Lennox Lewis and Vitali Klitschko apparenlty fight this weekend.
What do you guys think?
Who will win?
I do not know enough about Klitschko to have an opinion on who will win.
I have read however that while Klitschko is taller he has less reach…
Strangely, despite the fact that i know next to nothing about Klitscko Im really pumped about the fight. Mainly because Pat talked the Klitschko brothers up so much…
Pat…you made some fairly strong comments bout the Klitschko brothers a while back…
I think I recall you saying that lewis would “certainly get anihilated” or something to that effect…
Here’s how I see this. If Lennox trains hard and is focused, he wins his fights rather impressively. He’s just too skilled for his opponents. I think he wants Vitaly a lot more than he did Kirk Johnson. I predict he’ll knock him out.
both guys have a glass jaw. VK is more agressive but LL counters well. If LL brings his jab he may be able to hold off VK until VK gets tired, sloppy or desperate. If LL is slow, (he’s the chessmaster of the ring all strategy but never wants to pull the trigger, thats why it took him eight to finish tyson when mike was done in five)or if he’s lazy with the jab, look out, new world champ!
Klitchko got pummeled awhile ago, but he is a beast. He is definitely the only contender for the belt right now. I do hope it is a good fight, as Lennox is probably the most boring heavyweight I’ve ever seen. He’s the reason why the heavyweight class sucks right now, and all the better fights are way below in weight, ala Ward v. Gatti 1,2,3.
You know, while I’m looking forward to this matchup (even though I believe the “other” Klitchko to be the better boxer), I’m really looking forward to two of the opening fights. Laila Ali vs. Valerie Mahfood and Lucia Rijker vs. Jane Couch. Some good female boxing that night, that’s for damn sure!!!
I gotta agree with JWright. It was either Ringside or KO magazine that had an excellent story about the current state of affairs of the heavyweight class. And the story ended up with the same opinion: the heavyweight class is BORING.
Again, Vladimer is the better boxer, as I certainly believe he is heavier hitter than Lewis. Lewis, yes is technically proficient and has that lucky jab. The Klitchko’s fight “European Style” as in, they tend to keep their hands low. I wouldn’t be surprised if their training has been adjusted as prep for this fight.
Lewis. While the Kitschko brothers have impressive physiques and can hit hard, they still fight in too much of a European style (upright, little movement, etc.). Lewis is fighting the less talented of the two, and Lewis seems to be in great shape and ready to go. I don’t think this will be much of a contest.
It is common knowledge that Wladimir is the better of the two Klitschko brothers.
I find it interesting that Lewis refused to ight Wladimir, saying that he was not worth his time (even though he was WBO champ, and at the time ranked #1 by fightnews and Ring magazine)), yet he is fighting Vitali the lesser of the two.
BTW Lewis kept Tyson around because he wanted to punish him. He’d get Tyson where he was just about to go, and back off. He did that out of spite (all the crap Tyson pulled leading up to the fight). Lewis comes across as a “gentleman” in interviews, but he is one mean dude in the ring. I am not his biggest fan, but he is pretty darn good.
Was I the only one who watched Wladimir get KO’d in 2 by Corrie Sanders back in March? And everyone thinks he’s the better one?
As for Byrd, didn’t he get whipped by Wladimir “KO’d in 2 by Corrie Sanders” Klitschko? Oh, yeah, but then Byrd took a unanimous decision over Evander “Punch Drunk” Hollyfield, so i guess he’s back to being a star. coughlosttoIkeIbeabuchicough
And anyone who complains about Lewis’ fighting style should pray to the boxing gods that these two never get in a ring together. For some reason Byrd’s inability to knock out anyone but the purest creampuffs has been translated by the hype machine into “skilled boxer.” Yeah, and I’ve got a bridge to sell you guys…
I don’t know which Klitcho brother I saw fight that one day…but he would get his ass handed to him by Lewis. Do they both have a high level of education? I can’t remember what he was schooled in but it was fairly impressive. Ciao.
After Sanders, I lost a lot of my confidence in Wladi, and Vitali’s loss to Byrd is a major strike against him. As much as I would like to see the Klitschkos dominate the division, Vitali is only going to take this one if Lewis comes in underprepared or if he gets some lucky shots early.
That Corrie Sanders fight blew my mind. I could not believe that K got knocked out that fast, it was unbelievable.
BTW, Roy Jones Jr. wouldn’t stand a chance against Lewis. He’s giving up, what, 8 inches and like 40 lbs? Granted, he fought Ruiz, but we all know Ruiz sucks ass and got lucky against a geezer in Holyfield. JJ needs to fight Tyson, not Holyfield, in his next fight. Fighting against Holyfield proves nothing. Holyfield has a huge heart, so he could pummel JJ in the late rounds. JJ can get inside the head of Tyson and make him flip out if he wants. I would much rather see Jones Jr. v Tyson - it’s a much bigger draw anyways.
Byrd is 1-1 against the Klitschko bros (lost to Wlad is a decision and ko’d Vitali).
Byrd is ranked higher than either of the Klitschkos, Holyfield, Tyson, Tua, Johnson, and Sanders. Yet, when discussing future fights, Lewis never mentioned Wlad (before he lost to Sanders) and never mentions Byrd. Lewis appears to duck those who have a good chance against him and take on opponents he knows will present few problems (Vitali, Johnson, Rahman (Lewis lost because he was dumb, not because Rahman is any good), Jones (interesting fight, but Lewis is way too big…I don’t think Jones has ever seen that kind of power in his career…I don’t think Jones would win or even have a serious chance)).
I am in no way saying Byrd is a great fighter (or even that he’d win). He is just OK, but he has earned his shot just as much as anyone else Lewis has fought over the last few years. Byrd would present Lewis with some interesting problems: mainly in brains and style - very similar to Lewis (smart and focuses on jabs and counterpunching). At this point in his career, I think Lewis is not in favor of taking on any kind of serious challenge.
First of all, Lewis has absolutely no chin. He’s proved that many a time.
I hope by some miracle that Lewis gets knocked out. He’s a chump. But he will probably win. Even when he did fight a decent fighter, (Holyfield twice) he barely beat him one time and got a draw the other time I think…Either way he couldn’t beat an aging Holyfield then. The rest of the fighters he has fought have been a joke. So he beat a has-been Tyson. In Tyson’s hey-day he would have murdered him.
He came along at a time when there is no real competition in the heavweight division. The heavyweight divison is the worst in boxing right now. Actually, this is probably the worst heavyweight era in the history of boxing. That’s why he gets no respect and sells no tickets.
I dont expect much out of this fight. The real fight will be July 11th. Forrest-Mayorga 2.
I don’t know if you saw the first one but Mayorga beat the shit out of Vernon. Who is a good fighter. Very exciting fight especially considering Forrest did the same to Mosley twice.
Then of course we have Mosley-DeLahoya 2 in Sept. That should be good.
The only reason why an unexperienced fighter like Klitschko gets to “roll in the hay” with a champ is because of the pathetic state of HW boxing.
I don’t even find Lewis all that impressive, but its obvious to see that no one now can even touch him.
A big reason why HW boxing is dead is because there’s no incentive for an athlete who’s over 6 feet and over 220lbs to take up boxing. If you’ve got the goods and the skills, you might as well join a professional team oriented sport where hundreds of guys can score million dollar contracts.
And the only reason why the lighter weight boxing divisions are still alive is because there arent too many spots on hockey/football/basketball teams for a 5’2 150lbs athlete, regardless of skill.
I hate to break it to everybody but there are no challenges in the heavyweight division for Lewis to duck. Its nothing more than a money issue. Byrd doesn’t bring enough name recognition to the table to justify a huge pay day.
Furthermore, Byrd’s a joke. Go to chris byrd boxing .com, look at his fight history, and tell me exactly which fighters he’s fought that 1) you recognize and 2) impress you. I understand that all fighters pad their records with early wins over nobodies, but his record is rediculous. The only bum he hasn’t fought is the guy standing out front of my building asking for spare change.
Drop Byrd in any other legitimate period in heavyweight history (early Tyson, Holmes, Ali) and he would be nothing more than a footnote.
I was over at espn .com and they had a poll as to the best post Ali era heavyweight champ. Tyson outpolled Holmes by about 4 to 1. Tyson better than Holmes? Do people even watch boxing or follow the sport? Is everyone on this planet insane?
Anyway, i wonder if all of this isn’t wishful thinking by boxing fans. The idea that the heavyweight division hasn’t done a complete nose dive since Holmes was robbed of his belt. And that there are still legitimate fighters and contenders out there instead a decent champion and a bunch of nobodies.
