From the Vault 03.18.09: Lewis vs. Klitschko

Posted by Ramon Aranda on 03.18.2009

We've got a heavyweight title fight coming this week, so let's take a look at one of the better heavyweight bouts in recent memory between heavyweight champion Lennox Lewis and #1 contender Vitali Klitschko from 2003.

With Vitali Klitschko only days away from his WBC heavyweight title defense against Juan Carlos Gomez, we thought it'd be a perfect time to look a one of, if not the defining fight in his professional career.

As a fill-in for the injured Kirk Johnson, Vitali Klitschko got his first shot at the heavyweight championship against Lennox Lewis on two week's notice, who was riding high after not only knocking out Hasim Rahman in their rematch but also dismantling Iron Mike Tyson in June of 2002. It had been a year since Lewis destroyed Tyson and he was the clear favorite coming in against Klitschko who had slowly worked his way back up to title contention since quitting on his stool against Chris Byrd in 2000. Vitali had gone 5-0 with 4 KO's since that loss, albeit against less than stellar competition but was in shape and available to accept the offer against the champion for the sake of keeping the June 2003 date alive in Los Angeles. As a side note, Klitschko was originally going to fight on the undercard against Cedric Boswell as a tune up to face the winner of Lewis-Johnson. Incidentally Tyson was supposed to be fighting Lewis in a rematch this night until Mike declared himself unfit for a rematch without a tune up (his tune up fight this night also fell through).



Lennox Lewis (40-2-1, 31 KOs) vs. Vitali Klitschko (32-1, 31 KOs)
12-Round WBC Heavyweight Title Bout

Venue: Staples Center
TV: HBO

Round 1: Both fighters come out pawing with their jabs before Lewis lets go with a pair of right hands that push Vitali back to the ropes. Boy these are two huge heavyweights and you can see they're giving each other plenty of respect – looking to fight from the outside. They trade jabs and then get tangled up. Klitschko lands a short left hook on the inside and then goes back to the jab. Klitschko lands a jab and then a right. Klitschko partially lands with a hook but they tangle again. A hard right lands for Klitschko and they tangle again momentarily. A nice jab by Lewis but Klitschko comes back with his own. Two stiff jabs by the champion and he misses with a huge looping right hand. They're starting to get pretty aggressive as Klitschko misses with a hook and Lewis lands an uppercut. Tough round to score by I give it to Klitschko; 10-9.

Score: 10-9 Klitschko



Round 2: Back to landing jabs from each fighter and a right lands to the face of Lewis. Klitschko looks like an awkward fighter, giving Lewis odd angles. A left lands for Klitschko and Lewis ties him up. An overhand right misses by Klitschko and Lewis is looking a little sloppy here. Ohhh - and a straight right hand lands to the chin of Lewis who is stunned!! Klitschko goes after him but Lewis hangs on. That surprised everyone especially the champ. Lewis looks a bit clumsy right now as he eats another right. I should add that Lewis is also coming in at the heaviest weight of his career. Lewis lands a good right but Klitschko comes back with a one-two and now a hook. Lewis ducks a left but is off-balance. Klitschko lands a jab and a right to the temple. We've got a fight folks!! Lewis now lands his own right and Klitschko lands a left and a right. The second round closes of the best round we've seen in a heavyweight fight in a while. This round easily goes to Klitschko, 10-9.

Score: 20-18 Klitschko



Round 3: The crowd gives them a loud cheer as round 3 begins. Lewis goes right after Klitschko and lands a straight right hand. That right hand opened up Klitschko who has a bad looking cut over his left eye; it's bleeding pretty bad. Now a triple jab lands for Klitschko and they trade hooks. A huge right lands for Klitschko and now a left hook. Lewis is aiming for that eye now as he lands a jab and a right. Now a cross from Lewis as they clinch; right on the eye. That's smart! Lewis misses with a hook and eats a jab then gives Klitschko one of his own. Lewis misses a right hand and then lands a jab. Klitschko goes to his corner as the round is over and we see that the cut is very, very bad. This thing is sliced open and it looks like a triangle. Ouch!! Wow, it's tough to look at it as part of his eyebrow is hanging off. First round for Lewis, 10-9.

Score: 29-28 Klitschko



Round 4: Lewis comes out and lands a hard hook before they tie up. They get tangled and they fall on top of each other. Two jabs land for Klitschko but now Lewis lands a right hand. Now another right lands for Lewis and now a hard jab. Lewis is getting warmed up and is beginning to land with more frequency now. A jab for Klitschko and they tangle. You can see that Lewis' left eye is beginning to swell. A right lead lands for Klitschko and then partially lands a right cross. They tie each other up and Lewis sneaks in two rights to the body. Round is over and Lewis looks tired already. Slow round but it goes to Klitschko in my opinion; 10-9.

Score: 39-37



Round 5: Klitschko they come out jabbing again and Klitschko lands a solid uppercut and now Lewis returns the favor with his own right. They clinch and Lewis lands eight hooks to the body while they're holding each other. Lewis misses a haymaker and Klitschko lands a right. Vitali's eye is bleeding again but he lands three jabs that backup Lewis. Klitschko misses a right and Lewis lands a jab. Klitschko looks the fresher of the two. Klitschko throws two jabs and Lewis lands an overhand right cross right on the cut. A one-two lands for Lewis and the blood is flowing. Two jabs land for Lewis and a right lands to end the round. Lewis steals this one, 10-9.

Score: 48-47 Klitschko

Round 6: Man, that cut is BAD. Klitschko lands a left and then a quick right hand, and then another one. A stiff left lands for Klitschko but Lewis lands his own right. A right lands up the middle for Klitschko and POW, a hard, hard uppercut lands on the chin of Klitschko but he takes it pretty well. That would've knocked out most heavyweights – just ask Mike Tyson. Now Klitschko lands his own uppercut. What a fight! A left lands for Lewis and we get another look at that cut – this doesn't look good for Klitschko who's probably ahead on the scorecards. Less than a minute to go and these guys are obviously tired but it's been a feverish pace. Klitschko lands a right then a left. An overhand right lands for both fighters and they get tangled again along the ropes. A left lands for Lewis as the round ends and Lewis nearly collapses on his stool from fatigue. Lewis landed some big punches but Klitschko's the busier fighter who gets the round, 10-9.

Score: 58-56 Klitschko



And now the doctor has stopped the fight!! Oh my, Lewis escapes with a TKO and Vitali is visibly upset, "No!, No!" screams Klitschko. Talk about injustice for Klitschko who has just won over the crowd. Still you have to give credit to Lewis who caused the cut and then a secondary one with a punch and not a foul. Lennox Lewis has retained the heavyweight championship. Klitschko wants to continue fighting while Lewis looks like he's ready to get out of there. Vitali has just got himself a new fan base as the crowd stands up and cheers for him as he stands on the ropes.

As it turns out, Vitali was ahead on all three scorecards with identical scores as mine, 58-56.

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Aftermath

Lennox Lewis, knowing he could've easily lost and feeling like he was finally getting old, retired from boxing as the heavyweight champion denying Klitschko the rematch he desired (and to this day still asks for). His final career record stands at 41-2-1 with 32 KOs. He is set to be inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame this year.

Vitali Klitschko would go on to face the same guy he replaced, Kirk Johnson six months later in a title eliminator and he knocked him out in the 2nd round. His next bout in April of 2004 he battled Corrie Sanders for the vacant title, the Sanders who had only recently knocked out the younger Wladimir Klitschko in a hellacious fight. Klitschko would win via 8th round TKO to become the heavyweight champ. After one more successful defense, he was scheduled to meet Hasim Rahman but frequent injuries during training camp convinced him that he couldn't make it to the fight and he relinquished his heavyweight title and retired. Nearly four years later he returned in October of 2008 to stun the boxing world by outclassing WBC heavyweight titlist Sam Peter to regain the title he left behind. Klitschko is now set to defend that title this Saturday night in Germany against Juan Carlos Gomez. His record currently stands at 36-2 with 35 KOs.