07-04-2003, 04:56 PM
Lewis wants to know Klitschko's eye will be ready
![[Image: vitaly_klitschko.jpg]](http://sportsmed.starwave.com/i/magazine/new/vitaly_klitschko.jpg)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
ESPN.com news services
NEW YORK -- WBC heavyweight champ Lennox Lewis is weighing two options for his next fight, but his decision depends upon the health of Vitali Klitschko's left eye, according to the New York Daily News.
Lewis said he wants Klitschko to have the eye examined by an independent doctor in the next couple of days to determine whether the Ukrainian would be ready for a rematch on Dec. 6. Klitschko had the cuts around his eye repaired by a plastic surgeon immediately after the fight. Last week, the doctor said it would take six months for Klitschko to be healed enough to take punches.
Klitschko's eye can't look like this if he wants a Lewis rematch.
"I don't want to go into training for the fight and then find out that the eye won't hold up," Lewis said to the Daily News yesterday from Manhattan.
Klitschko suffered a deep cut above his eye during his June 21 bout with Lewis in Los Angeles. Klitschko lost the bout when the ring doctor advised the referee to stop the fight after the sixth round, even though Klitschko was leading on all three scorecards.
"It's amazing that they go to the scorecards and say he was leading," Lewis said Wednesday during a conference call. "He won the first two rounds. I won the next four. He was lucky. He would have been KO'd. I enjoyed that fight. We went at it."
Kiltschko welcomes another chance to fight Lewis. In fact, he said he called in on the conference call, from Hamburg, Germany.
"I was on the line," he said. "I want to say thank you to Lennox Lewis. It was my dream to fight for the championship. It was just the cut that stopped me. Who was the winner? I have no doubt."
If Klitschko's eye doesn't pass muster, Lewis will move on to option No. 2: WBA champ Roy Jones Jr. Lewis said he spoke to Jones about a match but they haven't discussed money.
"I agree, pound for pound he may be the best in the world. But I have 50 pounds on him and I don't think his speed can overcome that advantage," Lewis said Thursday on ESPN Radio's The Dan Patrick Show. "The public wants to see it...I want to see it too." Even though he won the first fight with Klitschko, Lewis made it clear that he prefers a rematch over the bout with Jones. The win certainly was not the definitive victory Lewis wanted. He looked tired and clumsy and weighed a career-high 256-1/2 pounds.
He said that considering his year-long layoff and the last-minute booking of his opponent, he was pleased with his performance.
"I had been training for one person who was a certain height and weight and style and at the last minute I had to take on a 6-foot-8 guy," Lewis said to the Daily News. "I only had four rounds of sparring for this guy and I thought I did pretty well."
------------------------------------------------------------
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
ESPN.com news services
NEW YORK -- WBC heavyweight champ Lennox Lewis is weighing two options for his next fight, but his decision depends upon the health of Vitali Klitschko's left eye, according to the New York Daily News.
Lewis said he wants Klitschko to have the eye examined by an independent doctor in the next couple of days to determine whether the Ukrainian would be ready for a rematch on Dec. 6. Klitschko had the cuts around his eye repaired by a plastic surgeon immediately after the fight. Last week, the doctor said it would take six months for Klitschko to be healed enough to take punches.
Klitschko's eye can't look like this if he wants a Lewis rematch.
"I don't want to go into training for the fight and then find out that the eye won't hold up," Lewis said to the Daily News yesterday from Manhattan.
Klitschko suffered a deep cut above his eye during his June 21 bout with Lewis in Los Angeles. Klitschko lost the bout when the ring doctor advised the referee to stop the fight after the sixth round, even though Klitschko was leading on all three scorecards.
"It's amazing that they go to the scorecards and say he was leading," Lewis said Wednesday during a conference call. "He won the first two rounds. I won the next four. He was lucky. He would have been KO'd. I enjoyed that fight. We went at it."
Kiltschko welcomes another chance to fight Lewis. In fact, he said he called in on the conference call, from Hamburg, Germany.
"I was on the line," he said. "I want to say thank you to Lennox Lewis. It was my dream to fight for the championship. It was just the cut that stopped me. Who was the winner? I have no doubt."
If Klitschko's eye doesn't pass muster, Lewis will move on to option No. 2: WBA champ Roy Jones Jr. Lewis said he spoke to Jones about a match but they haven't discussed money.
"I agree, pound for pound he may be the best in the world. But I have 50 pounds on him and I don't think his speed can overcome that advantage," Lewis said Thursday on ESPN Radio's The Dan Patrick Show. "The public wants to see it...I want to see it too." Even though he won the first fight with Klitschko, Lewis made it clear that he prefers a rematch over the bout with Jones. The win certainly was not the definitive victory Lewis wanted. He looked tired and clumsy and weighed a career-high 256-1/2 pounds.
He said that considering his year-long layoff and the last-minute booking of his opponent, he was pleased with his performance.
"I had been training for one person who was a certain height and weight and style and at the last minute I had to take on a 6-foot-8 guy," Lewis said to the Daily News. "I only had four rounds of sparring for this guy and I thought I did pretty well."
------------------------------------------------------------