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.
By Eric Thomas: Former undisputed heavyweight champion Lennox Lewis (41-2, 32 KOs) is picking WBC heavyweight champion Samuel Peter (30-1, 23 KOs) to not only defeat WBC champion emeritus Vitali Klitschko (35-2, 34 KOs), but also take him out in the process in their October 11th heavyweight championship bout on November 11th at the O2 World Arena, in Berlin, Germany, according to the Vanguard Online Edition. Lewis, 43, should know what he’s talking about, since he himself defeated Vitali Klitschko by a 6th round TKO in June 2003, ripping his face to shreds with right hands and bigger uppercuts and forcing the referee to step in and halt the bout to save the older Klitschko brother from permanent injury to his face and eye region. Reportedly, Lewis has been assisting Peter, 28, with training tips on how to defeat the 37 year-old Vitali, who hasn’t stepped foot into a boxing ring for the past four years retiring at the end of 2004 after sustaining injuries to his knee.
By Jim Dower: While I was watching a couple old fights this week of Lennox Lewis (41-2-1, 32 KOs), I couldn’t help but notice the similarity of his style and that of the current IBF/WBO heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko (50-3, 44 KOs), both of whom have the same trainer Emanuel Steward. Like Lewis, Klitschko has an excellent jab, maybe the best in all of boxing when he remembers to throw it, is about as equally as tall as Lewis at 6’6″, has a weak chin, and often is lacking in aggression when going after his opponents. In a way, Klitschko is almost an exact copy of Lewis, although not quite as good as him in any one category other than hand speed, which is the one area that Wladimir Klitschko is clearly superior to Lewis in. 
By Nate Anderson: In a recent interview by writer Warren Tasker of the The Edmonton Journal at Canada.com, former heavyweight champion Vitali Klitschko (35-2, 34 KOs), still appearing to be a little bitter over his 6th round stoppage at the hands of then WBC heavyweight champion Lennox Lewis, had this to say about the fight: “I really believe I would have knocked him out if the referee had let the fight continue.” At the time of the stoppage, in the sixth round, Vitali Klitschko’s face was a bloody mess with both his lip and his left eye torn to shreds by the huge right hands thrown by Lewis during the fight. It seems that Klitschko is thinking more from his heart than his head, for it looked like the wise thing for the referee to do in deciding to stop the fight. 
Now that a little time has gone by since Lennox Lewis (41-2-1, 32 KOs) has been out of boxing, I thought it would be an interesting idea to speculate how “The Lion” would have done against today’s top heavyweight champions – Wladimir Klitschko, Sultan Ibragimov, Ruslan Chagaev and Samuel Peter. Lewis was perhaps in his prime in 1997, around the time that he destroyed Andrew Golota in one vicious round at the Caesars Hotel & Casino, in Atlantic City, New Jersey. At that time in his career, the 6″5″ 250 lb Lewis was almost indestructible, with impressive wins over Ray Mercer, Oliver McCall and Tommy Morrison already on his resume. 
By Chet Mills III: According to Kommersant, the Russian news agency, former heavyweight champion Lennox Lewis (41-2-1, 32 KOs) is interested in fighting a rematch with Vitali Klitschko (35-2, 34 KOs), if the money is right, and only if Vitali can somehow win back a heavyweight title. No doubt, it’s a tall order for Klitschko, who has been out of boxing for the past two years after retiring due to numerous injuries. For the bout to happen, Vitali, now 36-years old, must beat Jameel McCline, his next opponent on August 22, 2007, in Germany. If all goes well in that bout, Vitali then faces the winner of WBC heavyweight champion Oleg Maskaev and challenger Samuel Peter.