By Eric Thomas: Believe it or not, Vitali Klitschko (36-2, 35 KOs) still is longing for a bout with former heavyweight champion Lennox Lewis in the future. After now almost six years since Vitali was stopped in the 6th round by Lewis in 2003, Klitschko is still seeking revenge against him. In a recent interview, Vitali had this to say about Lewis: “With Lewis, as usually happens, there is bargaining. One side, in this case Lewis, asks for the maximum amount but we referred to the minimum. Ideally, we’d find a compromise somewhere in the middle.”
As much as Vitali wants another bout with Lewis, the chances of it happening are very remote at this time. At 43, rich and gainfully employed as an analyst for HBO Sports, it’s highly unlikely that Lewis would see any appeal in making a comeback and having to take off a lot of weight just to prove himself once again against Vitali.
Unless Lewis loses all his money, including his job, I tend to doubt that he would want to risk damaging his legacy by making a comeback at this point. It’s been over five years since he last fought and he doesn’t seem to have the desire to step back in the ring. And unlike George Foreman, who made a comeback at the age of 39, Lewis is content in retirement and has no real needs that need to be met.
Vitali seems to be persisting in his pursuit of a rematch with Lewis despite the fact that it’s become almost a joke among many Internet websites and forums. What it does indicate is that due to the absence of stars in the heavyweight division, it causes a star like Vitali to have to resort to looking back in the past for fighters to mix it up with instead of seeking out the many little known, talent poor fighters that inhabit the heavyweight division at this time.
With so few appealing fighters to take on, both Klitschko brothers latched onto former cruiserweight champion David Haye when he recently moved up to the heavyweight division challenging both brothers. Like too big sharks fighting over a small minnow, the two Klitschko brothers have gone in circles deciding which one would get the chance to fight Haye.
Finally, it seems that Wladimir will be getting the chance due to Vitali having to face his WBC mandatory challenger Juan Carlos Gomez on March 21st. However, you can bet that Vitali will be waiting in the wings for a chance to seek out revenge if Wladimir is somehow beaten by the fast and powerful British fighter.
As for Lewis, I suppose Vitali will continue calling him out from time to time for the remainder of his career. It’s something that he probably realizes is a long shot at best, but there’s always a chance if somehow Lewis gets bored with his current job. Vitali could probably help himself if he agreed to some small changes for the fight, like letting Lewis fight with headgear on and having Vitali wear oversized gloves, as well as limiting the rounds to six.
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