There have been times since he retired from boxing that Lennox Lewis has looked around the heavyweight landscape and thought about making a comeback. But then he is snapped back to reality by an even more sobering thought.
“When I see guys like Shannon Briggs coming back I think, ‘Dude why are you doing it?’ You can always make money. But you can’t make new brain cells.”
Lewis is just the second man to retire as heavyweight champion and not come back. The other one is Rocky Marciano, who left the sport with a perfect 49-0 record in 1955.
Now the closest Lewis gets to a ring is below the ring apron where he calls what he sees in the ring. In that role he will work as an analyst for the heavyweight title match between WBC champion Vitali Klitschko and Odlanier Solis to be broadcast on EPIX, a new TV network that is also broadcast on the internet, on Saturday afternoon. The fight will be shown on a TV screen in Times Square in midtown Manhattan ? a first for a live boxing show.
Klitschko will be defending the same WBC title that he fought for when he faced Lewis in 2003. Lewis stopped Klitschko on cuts in the sixth round, getting the victory and retaining the title. It was a strange victory for Lewis because Klitschko was ahead on all three judges’s scorecards (58-56) when the fight was stopped. That was the last fight of Lewis’ career. He retired with a record of 41-2-1 and 32 KOs.
Lewis, 45, is satisfied with his career and the way that it ended. Perhaps that is why he can resist the urge to return to the ring. But the heavyweight division is not as exciting as it was when Lewis was involved.
The division is dominated by Vitali and Wladimir Klitschko, two Ukrainian brothers who primarily fight out of Germany. The two of them control three of the four titles from the major sanctioning organizations. They have so much power that they can make deals with opponents on which brother they will get to fight. Tomasz Adamek, a Polish contender who lives in Jersey City, N.J., has such a deal. He is scheduled to face either Vitali or Wladimir in September. The brothers get to choose which one will fight Adamek.
Wladimir is supposed to fight David Haye, the WBA champion, in July. But if Wladimir can’t fight Haye, for whatever reason, contractually Vitali can step in for him.
Their popularity has waned in America. So much so that HBO and Showtime, the major cable networks that broadcast boxing here, are not buying their fights because they are all mismatches. Lewis said the Klitschkos dominate in a way that is not appealing to America audiences, something that he had to learn before he gained popularity here.
“The American audience wants the knockout,” Lewis said. “The Klitschkos may knock out a guy, but they take a high number of rounds to do it.
“You’re not going to win a lot of fans by beating a guy up over a lot of rounds before you knock him out. It’s like playing with your food before you eat it. If you’re so dominate over your opponent, then get him out of there. Show him he doesn’t belong in the ring with you.”
It is a formula that made Mike Tyson one of the greatest attractions the sport has ever seen. People didn’t care whether Tyson’s fights were competitive. They came to see him knock out his opponent. The speed of the KO became a reason to watch.
Lewis said another reason they haven’t generated a great deal of excitement is that they are the two most dominate heavyweights in the division, but they will never fight each other. If they were complete strangers, and just as dominate, they would be a collision course toward a mega-fight.
Imagine if Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather Jr. were brothers and had vowed never to fight each other. You get the idea of what you’re facing with the Klitschkos.
Lewis admits that the level of competition in the heavyweight division has fallen off since he was around. He came along during an era when Riddick Bowe, whom he beat in the Olympics for a gold medal, Evander Holyfield, Mike Tyson and George Foreman were all on the scene. Each man was a great champion in his own right. There is not that pool of talent available for the Klitschkos.
“It’s difficult to reach the highest heights because of that (lack of competition),” Lewis said. “It’s difficult for the Klitschkos. I feel bad for them. It’s not their fault.”
Klitschko’s title defense against Solis is a case in point.
“Solis is boxing Vitali for the title. But who is he?” Lewis said. “He had an extensive amateur career (Cuban Olympic gold medal winner in 2004), but no one knows anything about him. Is he the next guy? Who is the next guy?”
If Solis beats Klitschko, his profile will rise considerably. But don’t count on that happening, unless Klitschko makes several mistakes during the fight.
Lewis, the last undisputed heavyweight champion, has been retired for eight years. He is now in the Boxing Hall of Fame. He will watch one of his former nemesis, Mike Tyson, be inducted in June.
“Yeah, I think he’s a Hall of Famer,” Lewis said. “If for no other reason than he is the youngest heavyweight champion ever. That’s big. He gave us a number of great fights at the beginning of his career.”
Lewis drew his share of criticism when he was boxing. But he used it all to get better and make himself into a great champion. He always thought that he would get more appreciation once he had left the scene than he did when he was on the scene.
“I’m like a fine wine. I got better with time,” Lewis said. “People are still looking around for “The” heavyweight champion.”
With the division being ruled by two men who won’t ever fight each other, Lewis, even in retirement, is considered the last man to hold that title.
