Hier ein paar Artikel vom secondsout forum, sind zwar ziemlich lang, aber recht interessant.
This was in Sunday's Telegraph.
Is Lewis fired up or burnt out?
By James Mossop (Filed: 10/11/2001)
LENNOX LEWIS is a worry. In the final approaches to his return fight with Hasim Rahman he is enveloped by politics, goaded by
criticism and creating doubt where there should be none.
There is concern, too, that he sees the manic Don King as holding solutions. The scene, as Lewis prepares to reclaim his WBC and IBF heavyweight titles in Las Vegas in the early hours of next Sunday morning, is one of anxiety, argument and a training camp hiding behind barriers.
You will recall that Lewis met Rahman, a 20-1 underdog, in Carnival City, Johannesburg, in April. All was well until Lewis stripped to reveal a frame that was overweight and under-trained. By the second round he was gasping for air and by the fifth the referee was flicking the gum-shield from a senseless mouth while Rahman celebrated the power of a right-hander.
Lewis fired his manager-discoverer-protector-friend, Frank Maloney. Before that he split from promoter Panos Eliades and had his own brother, Dennis, removed from the team. Only his mother, Violet, with her home-cooking, has remained a fixture throughout the fighter's 41 professional fights: 38 wins, two losses, one draw.
He brought in a business manager, Adrian Ogun, while Lewis insists he is self-managed. Now he is talking of doing deals with King who, as any number of heavyweights from Mike Tyson to Tim Witherspoon will tell you, is not always reliable when it comes to calculating percentages.
Those who always regarded Lewis as an amiable, open, understanding and decent man, say he has changed and you have to wonder about his composure going into a fight that will either send him into retirement or on to a £70 million match with Tyson.
As he trains at his retreat in the Pocono Mountains of Pennsylvania, in the gym with Emanuel Steward, he may be arriving at new, unprecedented levels of fitness and belief at the age of 36. Or he may have Maloney's writ on his mind. Or the words of boxing men such as Frank Warren and Mickey Duff, who have been quick to condemn the sense and timing of his rejection of Maloney. Or, more potent still, the secrets Maloney may be ready to spill after refusing to sign a contract containing a confidentiality clause.
Maloney was already feeling marginalised by Lewis and the Ogun faction in South Africa. He was critical of the boxer's preparation after he had delayed his arrival until eight days before the fight, presumably confident that the nobody from Baltimore was just a pushover.
Steward, recognised throughout the boxing world as an outstanding trainer with the famous Kronk gym in Detroit as his factory of champions, allowed Lewis to dictate and tried to explain the extra bulk around his boxer's hips as something that happens to everybody when they reach their mid-thirties.
If Lewis has trained to a peak he should keep Rahman on the end of his jab, dominating every round as he did with David Tua, who beat Rahman, to take back the belts.
Then Showtime and HBO, the American television moguls, who now say that agreement can be made, will get together to bring on Lewis-Tyson in April. King is already making sinister movements in the background, even though he and Tyson have fallen out.
Showtime have Tyson under contract. He owes them after they helped him clear enormous tax debts. If Lewis goes in with King, Tyson will be compelled to co-operate.
Lewis was asked about working with King, who has Rahman signed up, and replied: "You could say this fight is a tester for seeing how everything works out. Don King is a good promoter and he knows how to put on good shows. I know I said a long time ago that I would never work with Don King but here I am working with him. One thing that a boxer needs at this stage of his career is a good promoter and someone to promote him well. We'll have to see what happens in the future." With South Africa in mind, he could have added "if there is a future".
It was Maloney who held King at bay for many of those years when the grand manipulator of the heavyweight division was trying to control it completely.
Now Lewis's entire career could come to an end in the ring at the Mandalay Bay Resort. It should not. He admits he made a mistake in his laid-back approach to his South African date but there is something worrying about his claims that he fell victim to a one-punch wonder, a quick count, the unusual bounce of a wrestling ring and his legs being twisted as the blow landed.
Rahman, 28, has the psychological high ground. His confidence has soared. Steve Nelson, Rahman's co-manager, says that even in their infamous TV studio grappling, his fighter was on top. He adds: "You learn a lot about psychology on the streets of Baltimore. The Rock is quick-witted and smart and he takes challenges personally. He feels he is winning every battle with Lennox inside the ring and outside. He doesn't want to give Lewis an inch.
"The last thing you want to do if you get knocked cold, as Lennox did, is to go back and immediately face the guy who did it to you. I think it's a terrible mistake on Lennox's part, but he wanted it and The Rock is happy to oblige. He's getting a little tired of Lennox and wants to eliminate him from everyone's mindset. When he knocks him out for the second time there won't be any more talk about Lennox Lewis."
Steward, trainer of 27 world champions, is doing his best to feed Lewis's troubled mind by making outrageous statements such as: "Talent-wise, Lennox is the best heavyweight I have ever seen. He has more talent that Muhammad Ali. Ali was great because he was a special person."
Which Lennox Lewis will turn up on the night? Will it be the confident, jabbing, supremely fit, lithe athlete with a devastating, finishing punch? Or the failed weight-watcher whose heart is on a Caribbean beach while his mind wrestles with missives from m'learned friend?
He talks about bringing a new intensity to the fight. "It will be there. If not, then there's a problem," he said. "Right now my intensity level is where it should be. Emanuel is always slowing me down. He doesn't want me to overtrain. I am very serious and focused this time. I'm going to box him. The last time, I didn't focus. I wound up my punches and tried to knock him out.
"My titles are on loan. We had to take Rahman to court to make him fight me now. He's like a thief who ran away with them. A lot of people don't know who he is. People say to me, `Who is the muppet with your belts? Lennox, take back what is yours'. Rahman cannot command the ring. He's a freshman, I am a professional."
Verdict: Lewis on points, but only if he is physically and mentally flawless.
The WBC has said they'll sanction the fight, and if Rahman wins, he'll still be the champ.
If Lewis wins, however, they'll declare the title vacant.
Jose Sulamain announced this shortly after the trial concluded because Rahman was forced by a court order to fight Lewis, even though the immediate rematch violates the WBC's rules.
So Sulamain said he wouldn't punish Rahman for the judge's decision.
Regarding the IBF, the immediate rematch violated the IBF's rules too. David Tua filed a petition asking for Rahman to be stripped, and he (TUA) be declared the champ, because Rahman signed a contract that included an immediate rematch clause (which violates the IBF's rules).
But the IBF turned down Tua's petition because, although Tua was their #1 contender at the time, he wasn't their "mandatory" contender.
Then Tua lost to Byrd, and now Byrd is the mandatory IBF contender. And the IBF has stated that Byrd MUST fight for the title by April 2002, or they'll vacate their title, too.
At the moment, though, only the WBC has gone on record as saying they'll vacate the title if Lewis wins.
The problem for Lewis is, if he wins, the WBC has said they'll vacate the title, meaning Mike Tyson could fight the next available WBC contender for the title (Vitali Klitschko is rated #2).
Also, if Lewis wins, the IBF will mandate that he fight Byrd next, or he'll risk being stripped by them.
So, even if Lewis wins, a Tyson-Lewis fight -- FOR A TITLE, AT LEAST -- doesn't appear to be on the horizon.
And all this happened because Lewis FORCED an IMMEDIATE REMATCH and prevented Rahman from making the optional defense he was allowed to make, according to the contract he signed with Lewis.
I can post articles outlying this if you'd like, but someone (YOU) got pissed off when I posted articles on this thread last week.
