The “Clash of the Titans” took place 21 years ago in Los Angeles. Briton Lennox Lewis met Vitali Klitschko in a legendary fight – a controversial outcome sent the boxing world into turmoil
June 21, 2003 was to go down in the history of combat sports. In the “Clash of the Titans”, a bloody ending divided the boxing world.
In the ring of the Staples Center in Los Angeles, WBC, IBO and The Ring champion Lennox Lewis and WBO champion “Dr. Ironfist” Vitali Klitschko faced each other in a fight that delighted boxing enthusiasts – and left a disillusioned Klitschko behind.
“It’s as clear as day to me: the ring doctor is to blame,” explained Klitschko after the six-round event. The doctor had classified the heavily bleeding cut over Klitschko’s eye as a health risk, and referee Lou Moret ultimately stopped the fight. But Klitschko was ahead on points against Lewis at the time.
“FIGHT OF THE TITANS” IS BROUGHT FORWARD
Originally, the highly anticipated event between the two boxing champions, both of whom had only suffered one defeat in their professional careers at the time, was not due to take place until later in the year.
Briton Lewis was to defend his IBO title against Kirk Johnson beforehand, while Klitschko was scheduled to fight Cedric Boswell before the event and the big fight was not planned until December. However, as Johnson had to cancel the IBO title fight due to a torn left pectoral muscle, the “clash of the titans” was moved forward by six months at short notice. Vitali Klitschko was considered by many to be the clear underdog – until the opening bell
OFFENSIVE TACTICS AGAINST LEWIS A SUCCESS
The then 31-year-old Ukrainian tried to convince the fans otherwise with an offensive start. In hindsight, he said: “I felt invulnerable, I was convinced that he couldn’t knock me out. “
Early on in the fight, Klitschko was able to land several headbutts on Lewis, which visibly upset the Brit. In the second round, Lewis took a cracking blow to the chin that left him staggering for a moment
THE ROUND THAT CHANGED EVERYTHING
The Ukrainian left an impression on the Brit with the headbutts, who appeared visibly knocked out and was able to save himself going into the round break. And Klitschko collected points so that the first two rounds were scored in his favor.
In the third round, however, the then 37-year-old Lewis looked like a different man. Around ten seconds after the ring bell opened a round for the third time, the Brit landed a hard right hand. The blow left a deep gash over Klitschko’s left eye, and the cut caused severe bleeding.
“At first I was shocked when I saw all the blood. Then I said to myself: stay calm, you have to get through it. Otherwise I could lie down under the comforter at home,” quoted his wife Natalia Klitschko in Der Spiegel.
Although Klitschko was able to survive two more rounds, even dominating some of them, ring doctor Dr. Paul Wallace felt compelled to intervene in the fight during the sixth round due to the cut over the Ukrainian’s eye and convince referee Lou Moret to end the fight immediately
The reason given by Wallace was that Klitschko’s vision could no longer be guaranteed and the swollen and drooping eyelid was covering the pupil. The fight was therefore scored as a technical knockout victory for the Briton. But that was just the beginning of the turmoil: Klitschko was ahead on points at the time
KLITSCHKO “HAVE SEEN MUCH WORSE INJURIES “
Klitschko said after the fight: “I’ve seen much worse injuries. I don’t want to be seen as an ungrateful loser, but for me it’s as clear as day: the ring doctor is to blame!” He also emphasized: “I was still completely fresh after the sixth round, but he plopped down on his stool like a sack of potatoes.”
Former heavyweight pro Axel Schulz was of the same opinion: “The referee made the wrong decision. If he had, then he should have stopped a round earlier when the cut was bleeding heavily. Later, the wound was almost healed.”
The spectators on site chanted for the Ukrainian, who had shown morale and impressed with his offensive tactics against the 1988 Olympic boxing champion. HBO commentator Jim Lampley also shared this opinion: “Vitali is the winner of the event, the winner of the night, the winner of the masses. 15,000 spectators went home as fans of the Klitschkos. “
NO RE-FIGHT BETWEEN KLITSCHKO AND LEWIS
And even the opposing trainer took the same view. “That was a very, very good fight. Vitali showed more than I expected. Lennox was really frustrated. He wasn’t well prepared for this big boy. But I have no doubt that he would have knocked him out in the next round,” said Emanuel Steward.
However, Klitschko remained disappointed with the sporting outcome. A rematch, which had been called for by almost everyone, did not happen. Instead, Lennox Lewis laid down his titles the following year and ended his sporting career. However, this only cemented the myth of the “Clash of the Titans”