I remember being shocked Lennox took Klitschko on such short notice, but when I said that, at the time, most people in the sport just went on about Vitali quitting against the, much smaller, Byrd. The overwhelming consensus was that Vitali had proved he didn't have heart & that, while he might look skilful, as soon as Lennox put pressure on he would fold like a deckchair. Look at Lennox & he doesn't look too worried even when being outboxed in the early rounds. He looks much more worried after R5 when he realises that he is hitting Vitali with good shots & he isn't going anywhere!
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'Absolutely gutted till this day that LL failed to rematch Vitali. I mean my avatar is from this night. I think Vitali would beat LL in rematch.'
Lennox was 37, had unified the title, which was his ultimate aim, & made shedloads of $, especially v Tyson. Why would he fight on? It was one of those instances, like Froch after Groves II, where retirement was just the obvious sensible choice.
Years later they did explore the possibility of a rematch, when it was clear Vitali had no realistic challengers, but Violet Lewis firmly said not & Lennox sensibly followed his mum's advice.Comment
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Most pivotal fight of the decade.
Imagine if Klitschko was allowed to continue & win . Vitali Klitschko would have been listed among the Top-5 Heavyweight fighter ever.
shwaap
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