Lennox Lewis vs Vitali Klitschko

Lennox Lewis retained the WBC, IBO and Ring heavyweight championships when Vitali Klitschko was withdrawn on medical advice after six rounds at the Staples Centre in Los Angeles on June 21, 2003. Klitschko was ahead by 58–56 on all three official scorecards when ringside physician Dr Paul Wallace ruled that a deep cut over the challenger’s left eye had become too dangerous for the contest to continue. Because the injury had been caused by legal punches, Lewis was declared the winner by technical knockout. Referee Lou Moret formally ended the contest before the seventh round could begin.

Lewis, aged 37, weighed a career-high 256½ pounds and entered with a record of 40 victories, two defeats and one draw. He had not fought since knocking out Mike Tyson a year earlier and was making the second defence of the championship recognised by the WBC and The Ring during this reign. Klitschko was six years younger, weighed 248 pounds and brought a record of 32 wins and one defeat, with 31 victories inside the distance. He was the WBC’s leading contender and a former WBO titleholder, but had been given less than two weeks to prepare for Lewis. The champion’s original opponent, Kirk Johnson, withdrew after suffering a torn chest muscle, while Klitschko had been preparing to meet Cedric Boswell on the undercard. Lewis was guaranteed $7 million and Klitschko $1.4 million.

The attendance was announced as 15,939, although the California State Athletic Commission later reported that only 8,490 tickets had been sold. The gate amounted to $2,523,384. Those present saw a contest considerably more difficult for Lewis than had been expected from the 4–1 betting odds. Klitschko began confidently, used his greater height well and carried the attack to the champion from the first bell. Lewis appeared heavy and slow, while the challenger moved behind a straight left hand and released right crosses whenever Lewis remained upright in front of him.

Klitschko won the opening round on all three official cards. He repeatedly reached Lewis with straight punches and did not allow the champion time to establish the jab. Lewis attempted to impose his physical strength at close quarters, but he was beaten to the punch and forced backwards more often than usual. Klitschko continued his advance in the second and struck Lewis with two right hands, which caused the champion to stagger. A cut appeared beneath Lewis’s left eye, and the challenger again took the round unanimously. The early stages clearly belonged to Klitschko, whose direct punching and activity unsettled a champion who appeared short on sharpness.

Lewis responded immediately in the third. Within the opening seconds, he landed a heavy right hand, which tore open the skin above Klitschko’s left eye. The injury was severe from the moment it appeared, with the upper eyelid split and blood running down the challenger’s face. Klitschko nevertheless continued to press and exchanged heavily with Lewis at close range. Both men landed hard right hands, but the champion’s punches were now having the greater physical effect. Lewis took the round on all three cards, although Klitschko remained aggressive and showed no wish to retreat.

The fourth was a rough and demanding round. Klitschko resumed his forward movement, landing jabs and right hands while Lewis sought to counter with uppercuts and overhand rights. Both men were tiring, and their movements grew less orderly as they leaned and wrestled after exchanging blows. The challenger’s damaged eye required constant attention in the corner, yet he continued to see enough of Lewis’s punches to answer effectively. Klitschko won the round on all three cards and restored the two-point advantage he had established over the opening six minutes.

Lewis concentrated more on the body in the fifth. During one clinch, he delivered a succession of short right hands to Klitschko’s ribs. The blows were disputed at ringside because of the fighters' positions, but no penalty was imposed. Lewis also continued to attack the damaged side of Klitschko’s face with the jab and right hand. The challenger remained ahead in activity and landed enough clean punches to win the round on two of the three cards, although judge Pat Russell favoured Lewis. The cut had by then widened considerably, and the tissue above the eye was hanging open.

The sixth was the champion’s strongest round. Lewis landed a severe right uppercut, which snapped back Klitschko’s head, and followed with further heavy punches as the challenger attempted to answer. Klitschko remained upright and continued to throw, but his vision from the left side was plainly impaired. Both men were exhausted, often falling together after their attacks and struggling to maintain balance during the exchanges. Lewis won the round unanimously, reducing Klitschko’s advantage to 58–56 on the cards of Tom Kaczmarek, James Jen Kin and Pat Russell.

Dr Wallace examined Klitschko during the interval. The challenger insisted that he could continue, but the doctor found that the injured eyelid was obscuring part of his field of vision. Klitschko had to move his head to see clearly, leaving him unable to defend safely against Lewis’s right hand. Wallace advised Moret to stop the contest, and the decision was announced to loud disapproval from sections of the crowd. Klitschko protested and attempted to cross the ring towards Lewis, but the ruling was final.

The stoppage was medically justified. Klitschko required 60 stitches to repair four cuts to his face and another wound inside his mouth. The principal injury to the eyelid alone required approximately 30 stitches and included damage to the surrounding muscle. The doctor later explained that blood had not been the deciding factor; it was the obstruction of Klitschko’s vision and the danger posed by further right hands from Lewis.

Klitschko had nevertheless greatly improved his reputation. He had accepted the contest at short notice, won four of the six rounds and forced Lewis into one of the hardest fights of his championship career. His performance produced immediate calls for a rematch, and Lewis initially indicated that he was willing to meet him again later in the year. Klitschko recovered and stopped Kirk Johnson in two rounds that December to reinforce his claim, but the second contest never took place.

Lewis announced his retirement in February 2004 and did not box again. The Klitschko contest, therefore, became the final appearance of a career in which he had defeated every opponent he faced. It was not an easy or entirely satisfying conclusion, for Klitschko was leading when the injury ended the fight. The result was nonetheless legitimate. Lewis had caused the cut with a right hand, continued to strike the damaged area and left the doctor with no safe alternative after six punishing rounds.

Vitali Klitschko gave Lennox Lewis one of the hardest nights of his career. He stepped in at short notice, started quickly and had Lewis looking heavy and uncomfortable. After six rounds, Klitschko was ahead 58–56 on all three cards, and nobody watching could say he had not earned it.

But Lewis did what champions do: he found the weakness and attacked it. That right hand in the third opened a terrible cut over Klitschko’s left eye, and from then on, Lennox kept targeting the damage with jabs, rights and that savage uppercut in the sixth. The stoppage was correct. Klitschko’s eye was a mess, and no responsible doctor could have allowed him to continue.

For me, Klitschko won the argument on courage, but Lewis won the fight legally and fairly. People call it controversial because Vitali was ahead, but cuts caused by punches are part of boxing. Lennox caused the damage and retained his title.