Think about it: before they were running naked at the first Olympics in Greece, some Neanderthal was probably boxing another Neanderthal over his favorite rock. These days, the title of Heavyweight Champion of the World and a few million dollars is enough motivation.
For those of you without HBO, last Saturday night promised a good old-fashioned punch out between British heavyweight champion of the world Lennox Lewis and Ukrainian challenger Vitali Klitschko.
The fight, set at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, was doomed from the start.
Los Angeles is not a heavyweight town, and it hasn’t had a heavyweight title fight since 1958.
The original card had Lennox Lewis fighting Kirk Johnson, with Mike Tyson and Oleg Maskaev squaring off on the undercard.
Surprisingly, Tyson decided he didn’t want to fight. To make matters worse, Johnson tore a muscle and had to pull out. Los Angeles was left with a big problem: no challenger on either card and lots of seats to fill in Staples Center.
Enter Klitschko, who until two weeks before the fight thought he was to replace Tyson on the undercard. As the No. 1 challenger for Lewis’ crown, it was expected Klitschko would fight Lewis sometime this year, but a last minute deal moved Klitschko up to being Lewis’ opponent for the June 21 fight.
The fight started with controversy and ceremony. George Foreman told ESPN and HBO that if Klitschko beat Lewis, he would return to the ring at almost 55 years old. Lewis then said the fight would be over quickly, and he was the best.
Lewis was not a heavy favorite, but his cocky, demeaning attitude toward Klitschko haunted him throughout the six-round bout.
The first round opened with Klitschko showing up the heavyweight champion. Klitschko’s right jabs and quick punches had Lewis collapsing between rounds.
Lewis finally landed a few punches in the third round; one even grazed the socket of Klitschko’s eye. The strike created a large gash that gushed blood all over the boxer’s face.
Lewis only won rounds three and four, but looked exhausted after the sixth round.
Luckily for Lewis, the ring doctor called the fight after the sixth round because of Klitschko’s bleeding.
The heavyweight champion was overconfident, overweight, and out of shape.
There is no doubt Lewis lost the fight. Klitschko had the upper hand and was leading on all three judges scorecards when the fight was called. Klitschko protested and raised his hands in victory.
The crowd, originally supporting Lewis, roared back at his solid-gold performance, chanting as if he had just won the heavyweight title.
Klitschko won the hearts of Americans, and Lewis is now on his way out.
Lewis should just retire. With his lucky TKO (technical knock out) victory over underdog Klitschko, he signaled the decline of his boxing career. Already established as one of the greatest boxers to ever enter the ring, Lewis is one of few who can claim he defeated every opponent he ever faced.
It is entirely honorable to go out on top. Foreman should stay out of the ring as well. Everyone seems to agree that for Foreman, 55 is too old, and 37 may be the magic number for Lewis.