Lewis Likely to Give Vitali a rematch

[Urban Warfare 0]

Lennox Lewis and Vitali Klitschko seem headed for a WBC heavyweight title rematch before the end of the year, WBA champ Roy Jones, Jr., notwithstanding.

 

 

 

Jones looks to be the logical next opponent for Lewis, who defended his title last month by cutting Klitschko badly around the left eye and forcing the fight to be stopped in the sixth round. Instead, Lewis is more interested in fighting Klitschko again.

 

 

 

``I definitely want a rematch,'' he said during a conference call Wednesday. ``I'm opting for a rematch.''

 

 

 

Lewis trailed on the cards of all three judges when the fight ended, and was widely criticized for his performance.

 

 

 

``It's amazing that they go to the scorecards and say he was leading,'' Lewis said. ``He won the first two rounds. I won the next four. He was lucky. He would have been KO'd. I enjoyed that fight. We went at it.''

 

 

 

One available date for Lewis-Klitschko II is Dec. 6. That would leave time for Klitschko to recover from the cuts that stopped the first fight.

 

 

 

Jones is still on Lewis' agenda. Lewis said he talked with Jones and was intrigued with the man who has held titles in four divisions.

 

 

 

``Jones is like Superman - faster than a locomotive, flies higher than a plane, can leap tall buildings,'' he said. ``This is what they say. I'm looking at other options. One of them is Roy Jones, Jr.''

 

 

 

Kiltschko welcomes another chance to fight Lewis. In fact, he said he called in on the conference call from Hamburg.

 

 

 

``I was on the line,'' he said. ``I want to say thank you to Lennox Lewis. It was my dream to fight for the championship. It was just the cut that stopped me. Who was the winner? I have no doubt.''

 

 

 

Klitschko said he didn't think Lewis would give him a rematch.

 

 

 

``Before, I was worried about Roy Jones, Jr.,'' he said. ``Now he says he will fight me. It's a big risk for Lennox Lewis to finish his career with a defeat. I give him respect. I am happy with what I heard.''

 

 

 

Lewis said a rematch would depend on an independent doctor checking Klitschko's eye.

 

 

 

``There is no problem.,'' Klitschko said. ``I am a fighter. I have to check my health. Everybody is giving me a green light.''

 

 

 

Klitschko was a last-minute replacement after Kirk Johnson of North Preston, N.S., injured his chest in training and had to pull out. Lewis said the adjustment to a bigger opponent was difficult.

 

 

 

``Given the circumstances surrounding the fight, I trained for one person with a certain size, weight and style,'' Lewis said. ``Then 10 days before the fight, I took on a six-foot-eight guy. I had only four rounds sparring for this guy. I did pretty well.

 

 

 

``He threw some good punches that I was not used to seeing, especially from that height. That fight was not going the distance and the next one won't go the distance, either.''

 

 

 

TSN.ca

[Guest Youth N Asia]

He should give the guy a rematch...he kicked the champs ass last time.

 

Will he EVER fight Byrd though?

[Guest kingkamala]

Will he EVER fight Byrd though?

No because frankly it's not worth it, Byrd is a boring ass fighter who will tire you out by clinching and jabbing. Besides Lewis is no dumb cookie, he knows that if he fights Byrd it'll be a boring fight and it'll turn fight fans off.

[Guest alkeiper]

But fighting Kirk Johnson is a-ok? At least Byrd has a chance of winning.

[Guest Agent of Oblivion]

I want to see Tyson fight Byrd. He'll make a spectacle out of that wuss.

 

I'm glad to see the rematch is gonna happen, though. Lewis obviously wasn't satisfied with his performance either, and Klitschko DEFINITELY wants another shot, since he had the advantage. Lewis is obviously bullshitting by saying he was going to win that fight, but that's understandable. No one thinks they're going to lose. If a fighter DOES think that, or even considers it..he's dead meat. Especially at that level.

 

That said, I'm expecting a trim Lewis to KO Klitschko in the middle rounds.

[Guest redbaron51]

Somehow.

 

Some way.

 

Lewis will win the match.

[Guest Youth N Asia]

Somehow.

 

Some way.

 

Lewis will win the match.

And if not you'll get

 

Lewis: "I have a fever of 200. The guy' on steroids. I fought with 2 broken legs. The judges were bribed. And I was shot 4 times before the fight."

 

Plus a million other excuses. Lewis is an cocky bastard. Which I can deal with, except he never admits when he gets his ass handed to him. There's always an excuse.

[EL DANDY~! 0]

Well...here's the deal.

 

Lewis was unprepared for Klitschko. He thought that it would be an easy fight, blah blah blah. Came in the heaviest he's ever been at and all that.

 

I'm betting that even though he'll be in shape nad ready for this fight, that it will still be a good fight. And something is telling me that even though that's all gonna happen, and that he WILL be ready...

 

...that Klitschko is gonna find a way to win. I'm telling you. Something about him is making me think that Lewis's time at the top is over with. Maybe I'm buying into the whole "Great White Hope" stuff, but I wouldn't be surprised if Vitali beat Lewis at his own game: technical boxing. Winning points, not scoring knockout blows.

[Rob E Dangerously 0]

Byrd should fight Wladimir before he starts bitching that Lennox is ducking him.

 

Remember that Wladi kicked the shit out of Byrdman

[Guest Hogan Made Wrestling]

I wonder what the PPV draw for this fight will be. I have a feeling that it will be one of the biggest ever. I for one can't wait.

[Guest alkeiper]

Byrd should fight Wladimir before he starts bitching that Lennox is ducking him.

 

Remember that Wladi kicked the shit out of Byrdman

 

Two caveats. One, Byrd has been the recognized #1 contender by Ring Magazine for quite some time. He's been a contender for god knows how long, and most others in his position (Tua, Rahman, Grant) have received title shots. Second, Wladimir got KO'd by Corrie Freakin' Sanders.

[Guest Agent of Oblivion]

I wasn't all that surprised to see Lewis go into the Vitaly fight looking like he just had a litter of pups. Kirk Johnson is a pushover. Hell, I'd fight him.

[Guest alkeiper]

Hell, I'd bet money on you if you did.

[Guest Agent of Oblivion]

If memory serves, didn't he get skunked on by Andrew Golota?

[Guest alkeiper]

Johnson has lost once, to John Ruiz via DQ. He really hasn't beaten anyone noteworthy his entire career, unless you count Oleg Maskaev.

[Guest Youth N Asia]

Seems like Jones vs Lewis (which would be a slaughter) is the only big money fight left right now. After that it's looking bad.

[Guest Agent of Oblivion]

I wouldn't be so sure of that. 12,000+ paid to see him vs. Vitaly..on 2 weeks notice.

[Rob E Dangerously 0]

Byrd should fight Wladimir before he starts bitching that Lennox is ducking him.

 

Remember that Wladi kicked the shit out of Byrdman

 

Two caveats. One, Byrd has been the recognized #1 contender by Ring Magazine for quite some time. He's been a contender for god knows how long, and most others in his position (Tua, Rahman, Grant) have received title shots. Second, Wladimir got KO'd by Corrie Freakin' Sanders.

And Byrd lost to Wladimir by a lopsided decision.

 

I don't think you can say that Byrd is better than Wlad, based on any evidence.

[Guest alkeiper]

Perhaps, but the heavyweight scene is such that if you used that argument for every contender, no one would be worthy to fight Louis. Byrd lost to Wladimir, Wladimir lost to Sanders, Vitali lost to Purrity, Purrity lost to Johnson, Johnson lost to Ruiz, Ruiz lost to Tua, etc. That's why Jones is an attractive opponent. He hasn't lost to anyone yet. (and Montell Griffin doesn't count).

[Gert T 0]

Lewis is still smarter to go for this match first, because the allure of the Jones bout will always be there, but I agree somehow Lewis gets out by the skin of his teeth unconditioned, but he probably will win the re-match.