Lennox Lewis vs. Vitali Klitschko

[cross_trainer]

Who is the better and more admirable person?

(Or, alternately, which one's worse?)

[bigWILLIAMJ]

Why Does It Matter Who's The Better Or More Admirable It Who Is The Better Fighter! Lennox Wins Everytime,vitali Just Wants To Redeem Himself Against An Older Rusty Lewis Who I Hope Doesnt Give Him The Chance! Stay Retired Lennox And Enjoy Your Money Man!

[ChrisPontius]

I think Vitali is a pretty bad man, but pretends to be nice to become a superstar. Clearly he (and his brother, although he doesn't have that mean streak) have had thorough media training. Bu he will always have that chip on his shoulder.

Lewis on the other hand, seems to be a genuine nice person who, much to the opposite, tries to come off tougher or something; maybe it's his arrogance , but to me it looks like he's trying to do a Muhammad Ali when he's praising himself.


Both do come across as very intelligent and if i had to pick a boxer to meet over a drink, they'd both be high on my list.

[lamont zero]

lennox has charisma, inside and outside the ring. he is calm, cool and friendly. i like his arrogance and if you see older interviews you can see he was not always that over-selfconfident. when he went on to win he started to praise himself. it is okay, a lot of other fighters and a few with lesser credibility do that, too.

vitali klitschko is stiff and i dont like his robotic-look. he seems to be okay but he just is not that relaxed.

[kg0208]

Vitaly to me seemed to show his true colors when things don't go his way. His actions after Wlad's losses and some other times are to me a little questionable. That is not to say he is a bad guy....but he is not this laughing, joking, jolly guy he acts like he is.

[SwollenGoat]

Heya Cross :hi:

Lewis seems like a nice guy. An average nice guy who smokes a bit of the green and seems genuinely freindly and happy....


Vit Klit also seems to be a decent fellow,but he comes across as more reserved [language issues maybe?] and he has a bigger 'mean streak' I think then Lewis.His charity work is a plus,but politics isnt for the nice guys,if you know what I mean.

Two of the more decent fellows in the sport,over all.

As far as 'admirable person'? I think Klit,and his outside the ring activities are more admirable.

Is Lennox involved in anything outside of his boxing commentary and family?

[barneyrub]

Lennox Lewis: Nothing Left To Prove
One year ago, like Shakespeare's Caesar, Lennox Lewis bestrode the world of heavyweight boxing like a colossus.

Size, strength, good reflexes, and power don't necessarily make a fighter. More is required. Lennox matured late as a boxer. But as his career progressed, it became clear that he had the required intangibles. Now he's aging. He knows it, and he's coming to grips with it well.

Lewis today is relaxed and confident. "People are different from one another," he says. "You have to be comfortable with who you are. I can trash-talk like Mike Tyson. I can rap like Roy Jones." A smile lights up his face and he intones:

Lennox Lewis is the best
I'll lay them all to rest
I'll put Chris Byrd back in his nest
Cut off his dreadlocks and stuff them in a chest

The lyrics continue, ending with:
One Klitschko for breakfast; one Klitschko for brunch
Tyson and Roy Jones for lunch

Lewis laughs. "See; I can do it. But that's not me."

Lennox Lewis is different. He has always marched to his own drummer. At times, that has frustrated the media and, as a result, the pundits haven't always been kind. "The media can build you up and they can knock you down," Lewis notes. "They can create rumors that make people think a certain way. On a personal level, you read these things and you have to be strong to not let it effect you."

Lennox has been strong. The pay-off came in Memphis on June 8, 2002. "It was always important to me to prove that I'm the best," he acknowledges. "But from the start of my career, there was always Mike Tyson. Whatever else happened, people always said, 'Lennox beat this guy, and Lennox beat that guy, but what about Tyson?' I had to fight Tyson. Otherwise, the history books would have read, 'Yeah, Lennox was good but he never beat Tyson.'"

"The first round of a fight is like the first move in chess," Lewis explains. "It's about who has control of the board. The bell rings and it's a struggle until you know what you can and can't do and everything comes into place. You have to remember, you're out there all alone and you have to know when to take chances and when not to. One punch can change everything. One punch and you're hanging on to survive and no one else can save you."

"That was my ultimate fight," he states. "After Memphis, it was, 'Thank you; mission accomplished.'"

The next 10 months were, in Lewis's words, devoted to "family time, social time, and girlfriend time." Then he readied to fight Kirk Johnson. But two weeks before their scheduled June 21st bout, the challenger pulled out with an injury.

"And all of a sudden," Lennox remembers, "the Klitschko fight was there. Manny was saying I should go for it. Adrian was saying go for it. HBO told me it was Klitschko or nobody. And looking at the whole spectrum, the business as well as the boxing aspects of it, I decided to take the fight. I'd been preparing for Kirk Johnson. All of my sparring had been with short guys, the boxing type. I thought I'd be able to adjust to Klitschko's style as the fight went on."

Lewis versus Vitali Klitschko was an exciting inartistic brawl that ended after six rounds when the ring doctor ruled that a jagged cut on the challenger's left eyelid mandated stopping the fight. Klitschko objected vehemently. The crowd also voiced its discontent.

"The booing bothered me," Lennox admits. "We'd both fought as hard as we could. We'd fought and fought, giving it everything we had." As for the fight itself, Lewis posits, "Klitschko got off to a good start, but he was fighting off emotion and that lasts just so long. Also, I'm a slow starter. As a fight goes on, I get stronger. If I'd been in Tyson shape or Rahman-rematch shape, I would have looked better. But I'm satisfied with the Klitschko fight. Not happy about it, but satisfied. I brought Klitschko into the deep water. And if the ring doctor hadn't stopped it, he would have drowned."

That view is seconded by Lewis's longtime adversary, Evander Holyfield, who says, "Lennox doesn't give Klitschko enough credit. Lennox is arrogant. But it doesn't matter who was winning the fight. What matters is who won. Lennox busted him up. They had to stop it. Lennox won the fight."

Once, boxing had "world champions." Now, the desire for multiple sanctioning fees has given us "world" champions, "super" champions, and "interim" champions. But there's only one heavyweight champion of the world at present, and everyone knows who it is. Lewis would still be favored in a bout against any other fighter. He has no fear of a Klitschko rematch and means it when he says, "I've already proven that I can beat Vitali Klitschko on my worst day."

As for Roy Jones, Lennox says flatly, "When fighting Roy was brought to my attention, I could see that it was a big-money fight but I wasn't serious about it. Neither of us needs the money."

That, of course, leads to the question of retirement. A year ago, after beating Mike Tyson, Lennox acknowledged, "There's always someone to fight. That's the drug of the sport." Then he added, "What else is there for me to prove? Or prove that I'm stuck in the sport and won't get out until I'm speaking so people don't understand me?"

Now Lewis is even closer to calling it a day. He's talking about that time in the future "when I see myself taking my children out, doing whatever my kids want me to do with them." As for the role that boxing might play in his future, he says, "Having been in the business for so long, I think it's time for me to share my knowledge with some of the young fighters coming up. Boxing needs people with good ethics and good knowledge to step up and help the fighters. I'm not sure how I'll do that, but it's something I want to do."

HBO will wave a lot of money in Lewis's face to encourage him to fight again. That means the temptation will be there. But Lennox's present plan is to retire. He knows that only two heavyweight champions (Rocky Marciano and Gene Tunney) retired with their titles in tact. All the others -- Muhammad Ali, Joe Louis, Jack Dempsey, and Jack Johnson among them -- left on a loss. Also, Lennox is a student of history. It's not lost on him that Marciano and Tunney were both white.
Now is the time to go. Lennox seems to acknowledge as much when he says, "Someone will emerge after I'm gone. A new star will be born and the cycle will continue. All I ask is that you write the truth; about me, about boxing, about the world. The truth is fine. What I've accomplished will speak for itself."

Lennox Lewis is a man of dignity and grace, who has been the best heavyweight in the world during his reign. Boxing will miss him more than it knows.

[barneyrub]

By Thomas Hauser: seconds out.

Lennox Lewis is happy. There's a look of joy on his face. The former heavyweight champion is in a conference room at the Trump International Hotel in Manhattan, playing with his 9-month-old son, Landon.

"Fatherhood is everything I thought it would be and more," says Lewis. "One day, I'm watching Landon learn to lift himself up and stand on his own. Then he's walking. And now, the beginnings of language. Every moment is precious to me."

Landon is exuberant and cute. Clearly, he has bonded with his father. His favorite word is "da-da" and one of his favorite pastimes is pulling on his father's dreadlocks.

"I'm looking forward to the responsibilities of fatherhood," Lennox said last summer, shortly after Landon was born. "Landon comes into the world completely vulnerable with no ability to make choices. I'm one of the two people most responsible for shaping his life, and I'm looking forward to protecting him and making the early decisions that guide him. I want to teach Landon how to give. I want to give him a base so he knows the difference between right and wrong because values are the key to life. I want him to understand the human condition. I want him to know about soup kitchens and homeless shelters and to have a social conscience."

Unlike many world-class athletes, Lennox left religion out of his public dialogue. But fatherhood requires constant examination of the world that Landon is growing up in. And Lewis has given considerable thought to religious values.

"Religion is a touchy subject," he says. "And I try not to throw stones. But I see people who claim to be very religious and talk a great deal about religion but don't seem to live by it. My belief is that God lives. He's part of us and the world around us."

"I think that religion is part of our core," Lennox continues. "I believe in Jesus. But I also believe that, in God's eyes, all people are of the same denomination. I hope for an afterlife, and I have faith in an afterlife. But I believe that our destiny is determined by how we live our lives; not by what religion we are. These thoughts are personal to me. I can't speak for anyone else. But I believe that religion is just a vehicle to get to our spirituality and give us guidance by whatever book we choose to live by."

As Lennox moves from active fighter to elder statesman, he's also giving considerable thought to the twin demons of bigotry and prejudice.

"I don't think it's human nature to be prejudiced," he says. "Look at young children. They play with each other and don't care about class, color, or religion. But too often, people take on the fears and prejudices of the people they grow up with. Instead of thinking for themselves, they follow blindly down the road of misunderstanding and fear."

How can society teach tolerance and understanding?

"One person at a time," Lennox answers. "You start at a young age. Kids are a blank slate; they sponge up everything. So you have dialogue; you communicate. And you teach by modeling the behavior that you want children to learn. My friends are all different. They're black, white, Indian, Chinese. I don't hang around people who are prejudiced. We're all on the same earth, and we have to learn to live together."

"We're all guilty at times of the tendency to assume things that might not be true," Lennox elaborates. "It used to be that I'd hear a white South African accent and immediately think, 'The oppressor.' But when you get to know someone on a personal level, you realize that he or she might not be like that at all. I get stopped sometimes just for driving a nice car. In Brooklyn, not long ago, the police took me out of my car and frisked me. People started gathering around, asking for my autograph, and then one of the cops realized who I was. After that, the police were apologetic. They said, 'Well, your car has Florida license plates and there have been a lot of reports of cars being stolen in Florida and brought up to New York.' But I've heard that one before."

"It's the way things are," Lennox says with a shrug. Then he smiles. "People have preconceptions. Last year, I was waiting at the airport for my limo and a little old lady, she was about eighty, asked me to put her bags in the trunk of her car."

What did he do?

"She was polite." Lennox recalls. "She seemed nice enough. I've gone into stores myself and approached someone for help, and it turned out that the person didn't work in the store. So I put her bags in the car."

Lewis today looks healthy and strong, albeit thirty pounds over his fighting weight. The high point of his career in terms of public esteem was his 2002 demolition of Tyson. Everything he did in boxing after that was simply an end game. He fought once more, stopping Vitali Klitschko on cuts in June 2003. Then he retired from ring combat, in effect folding up his chess board and saying, "Game's over; I won."

Rumors of a comeback have surfaced periodically since then; most recently in a January 2005 article that quoted Lewis as saying he had agreed to a Klitschko rematch.

"That was bizarre," Lennox says. "But you have to know the full story. I was in Jamaica and saw this guy on my land with a camera. So I stopped him and asked what he was doing, and he said he was on vacation and heard I lived there and just wanted some pictures for the fun of it. He showed me the pictures he'd taken. I asked him to erase two and said he could keep the others. Then he asked if I was going to fight again. And I was playing with him. This wasn't an interview. This was some guy I'd found running around my property. So I told him, 'Yeah;

There will be no comeback.

"I fought Vitali Klitschko in real life and Wladimir Klitschko in Ocean's Eleven," Lennox notes. "That's enough. I've tried to make responsible decisions in my life, and retirement is one of them. It was time. I felt the winds changing. You spend a life in boxing, trying to make as much money as possible. And then, when you want to leave the game and you're on the way out, they push more money at you than you've seen before. But money isn't what drives me."

"I think Vitali and his brother are great people," Lennox says of the two men who, at various times, have been talked about as his successor. "Obviously, we had that boxing thing going on between us, but I like them both. As for who's the best heavyweight in the world right now, someone will have to prove himself. And that can only be done in the ring. It can't be decreed by HBO or Don King. No one is given greatness in boxing. You have to earn it and prove it again and again and again."

It's an unfortunate fact of life in boxing that too many fighters are beaten in the last round. They end their careers with no money and in declining health. In the final analysis, Lennox Lewis's greatest triumph might be that he retired as heavyweight champion of the world drenched in Vitali Klitschko's blood rather than his own.

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[cross_trainer]

Heya Cross :hi:

Lewis seems like a nice guy. An average nice guy who smokes a bit of the green and seems genuinely freindly and happy....


Vit Klit also seems to be a decent fellow,but he comes across as more reserved [language issues maybe?] and he has a bigger 'mean streak' I think then Lewis.His charity work is a plus,but politics isnt for the nice guys,if you know what I mean.

Two of the more decent fellows in the sport,over all.

As far as 'admirable person'? I think Klit,and his outside the ring activities are more admirable.

Is Lennox involved in anything outside of his boxing commentary and family?

Hey SwollenGoat. It's been a long time since I've seen you last. Still railing against the faithful? :hey

[Asterion]

As a person? I'd say Vitali.

He had success in boxing (less than Lennox), in kickboxing, he was part of the Orange Revolution, he is involved in politics (34 years old and was 2nd in the Kiev elections), he has a PHD, he would be a millionaire without boxing, he probably has more luck with woman, he speaks many languages.

Yeah, as a person, I choose Vitali.

:smoke

[NBT]

No idea, I don't know them personally. I only know their public image and Vitali's is better handled, that's for sure.

[Marciano Frazier]

Who is the better and more admirable person?

(Or, alternately, which one's worse?) Do you really think we can judge that based on occasionally seeing these guys on TV and reading articles about them?

[Marciano Frazier]

Hey SwollenGoat. It's been a long time since I've seen you last. Still railing against the faithful? :hey Seeing how his new name subtitle is "Deicide," I'd say that obsessive urge to attack non-secular belief systems is still alive and well. I do sometimes wonder what he thinks about boxing, though.

[cross_trainer]

Do you really think we can judge that based on occasionally seeing these guys on TV and reading articles about them?

Nope.

But many of the "Lennox vs. Vitali" arguments center around the fighters' character, so we might as well have it out in the open.

[cross_trainer]

Seeing how his new name subtitle is "Deicide," I'd say that obsessive urge to attack non-secular belief systems is still alive and well. I do sometimes wonder what he thinks about boxing, though.

:lol:

I didn't notice that. I must admit he's a determined fellow.

[barneyrub]

Lennox was very anti Vitali after their match. Vs williams and Sanders he openly bashed Vitali and offered help to those guys - not very gentlemanly.

Vitali is very honorable, he never badmouths anyone and his brother Wladimir straight after his decimation of Byrds went to Byrd's young son and explained it was just a fight, his dad's a great bloke and it wasn't personal.

The Klitchko's are the most decent & honorable people in boxing right now. Shite, 5 years ago it wasn't cuncommon for most boxers to have super large entourages accompany them to the ring and brawl when their man lost.

Seriously guys give the brothers respect they deserve, shesh they bring a standard of honor with them this sport needs.Nonsense. Sanders was his friend and with the same managent company as him, so naturally he supported him and thus due to Lewis`s own promotional company being part of the same company that promoted Sanders he then served as his promoter for the fight. Thats no more bashing the opponent than Emmanual Steward did by being Lewis`s trainer versus Holyfield, or aginst Mccall, guys he used to train!

Lewis said this about the Klitschko`s...

"I fought Vitali Klitschko in real life and Wladimir Klitschko in Ocean's Eleven," Lennox notes. "That's enough. I've tried to make responsible decisions in my life, and retirement is one of them. It was time. I felt the winds changing. You spend a life in boxing, trying to make as much money as possible. And then, when you want to leave the game and you're on the way out, they push more money at you than you've seen before. But money isn't what drives me."

"I think Vitali and his brother are great people," Lennox says of the two men who, at various times, have been talked about as his successor. "Obviously, we had that boxing thing going on between us, but I like them both. As for who's the best heavyweight in the world right now, someone will have to prove himself. And that can only be done in the ring. It can't be decreed by HBO or Don King. No one is given greatness in boxing. You have to earn it and prove it again and again and again."

and watch this clip of vitali and lewis in the ring this year, very friendly actually.

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[barneyrub]

You should join Lennox Lewis`s myspace site because the man himself will phone you back if you send him your number. He videoed a few of his calls to his fans to prove it really was him. He isnt the adrift arrogant persona you may think.

Here he is talking about Vitali, Ruddock and fighting his best friend once, during a call to a fan.
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[SwollenGoat]

Hey SwollenGoat. It's been a long time since I've seen you last.Indeed. :hi:

Hows the writing comming?

Still railing against the faithful? :hey
But of course :lol: :firedevi: :lol:

[Andrey]

The only stain that Vitali ever had in how he acted with Sanders, and his loss to Lewis and how he acted towards that.


I think I'm a nice guy but if someone would be my little bro as bad as Sanders did, I'd **** that guy up with a ring stool, on HBO and anything else heavy I could get my hands on. And I'm a veery nice guy so for a BOXER to act as cool as Vitlai did, I THINK THAT IS BEYOND AMAZING.

Also him being pissed off at Lewis, all the challenges and stuff. Once again he was tooo cool about it. I mean he is a fighter, he got emotions to.




Andrey

[Mendoza]

Vitaly to me seemed to show his true colors when things don't go his way. His actions after Wlad's losses and some other times are to me a little questionable. That is not to say he is a bad guy....but he is not this laughing, joking, jolly guy he acts like he is.

Lewis was in denial when he lost. It was a lottery punch. When Lewis defeated Vitlai fight on cuts down 4-2 on all cards, he was a real ass in the interview. At one point Lewis grabbed the microphone from Larry Merchant as the two talked about a possible rematch. The re-match that never happened, not because of Vitali’s eye or the money, but because deep down in placed Lewis will never publically admit, he does not think he would win the re-match. I don’t think we can fault Vitali for wanting the re-match or being upset when Sanders Ko'd his brother, then gave him a slap on the cheek.

When Lewis won, he would refer to himself in the third person. Lewis was a good guy, but at times his ego was overbearing. Having said that, I do think Lewis has matured. He’s much more comfortable about talking about the highs and lows of his career.

[barneyrub]

Lewis was in denial when he lost. It was a lottery punch. When Lewis defeated Vitlai fight on cuts down 4-2 on all cards, he was a real ass in the interview. At one point Lewis grabbed the microphone from Larry Merchant as the two talked about a possible rematch. The re-match that never happened, not because of Vitali’s eye or the money, but because deep down in placed Lewis will never publically admit, he does not think he would win the re-match. I don’t think we can fault Vitali for wanting the re-match or being upset when Sanders Ko'd his brother, then gave him a slap on the cheek.

When Lewis won, he would refer to himself in the third person. Lewis was a good guy, but at times his ego was overbearing. Having said that, I do think Lewis has matured. He’s much more comfortable about talking about the highs and lows of his career.

Lewis today is relaxed and confident. "People are different from one another," he says. "You have to be comfortable with who you are. I can trash-talk like Mike Tyson. I can rap like Roy Jones." A smile lights up his face and he intones:

Lennox Lewis is the best
I'll lay them all to rest
I'll put Chris Byrd back in his nest
Cut off his dreadlocks and stuff them in a chest

The lyrics continue, ending with:
One Klitschko for breakfast; one Klitschko for brunch
Tyson and Roy Jones for lunch

Lewis laughs. "See; I can do it. But that's not me."

Lennox Lewis is different. He has always marched to his own drummer. At times, that has frustrated the media and, as a result, the pundits haven't always been kind. "The media can build you up and they can knock you down," Lewis notes. "They can create rumors that make people think a certain way. On a personal level, you read these things and you have to be strong to not let it effect you."

[RUSKULL]

Both seem to be nice guys outside of the ring. :deal

[cross_trainer]

Indeed. :hi:

Hows the writing comming?

Pretty well...still on an extremely extensive research stage--there's a LOT of information about competitive martial arts out there. The UFC is not exactly the aberration many expect--this sort of contest was around in many times and circumstances.


But of course :lol: :firedevi: :lol:

Ah, well...none of us are perfect. :D