Lennox coming out of retirement Vs Vitali??

[meade95]

New story at fightnews.com seems to suggest that Lennox will be coming out of retirement for a rematch with Vitali -

Interesting -

[Bam Bam]

I wouldn't be surprised.

[sabotai]

Predictability of this occuring: 97.4%

[Ian Lord]

I personally think he'll stay retired.

[erickdamac]

SHIIIIT After what I've seen I will pick Lennox in a heart beat, and HBO are so much in love with Klitschko that they will BEG Lennox for the fight Knowing if Klitschko beats Him he will become the "Real Champion" And if Lennox want nine months that would be perfect for HBO they would have Klitschko fight in May, against someone like Moorer, and then hype him on some more and have a mega PPV fight with Lennox, Only problem is Don King has been giving the WBC Alot OF as the WBC call it "Donations" after Hasim became the #1 contender and I doubt if Lennox would fight him without a belt, and Don is very VERY confident in Rahman so confident that he says The Klitschko can Promote the fight and that They can take a 75-25 Split, and of course no options.

With that being said I cant see Klitschko fighting Rahman and LEnnox next year he is not going to fight to tough fights.

[meade95]

erickdamac - While I'll agree Vitali doesn't take two big fights in the same year.....

The fact is....if Lennox wants the fight.....that is the fight that will happen...and the WBC will give Vitali a waver and allow him to bypass the #1 for 6 months or so -

I think Raham is probably the one other HW out there right now who I'd say is even money Vs Vitali -

[erickdamac]

Unless Lennox Klitschko Gives the WBC Some "Donations" LOL whatever the hell that means, then He will fight Rahman because the WBC hasnt been shy and proud to say Don has given them some Nice "Donations" Ever since A the striped Tarver of the WBC title and Now one of Don Ling fighters Paul briggs and Aussie fighter will fight for it on the Jan 15, and Since Hasim Rahman became the Number 1 Mandatory challenger, Both happend around November and thats the time Don gave 3 "Donations" So if they took Tarver title for not Fighting his Mandatory, and he havent made one defense of his title yet, And they Take his title Away around the time Don King MAde a "Donation" then I think king is controlling there asses and less face it they need the money.

[Caligula]

Lewis is done...the only thing that will happen if he fights Vitali is that Lewis will get hurt. Badly.

[erickdamac]

He will get hurt badly? OMG LOL.

[Jim_Kidd]

I wouldn't want to put my money on Lewis for a few reasons.

First, he's past his prime and has been out of the ring for over a year. When you hit your late 30's, your reflexes, timing, etc. starts dipping.

Second, his chin will be even more of a factor when you consider the above. Yes, maybe he was out of shape and overconfident for their first encounter. But he didn't retire for no reason. He said he was tired of the training, having no life, etc. Now the lure of "one more time" is calling?

A loss to Klitz (especially by KO) would be a lousy way to end his career.

He should stay retired.

Jim

[Mr Big]

I would love to see Lewis come back and get his head knocked off. Only then Vitali would be criticized for beating up an old man, much like Rocky Marciano when he destroyed Joe Louis.

[erickdamac]

MR. Big you are right, why is klitschko Craving for this fight for? To beat up a retired fighteR? Face Rahman and if he beats a rahman that comes in at 244- and down! Then I will stand behind him.

[meade95]

Originally Posted by Mr Big

I would love to see Lewis come back and get his head knocked off. Only then Vitali would be criticized for beating up an old man, much like Rocky Marciano when he destroyed Joe Louis.

Probably so - But then, that is about what a Vitali win should be (let's be clear....a prime Louis more than likely beats Marciano.....and probably quite eaisly)....

And the fact is....if Vitali fights Lennox again and wins....all he did was beat up a post-prime Lennnox (nothing more......and this is from a Non-Lennox fan for the most part......though I respect is boxing ability).....and if Vitali losses...well then....he can't even beat up and over-the-hill Lennox.....and we can all just imagine what a prime Lennox would have done to him....(I think a prime Lennox Vs Vitali looks like Lennox - Razor Ruddock)

[Mr Big]

I think that a prime, in shape Lewis takes out Klitschko inside of 7 rounds. With the current scenario, however, I see the outcome reversed. Klitschko KO 7.

[wildhawke11]

Originally Posted by erickdamac

MR. Big you are right, why is klitschko Craving for this fight for? To beat up a retired fighteR? Face Rahman and if he beats a rahman that comes in at 244- and down! Then I will stand behind him.

Eric
I feel Klit would love to make a fight with Lewis and hopefully add the ex world champ to his list of victims. I mean the HW division is not exactly loaded with talent or even fighters with good drawing power. So it would be a big money fight for Klit.

My own feelings are i think Lewis should forget all about making a comeback. Like him or not he has been there and done it and has nothing to prove now at his age.

Do you know Gene Tunney, Rocky Marciano and Lewis are the only three HW champions to ever beat at least once every man they ever faced in the ring.

[Bam Bam]

I have to agree with Wildhawke, I don't think it would be worth it for Lennox to come out of retirement.

It would have to be a "superfight" which clearly it is not. Besides, Lewis doesn't feel he needs to prove he's better than Vitali, despite what many think, Lewis believes he properly whooped Vitali last time,,,,as do I.

[Jim_Kidd]

Both fighters in their prime would have been interesting. The thing is, we may all be watching a pre-prime Vatali. What if he hasn't reached his prime yet? After all, he's only been on American soil for a short period of time. His sparing and everything will be better over here than it was in Germany. No knock on Europe or European trainers intended, but that's basically the way it is (the few exceptions aside).

[sabotai]

Originally Posted by wildhawke11

Do you know Gene Tunney, Rocky Marciano and Lewis are the only three HW champions to ever beat at least once every man they ever faced in the ring.

In all honesty, I think that speaks more to how many times champions hang in longer than they should rather than to the talent of those three guys.

[Brooks TVB]

I would like to see Lewis come back and beat Klitz like he should have the first fight. There is no way that Klitz can fight with Lennox when he boxes. He tried to stand and fight with a fighter and almost payed the price. He took some good shots in that fight, i didnt see him getting knocked out but he probably would have lost on points. If he comes back in shape and uses the ring like he always did he will dominate Klitz. Neither one of the Klitzs can box or move well, they are big and strong but have poor defense.

[wildhawke11]

Originally Posted by sabotai

In all honesty, I think that speaks more to how many times champions hang in longer than they should rather than to the talent of those three guys.

Sabotai
Depends on how you judge talent i think that Tunney, Marciano and Lewis left the fight game with nothing to be ashamed of. Or as the great tennis player John McEnroe used to say "You can not be serious"

Gene Tunney was only 31 when he retired with a record of about 63 fights and only 1 loss. He was ranked along with Jim Corbett as one of the most skilled boxing masters that ever stepped into the ring. Nearly all the experts regard Tunney as among the Top 3 LHWs of All Time i have him at number 2 behind Ezzard Charles in that division. Fantasy fights are fun, but the reality is we can only judge a fighter by the times and era he fought in. If Ali, Frazier, Lewis, Klit or any other fighter you care to name were fighting and trained in the bare knuckle days they would have fought the same way as the real old timers like Jem Mace or Daniel Mendoza. Of course that also applies the other way round.

Rocky Marciano
Again most experts regard him as being in the Top Ten or at the very least in the Top 15. So argue it out with Teddy Atlas and Co about the Rock. Marciano only fought as a pro for 8 years and again retired at age 31. Below is just a few quotes from people who new better then us Marciano's hitting power.

Marciano's gloved fists broke blood vessels and bones in LaStarza's arms and elbows. First the arms grew heavy, then they began to ache awfully, then they grew numb. As the relentless battle wore on, LaStarza found it harder and harder to raise his arms, much less jab with them or punch with them. His hands lowered, his defence dissipated, Marciano began to punish him about the head. LaStarza began to take a terrible beating --- Bill Libby

"Louis is faster with a barrage of punches, but Rocky hurts more with one punch than Joe did with four. Rocky hurts you every time he connects." Response to a reporter from a sparring partner of both Joe Louis and Rocky

I've scored my share of knockouts along the way, but more often than not my opponents got up after being knocked down and had to be knocked down repeatedly. The same is true of Joe Louis. But Marciano needs only one solid smash and it's all over --- Jack Dempsey.

"Dan, I can still feel his punches. He kept punching me in the upper arms until I could no longer hold them up to defend or throw punches". Phil Muscato, 5th round KO victim of Rocky, to his nephew Dan, many years after his fight with Marciano.(Thanks to Dan Muscato).

On a last note here is how Teddy Atlas rated the Top Five HWs in 1991
1. Ali
2. Louis
3. Johnson
4. Marciano
5. Tunney



Going to have a cup of tea now, give my thoughts on Lewis later, So tune in your radios to Wildhawk's World a little later and get bored all over again