Lennox, don't do it !
Let me just say that if Lennox Lewis comes out of his brief retirement to fight WBC Champ Vitali Klitschko, nobody will have been more wrong than me! If Lewis fights Klitschko, I will have completely misjudged him. I for one felt that Lewis got out of boxing at the perfect time. He is one of the few heavyweight champions who came out on top in every way possible. I really believed and thought he was different then the others and could resist the lies that his healed body and mind are whispering to him.
Lennox Lewis left boxing as the world's top heavyweight. In his last fight as Champ he beat the fighter that many thought was going to be the heir apparent in Vitali Klitschko. Lewis also has his money and achieved respect as a great fighter on top of never facing a fighter he couldn't beat. Coming back and beating Klitschko again would prove absolutely nothing. Winning the title again won't improve his standing as an all-time great. And if he lost to Klitschko, I'm not sure his legacy could take the hit historically. Again, he already beat Vitali in June of 2003.
I don't want to hear the crap that Klitschko was leading on the cards when the fight was halted - they only fought six rounds. The bottom line is Vitali couldn't continue. He couldn't continue because Lewis busted his face up with his two fists. It's not like Lewis kicked him, or bit him, or head butted him. He busted his face apart with solid punches, that's why Klitschko couldn't continue. The fact that Vitali was leading in the scoring proves nothing other than he was a more than worthy challenger. The fight was only half over. Nobody knows how those last six rounds would have played out, nobody. In the end Lewis beat Vitali Klitschko on a night that he may have been the least prepared of any night during his title tenure. On the other hand, it was one of Vitali's best nights. Lewis gains nothing by beating Klitschko in a rematch, and his legacy coul take a hit if he loses. Remember, he's only been retired a short time, it's not like other cases where the returning champ was coming back after a lengthy lay off. Lewis won't be afforded such an excuse.
And to those who think that I'm some Lennox Lewis apologist, you couldn't be more wrong. I'm someone who believes that over the last 30 years, Ali and Holmes would've tortured him, Foreman would've gone through him, and prime Holyfield was better and should rank ahead of him. I'm not even sure prime Lewis was better than prime Bowe, but acknowledge he must be considered the better fighter due to his long list of accomplishments.
Lewis has worked too hard and long to risk his legacy becoming spotted for money and trying to please the fans. Another title won't make anyone view Lewis in a higher standing than he is currently viewed. Money can't buy a legacy. Legacy is something I personally wish more of the great fighters cared about, however I guess it's hard to turn down 30 or 40 million dollars, I wouldn't know and I doubt anyone reading this knows either.
Lewis is in the enviable position of actually seeing his legacy grow more and more if he never returns. Like with Larry Holmes, the more time goes by the more Lewis will get the deserved accolades that great fighters receive. There can be no denying that when a fighter goes out on a winning note, his legacy seems to endure better. Seeing a fighter having his hands raised in his last fight always endures the test of time.
When you never see a fighter get shellacked at the end of his career, it's hard to envision it when you match him up in mythical fights with past greats. That's why Marciano's memory is so enduring. It's easy to say he fought a lot of old greats, but the fact that he always found a way of getting it done makes it easier to believe that in the mythical match ups in our mind, he would've found a way. There's just something about seeing a great fighter winning in his final bout.
The risk reward for Lewis is not worth it. Not that this would happen to Lewis versus Klitschko, but look what the Tyson fight did to Michael Spinks ...
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