Lewis' place in history is cloudy

In boxing, a champion's place in history is measured not by his opinion, but by his opponents.

DAVE ANDERSONNew York Times News Service

In boxing, a champion's place in history is measured not by his opinion, but by his opponents. By those he defeated and also by those who defeated him or those he was fortunate enough to defeat.

Three years ago Lennox Lewis talked about how "I deserve to be up there with Louis and Ali'' in the all-time ranking. But out of shape and out of sorts, he was dethroned as heavyweight champion by Hasim Rahman in virtually a one-punch knockout reminiscent of his 1994 knockout at the hands of Oliver McCall. In those fights, Lewis wasn't even up there with Hasim Rahman and Oliver McCall, much less Joe Louis and Muhammad Ali.

Only a year ago, after having regained his heavyweight title from Rahman, Lewis destroyed Mike Tyson in a bloody eighth-round knockout that restored his confidence. And after a year's absence from the ring, he was preening again as he awaited to defend his title against Vitali Klitschko at the Staples Center in Los Angeles.

"This is a good opportunity,'' he told reporters, "to show the world how great I am and how well I can adjust.''

Instead, Lewis showed the world how great he isn't, how poorly he adjusted to fighting someone taller and tougher and how cloudy his place in history will be when he finally retires — which he should have done after flattening Tyson.

Klitschko was ahead on all three judges' cards, 58-56, when the ring doctor, Paul Wallace, inspected the deep gash above Klitschko's left eye after the sixth round and advised referee Lou Moret to declare Lewis the winner.

"I see very well,'' Klitschko told HBO's Larry Merchant in the ring, "If don't stop it, I win the fight. I want rematch.''

Klitschko deserves a rematch. But if he cuts that easily, the rematch might be stopped too. Klitschko, bleeding from several other smaller facial cuts, reminded old-timers of Chuck Wepner, the legendary Bayonne Bleeder. After a 1970 Jersey City fight with the former heavyweight champion Sonny Liston that was stopped after nine blood-spattered rounds, Wepner needed 56 stitches to close his various wounds.

Asked that night if Wepner was the bravest boxer he had ever fought, Liston growled, "No, his manager is,'' meaning Al Braverman.

Klitschko will need time for his face to heal, especially the gash above his left eye, before exposing it in a rematch or even in sparring. But even though the fight goes onto his record as a KO-by loss, Klitschko justified his stature as a title challenger and restored his family's boxing honour. His brother Wladimir, considered the better contender of the two, was recently knocked out by the lesser-regarded Corrie Sanders.

And even though the fight goes onto Lewis' record, now 41-2-1 with 32 knockouts, as a KO 6 triumph, it will be remembered as the title defence he deserved to lose.

Lewis, while insisting that he would have knocked out Klitschko in the next few rounds, whined that he had "only a week to prepare.'' Not really. He had trained for several weeks to defend his title against Kirk Johnson on Saturday night. Johnson withdrew on June 6 after tearing a chest muscle and Klitschko was promoted from the undercard to the main event.

Lewis, at 6 feet 5 inches, had to punch up; Klitschko is 6-8. As a result, Lewis, whose jab jarred Tyson and other shorter opponents, wasn't as effective with that punch against the taller Klitschko. Lewis also didn't move as smoothly as usual, preferring to fight flat-footed and throw roundhouse punches.

Whatever the reason, Lewis, at the heaviest in his career at 256 pounds at the weigh-in, was nowhere near the best of condition. He appeared weary and desperate even in the first few rounds. Shame on him for not remembering that poor conditioning and lackadaisical training had contributed to his quick one-punch knockout by Rahman in South Africa.

It's in the record book forever. Lewis was knocked out by Rahman and McCall. And now put an asterisk next to his KO 6 over Klitschko.

Those three names will haunt Lewis' eventual place in history, just as Buster Douglas haunts Mike Tyson's. Whenever boxing buffs measure Lewis against other heavyweight champions, those three names will sabotage his stature. When the best heavyweights of the past lost, it usually was to worthy opponents.

Louis lost to Max Schmeling and late in his career to Jersey Joe Walcott, Ezzard Charles and Rocky Marciano.

Ali lost to Joe Frazier, Ken Norton and Larry Holmes, although he also lost decisions late in his career to two lesser heavyweights, Leon Spinks and Trevor Berbick.

Frazier lost twice to both George Foreman and Ali.

Foreman lost to Ali and Jimmy Young before regaining the title at age 46.

Holmes lost to Michael Spinks twice.

But the best champions never got knocked out, as Lennox Lewis did, by somebody like Hasim Rahman or Oliver McCall. Or needed an asterisk to get by somebody like Vitali Klitschko.