Lennox Lewis: "Wladimir I Would Have Knocked Out: Probably in the Middle Rounds"

According to a recent interview on BoxingScene.com, Lennox Lewis stated that he would knock Wladimir Klitschko out had they ever fought.

"I am a more complete boxer than Wladimir. In most of his fights, he proposes very little. I have much more in my repertoire. I work to the body; I get close to my opponent and throw uppercuts. Against Haye he showed no infighting, and only grabbed. And I saw no punches to the body. I can break the will of my opponent in the ring and I think a little faster. Wladimir I would have knocked out - probably in the middle rounds," Lewis said.

Woulda, coulda, shoulda. Talk is cheap.

While truthfully, I do agree with Lennox, his retirement after the Vitali Klitschko fight raised many eyebrows. Instead of giving Vitali a rematch, Lennox decided to call it quits. Since his retirement, Lennox has been talking to the media a lot, discussing who out of the current active fighters he would have knocked out.

In his prime, I think Lennox would have knocked Wladimir out. Lennox was way more experienced and more aggressive than Wladimir is nowadays. Emanuel Steward was able to make Lennox throw a full spectrum of punches in his fights, making his very effective against any and all kinds of competitors.

Thinking about their ‘would be’ fight, I do think that Lennox would have to try and wear Wladimir out first, and do it carefully. There is no point in the fight where Wlad’s straight right is not hazardous, and where Wlad’s jab is not constantly peppering his opponent’s head.

For Lennox, this would pose a very big challenge, thus him and Steward would have to come up with a way to walk through the jab and get closer where Wlad’s right hand was not longer a threat. At that point in time, Lennox would be set for wreaking havoc on Wlad’s body without much concern, as Wlad’s ability to throw body shots is non-existent.

Who knows, maybe with the way things are in the heavyweight division, Lennox could stand behind his words and challenge Wlad?