Klitschko loses to Lewis, but wins public support (06/29/03)

Klitschko loses to Lewis, but wins public support

PARSIPPANY, N.J. - Lennox Lewis defeated Ukrainian Vitalii Klitschko to retain the World Boxing Council title after a ringside doctor stopped their June 21 fight prior to the start of the seventh round.

While Lewis, 37, won the fight, it was Klitschko, 31, who surprised boxing experts and captured many of the 15,939 hearts at the Staples Center in Los Angeles with his performance.

Klitschko's heart and determination had been in question ever since he pulled out of what many experts said was the only true test of his career - he failed to come out for the 10th round against Chris Byrd on April 1, 2000, after tearing the rotator cuff in his left shoulder in the fourth round of that fight.

This time, however, Klitschko, a 4-1 underdog going into the fight, left a strong impression on analysts and commentators working the fight. Several, including boxing great and former heavyweight champion George Foreman and HBO's Larry Merchant, called Klitschko the real winner in the fight and said that questions regarding Klitschko's heart were erased with the Ukrainian's performance.

Klitschko fought from the third round on with blood pouring over the left side of his face from five different cuts.

Dr. Pearlman Hicks, a California-based plastic surgeon who repaired the cuts to Klitschko, said in a telephone interview with The New York Times that 60 stitches were required to repair four cuts on Klitschko's face and one cut in his mouth.

Ringside doctor Paul Wallace ordered referee Lou Moret to stop the fight in between the sixth and seventh rounds prompting Klitschko to jump up from his corner stool shouting, "No, No, No!" Klitschko was winning, 58-56, on all three of the ringside judges' scorecards when the fight was stopped, giving the reigning WBC champion a sixth-round victory by technical knockout.

"Right now I feel like I am the people's champion," Klitschko said immediately after the bout, according to Reuters. "I did not want them to stop the fight. My strategy was to take it into the seventh or eighth round. It was working perfect. It wasn't easy, but I felt like I was winning."

Prior to the fight, however, Klitschko seemed somewhat nervous. After a tentative first round, the 6-foot 7-inch Ukrainian struck in the second and third rounds, landing a series of jabs and strong rights that left Lewis reeling. It seemed at points that Klitschko might drop the 6-foot 5-inch Briton in the early rounds.

Lewis, who last fought over a year ago, seemed tired and sluggish through most of the fight. He entered the bout weighing 256 1/2 pounds - the heaviest of his career.

However, Lewis (41-2-1, 32 KOs) recovered in the later rounds, opening up a severe gash above Klitschko's left eye and later another cut just below the left eye with a series of heavy roundhouse rights. Lewis then landed several uppercuts that stunned Klitschko (32-2, 31 KOs) in the fifth and sixth rounds.

Both fighters looked tired halfway through the bout, but the prevailing thought from inside the Staples Center seemed to be that Lewis caught a lucky break with the doctor's ruling.

Klitschko's performance during the loss sets the stage for what many boxing analysts believe would make a very interesting rematch. While Lewis would almost certainly approach a rematch in better physical shape, Klitschko gained confidence from the fight. Speaking in post fight interviews, he seemed buoyed by his performance against Lewis.

"The punches from Lewis looked more dangerous than they were. When you get hit really hard you suddenly hear music in your head and see birds flying around. That didn't happen to me, but I'm sure Lewis experienced that," Klitschko said, according to Reuters.

The New York Times reported that Dr. Hicks said he thought it would take 60 to 90 days for the damage to Klitschko's face to heal, and that it could take up to six months before he could safely fight again.

According to the Associated Press, Kery Davis, senior vice-president at HBO boxing, said after the fight that the network would be very interested in staging a rematch. Mr. Davis said Lewis could fight Roy Jones Jr., the recently crowned World Boxing Association champion, in the fall instead.

"I want a rematch, and the rematch would be much bigger (for Lewis) than Roy Jones," Klitschko said, according to the AP.

Both the Klitschko and Lewis camps said immediately following the fight that they are interested in a rematch, but there is no date or contract set for a second Klitschko-Lewis showdown.

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