By Aaron Klein: – photo by Y.Nesterenko / klitschko.com – In an interview today at Eastsideboxing.com, newly crowned WBC heavyweight champion said to writer James Slater “I have big hopes, big hopes, for a second fight with Lennox Lewis. I want to give the world the fight they all want to see.” For Vitali, 37, to be still chasing Lewis, now 43, five years after being stopped by him in the 6th round in 2003 seems a little sad and pathetic if you ask me. Vitali needs to learn how to accept his loss to Lewis, who was 38 at the time and badly out of shape, and move on with his life. Even if Vitali could get a fight with Lewis now, a win over a badly grayed, overweight and inactive Lewis would prove nothing to the boxing public nor to Vitali.

If Vitali really wants to avenge one of his defeats, he instead needs to go after 38 year-old Chris Byrd, who defeated Vitali by a 9th round stoppage in 2000 after Vitali quit on his stool in between the 9th and 10th rounds. At least Byrd is still fighting. At this point, I’d even give Vitali a good chance at winning the bout given Byrd’s recent history which has seen him lose three out of his last four fights. While the fight probably wouldn’t be all that sporting considering that Byrd appears to be shot, at least Vitali could get his revenge, even if it turned out to be bitter sweet.

Vitali needs to let go of his pursuit of a Lewis rematch, because it’s not happening. Instead, Vitali needs to focus on his comeback, and try to get as many big money fights as he can over fighters like Nikolay Valuev, David Haye or his own brother. Lewis has been retired for too long, and unlike George Foreman, who still looked dangerous at 43, Lewis looks really old and soft for his age. If Vitali is only interested in Lewis for the money, then he needs to downsize his dreams somewhat because there’s no one in the heavyweight division – besides his brother – that would come close to being a mega fight.

I seriously doubt that even a fight with Lewis would interest many fans, because he’s been out of the sport for too long and many younger boxing fans have no idea who Lewis is, other than connecting him as the sports broadcaster on HBO.

Once upon a time, Vitali fought Lewis in 2003 and did an okay job for three to four rounds, but then Vitali started taking heavy punishment from him in the 5th and 6th rounds of the bout. Vitali was hit with some especially huge uppercuts from Lewis in the 6th round, slicing up Vitali’s lips and causing him to clinch. It seemed like only a matter of time before Lewis stopped Vitali outright with the way he was hitting him. By then it became clear to me that Vitali, though competitive in the early rounds, was probably going to get taken out with a big shot if the fight were to have been allowed to continue.

Thank goodness the referee stopped the bout between rounds, because Vitali’s left eye was badly cut, as well as his lips and he had no defense for Lewis’ huge uppercuts. Once Lewis realized that Vitali was a sucker for his uppercuts, he was hitting him repeatedly with them – and likely would have continued doing so in the 7th, if the fight hadn’t been stopped.