Lennox Lewis dreams of a return to form
Former heavyweight champion Lennox Lewis is thinking about stepping into the ring again.
“The Lion” recently opened up to the Daily Mail, saying: “Yes, it’s on my mind again. I am talking myself out of it but the temptation is growing. Definitely.”
Lewis turned 45 in September. He has only two professional defeats in 44 contests.
Renewed interest in a comeback came after seeing the recent bout between WBC titlist Vitali Klitschko and Shannon “The Cannon” Briggs. In the fight, Klitschko pulverized Briggs for twelve rounds. Briggs refused to quit, even though he absorbed arguably
unnecessary punishment.
“Shannon has asthma and weight problems and that spectacle was damaging to boxing,” Lewis said. “I’m in much better condition. When I see guys like Shannon and Hasim still fighting it does make me think.”
When Lewis announced his retirement in 2003, he did so with the public caveat that he would not be returning to boxing. Since then he has held fast to his promise, despite offers from promoters like Don King to return.
Another big factor for Lewis is that Vitali Klitschko is still competing at the top of his game at the age of 39, and doesn’t seem to be slowing down.
Making a return a little bit sweeter would be the fact that Klitschko would love to fight Lewis in hopes of avenging a 2003 loss. Though Lewis was stunned by Klitschko in the third round of their fight, he managed to open a nasty gash over Klitschko’s left
eye, which resulted in the fight being stopped in the sixth round. At the time of the stoppage Klitschko was ahead on the scorecards.
Lewis spoke about the lack of competition in the heavyweight division today, but was sure not to blame it on the Klitschkos: “It’s not the fault of the Klitschkos. They came towards the end of my career. For the most part they were in the next era. So their
problem is finding good opponents. All they can do is take on whoever is around now. They need better competition.”
Tags: