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Wednesday, June 18 Boxing notes: Is Lewis being foolish? By Tim Graham Special to ESPN.com |
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Lennox Lewis either doesn't know how to weigh risks vs. rewards, or he doesn't mind courting disaster.
A victory over Kirk Johnson would have proved nothing. But at least there wasn't any danger. Now there are a few striking reasons for Lewis fans to be concerned against Vitali Klitschko, a replacement opponent that offers only slightly more cachet than Johnson. Lewis is the prohibitive favorite to beat Klitschko -- the older of the giant Ukrainian brothers -- Saturday night at the Staples Center in Los Angeles. The pick here is that Lewis will keep his WBC belt by bludgeoning Klitschko in the early to middle rounds. Any prediction for this fight, however, should be tainted with doubt. There are several minor variables that could add up to one big heartache for Lewis.
Yet Lewis agreed to face Klitschko after Johnson sustained a partially torn pectoral muscle two weeks ago into training. Johnson is 6-foot-3, light on his feet and ever lighter on his gloves. Klitschko is 6-foot-8, plods around the ring like Frankenstein and goes by the nickname Dr. Iron Fist. Klitschko has fought only faintly better opposition than Johnson has. Klitschko is 32-1 with 31 knockouts. His lone loss was to IBF champ Chris Byrd in April 2000. Lewis hasn't fought since destroying Mike Tyson last June. Now he's fighting a behemoth with only two weeks to prepare. "Why wait?" Lewis said. "This will show how great I am, how I can adjust. This is my chance to show the world I can do that. It will take some adjusting to. I believe I am a boxer who can adjust and adapt to anything he brings. "In my mind Vitali has bit off more than he can chew. Here it is. He's going to get it full force. He wanted this fight so much. Be careful what you wish for because he's going to get it." Lewis is at his worst when he is complacent. While Lewis has beaten every notable opponent of his era -- he never fought Riddick Bowe as a pro, but beat him to win Olympic gold -- Oliver McCall and Hasim Rahman starched Lewis in dramatic fashion. "We are all human beings," Klitschko said. "Everybody has their strengths and weaknesses. We aren't talking about a god here." One of the reasons Rahman crushed Lewis is because the champ didn't pay attention to his training. He was distracted by the filming of the movie Ocean's Eleven, in which he fought Wladimir Klitschko. Wladmir thinks he picked up some of Lewis' flaws in the 20 hours they spent shooting the fighting scenes. A perfect reminder of what could happen Saturday night was replayed on ESPN Classic early Wednesday morning. Joe Louis was supposed to mop up the ring with Max Schmeling's mug when they met in June 1936. Schmeling stopped Louis in the 12th round. Vitali Klitschko, who lives in Germany, has become friends with the 97-year-old Schmeling. Come Sunday morning they might have more in common than their addresses. Vitali Klitschko, the new heavyweight champ? It shouldn't happen. But there are many reasons it could.
Twenty-five years of blah One of the greatest and most historically significant heavyweight fights occurred 25 years ago this month. Larry Holmes beat Ken Norton in a back-and-forth brawl for the WBC title in the Caesars Palace Sports Pavilion. The bout was capped by a classic 15th round in which both boxers stood toe-to-toe, trading bombs. As spectacular as that bout was, however, it also ushered in one of the bleakest eras the division has endured. The heavyweight landscape has been pretty desolate ever since Holmes became champion, and that's a substantial reason why he has never received praise commensurate with his greatness. Only three great champions have been developed since Holmes beat Norton: Lewis, Tyson and Evander Holyfield. Bowe could have been another one, but his career deteriorated faster than a popsicle on a radiator. Holmes ruled for seven years and 20 title defenses at a time when network TV helped guide boxing into one of its most glorious periods. Still, the heavyweight division withered. John Tate, Mike Weaver, Michael Dokes, Gerrie Coetzee, Greg Page, Tony Tubbs, Tim Witherspoon and James "Bonecrusher" Smith all wore the WBA belt in the eight years after Holmes-Norton.
Other champions of the past 25 years include John Ruiz, Frans Botha -- Frans freaking Botha! -- Bruce Seldon, Frank Bruno, Pinklon Thomas, Trevor Berbick, Tony Tucker and a 45-year-old George Foreman. Now, I recently wrote about Foreman's prominence and how remarkable his comeback was, but a 45-year-old champion speaks volumes on the dearth of heavyweight talent. There isn't much help on the horizon either. Perhaps only thing that could revive the division is if Hispanic fighters fortified it like they have the lower weight classes, carrying the sport into the 21st century. But I hope the next one is better than John Ruiz.
Canastota dreamin' Where else can you listen to former heavyweight champ Jimmy Ellis sing gospel on Sunday morning, hold a casual conversation with Leon Spinks (or at least attempt to) and nosh on a Carmen Basilio sausage sandwich? There's only one place and one weekend. I've said it before and I'll say it again: No boxing fan should ever pass up an opportunity to attend the International Boxing Hall of Fame's annual induction weekend. Every fight fan -- or sports autograph collector -- should be required by law to make at least one pilgrimage to the shrine in the quaint village of Canastota, N.Y., about 20 minutes east of Syracuse. Two weeks ago I attended my third induction in four years. The only thing that kept me from going last year was the unfortunate coincidence the ceremonies took place the same weekend Lewis and Tyson fought in Memphis. The IBHOF is perhaps the most fan-friendly of all sports halls. Scores of ring legends roam the museum grounds and sign their names freely and frequently. You never know what you'll see. This year former junior welterweight champ Aaron Pryor got married there. Foreman was the most notable member of the class of 2003. He was inducted with welterweight king Curtis Cokes, junior welterweight champ Nicolino Locche, three-division champ Mike McCallum, journalist Jack Fiske and author Budd Schulberg. Ten more were inducted posthumously: Fred Apostoli in the modern category; Battling Battalino, Louis Kaplan, Tom Sharkey and Jess Willard in the old-timer category; Caleb Baldwin and Joe Goss in the pioneer category; and promoter Dan Duva, booking agent Dewey Fragetta and manager Al Weill in the non-participant category. The IBHOF also got a chance to show off its $400,000 Courtyard of Champions Event Pavilion, a 1,000-seat open-air amphitheater that adds not only square footage, but also a sporty-yet-stately panache. You owe it to yourself as a boxing fan to clear time off your schedule in early June 2004. You won't regret it.
Lewis unplugged Lennox Lewis, in a wide-ranging interview with Gavin Evans of the London Observer, delivered some intriguing responses.
Some 'splaining' to do I was pleasantly surprised at the reaction generated by my all-time heavyweight rankings. The list produced more e-mail than the Foreman Hall of Fame column that ran alongside it. Most of the questions dealt with names I didn't include and my methods of analysis. Andrew Jenkins of Texas A&M University wanted to know why Jack Dempsey didn't rate. The main reason I didn't include the Manassa Mauler was because Gene Tunney was my No. 10, and he beat Dempsey twice. Plus, Dempsey had just three victories against Hall of Fame opponents, while many others on my list had two or three times as many. I knew there would be some debate, and that makes sense since there's no scientific way to compare boxers from one era to another. But the overriding difficulty in doing an all-time list within one specific weight division is you lose pound-for-pound latitude. That's why I rated Lewis No. 3. Lewis against anyone else on the list probably wins easily based on size and speed alone. Imagine Lewis in the ring with Rocky Marciano, who was 5-foot-11 and weighed 184 pounds when he beat Jersey Joe Walcott for the title in 1952. You also have to factor in accomplishments and strength of competition, and that makes all-time rankings even less objective. But if I were to implement pound-for-pound analysis within a given weight division -- that seems awkward to me -- my ratings would have been far different. Tim Graham covers boxing for The Buffalo News and The Ring Magazine. |
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