and keep taking punishment until he lost? Also doesn't really make sense to claim he was a 'chicken' when a notoriously tough boxer was his last opponent. He fought a lot of top opponents through his career.
Ok genius, so you think it is ok for Lewis, a 38-year old who was not even preparing to fight Vitali, but still took on a dangerous opponent on such short notice, and still managed to TKO him, to agree for a rematch when he was at the end of his career and was stayiing in it only for the money. Why? Of course, Vitali would have won the rematch, not becuase he was the better skilled boxer, but because Lewis had by this time was all out of motivation and couldn't train hard anymore. Remember, we are talking about a boxer who has fought all his life for rewards and recognition and earned it only late in his career, only to have one last opponent give a good fight and then he gets questioned again. Put yourself in the shoes of Lewis and tell me sincerely on whether you would have gone for the rematch, fully knowing you have no motivation or hunger to fight?
@@aswinastro lewis lost 2 fights in his career against Rahman and Mcall. Both of them gave him a rematch and therefore I believe he should if done the same. Vitali was more hungry for the heavyweight title. Lewis just didn’t want to retire as a loser. That’s why.
@@dmytrokopetskyy6981 Seriously, Mccall didn't give Lewis a rematch, Lewis earned it after almost 2.5 years after getting defeated by him. Same with Rahman, Rahman's team made Lewis run pillar to post to get a rematch. Lewis had to take the legal route to get his rematch. Also, Lewis was wise enough to put an immediate rematch clause. Having said this, don't you think it is unfair to expect a 38-year old champ, who had lost his hunger and was in it only for the money, only to defend himself against a young and upcoming champ, especially after a storeyed career where he had put in hard work and defeated 14+ great champions in the best era of boxing. I think not. Lewis was right in refusing the rematch for 2 main reasons. A) He never had the hunger and he didn't want to end his career with a loss because he knew very well that the finnicky fans would lose all respect for him, despite his solid record and B) Lewis had everything to lose and nothing to gain. People who criticize Lewis should try to put themselves in his position and see if they would like to give a rematch fully knowing that one loss, no matter how unfair or evenly competed, will erase all the good work they did. I am sure many of us WON"T
Lewis was vicious and violent in this match in a manner that has never been seen before. I hate Lewis for dashing the hopes of a young Vitali. Vitali was subsequently taken to hospital where he received more than 150 stitches and thanks God he survived.
@@saragora3331 You have to be a troll. You seriously want a professional boxer not to punch hard? If taking a punch destroys your career as a boxer, you're in the wrong career. Frankly, if you can't see that, there's no point talking to you.
to think furys legacy is the weaker klit bro and wilder - compare who lennox went in with. not even close when comparing tyson fury and lewis. lololol.. and fury wont even fight usyk.
