This was the beginning of Klitschko reign. Lewis was smart enough to realize when it is time to go. Most Boxers don't .

What a brawl. Hats off to both these guys. Lewis in particular, at his age. That Klitschko took that uppercut and kept on fighting is a miracle.

Hard to believe this boxing masterpiece took place 20 years ago! It just seems like a month ago!

Lewis was one of the classiest champs ever. Picking up your opponent after an accidental takedown is incredible sportsmanship for a boxer. These guys were both class acts.

32:06 That uppercut would have killed most people. How Klitschko was breathing after that thump is beyond me. What a heart by Klitschko!!!

This fight is an example of true combat

Coming back to watch this as big Vitali stands strong in Kiev, don't quite know what else to watch today. A warrior in the ring and out of the ring. The highest respect needs to be given to this man

Lewis had to be stunned when he landed that massive uppercut and Klitschko didn’t go down. Absolute warrior. The cut was too bad because this fight deserved to go the distance

Win or lose, it's the world's toughest sport and all these fellows deserve a lot of respect.

You can't blame Lewis for refusing the rematch - he knew he was getting out of his prime, it's better to go out on a high.

Who watch this fight after 20 years? Klitschko`s straight right from round two and Lennox devastating uppercut from round six can kill average people and knock out top boxers. But Lennox and Vitali have titan chins and hearts. One of my favourite HW fights. Even after 20 years looks great. Much better than heavyweight in 2020 era.

Forgot about that uppercut in round 6,any other heavyweight in history goes down with that,vitali really did have an iron jaw

Everytime I watch this one it raises my adrenaline level...battle of Titans

Sad to say I never really liked Lewis till this match. He took some heavy punches and still managed to keep swinging. I take everything bad I’ve said or thought back. Lewis was under rated by a lot of fans

Great to see the end of one era transition into another. Lewis right at the end of an era, hard as nails teaching the best of the next era how to hang in the big leagues.. Klitschko showing the world and the best in the business what he can do and how tough he is, showing the old champ his days are numbered. We can all speculate on the outcome if the rules were different. I think the ref/doc saved a great career. For sure there would have been serious injuries and maybe the loss of a great future champ if it had gone on. Lewis might well have been knocked out or beaten on points , but more than likely he would have taken it 12 rounds and Klitschko's eye would have been irreparable . Biggest respect for both men here. Plus the doc and ref.

The real winner here is Michael buffer $5 million for 3 mins work.

one of the best boxing matches I have ever seen!

I met Lewis once. I have never met a more enormous, glossy, well groomed and charming human being. I was utterly star struck.

“Look at the state of his face!” 😂😂😂 gets me all the time😂

The was one of the most underrated fights I've ever seen.. Vitali was a very good fighter. Lewis looked jaded through this fight ut he managed to find a way to win.. Vitali had a bit of a name for being gutless but he showed he was better than most realised

Vitali is the only boxer in history with no knockdowns and knockouts in career! Respect!!!

One of the most exciting heavyweight title fights ever

Lennox Lewis is a true symbol of what a heavyweight boxer is all about

had to watch this again, saw the fight live but couldn't remember if it was a good one or not, thanks for this upload!

32:08 uppercut epic. Greatness

Great fight. Crazy how tough Vitali was. Only loss due to injuries. Lewis retired rather than fight Vitali again. Both these guys would dominate todays heavyweights.

Beautiful fight. Vitali was a warrior.

The greatest fight i‘ve ever seen. Both were awesome.

Vitali's heart is like no other fighters, The way he gets up with half his face falling off saying he wants to continue is just amazing

Most people forgot that Lewis accepted to fight Klitschko three weeks before this fight. He was planned to fight a weaker Kirk Johnson (with all respect) who didn’t fight because of injury. So Lewis wasn’t even fully trained for Klitschko and he knew it but still Lewis won the fight.

Interesting revisiting this. Vitali IS awesome, but they’re both such smart, brutal fighters. Lennox was heavy, but he’s got such great balance and agility. What a shame about that bloody cut!

We couldn't afford to watch this back in the day. Hope you watching now dad.

I know people are angry this fight was stopped but it was the right call. This is not a gladiator fight to death. This is sports and they did great. Lenox and Vitali are one of the greatest authentic boxers in history

How come people aren't talking about how much of a badass fight this was?

Vitali does have the heart of a champion! lewis at the age of 38 still landing those heavy blows,cut to the eye,cut to the cheekbone,cut to the upper lip just shows the magnitude and power of lewis although he doesnt have the speed like he used to have in his prime but he still had the power and vitali showing the world what heart of a champion means!! kudos to both

Lennox Lewis was patient and skillful.

I like how Klitschko says "he don't punch me very hard" with a face resembling a slice of Domino's.

When your that big and you hit someone once clean it can be all over! Both had solid chins regardless of what some might say!

The fight that left us wanting for more. It sucks how it ended and we never got a rematch. I guess Lewis was battered enough after this fight to call it a career and it was a tremendous one. Klitschko went on to dominate and retire on top. Well done to both men, great effort.

God stepped in klitchko's body and held it up and gave him life again in a split second after that crazy uppercut Lewis hit him with lol

One of the Best fights ever

This day 18 years 11month ago. The mòst entertaining heavyweight fight. Match in size n skill. They both are great

damn that jab from lewis is so good, what a boxer

A cut on eye really created slow punche of Klitschko otherwise an English man would have lost that match. Respect for you all legends❤

nobody has managed to knock Vitali one of the greats of history certainly, very strong and stable

Best heavyweight fight of our century yet and it is not even close.The hairstyle of young Wladimir is killing me!!!!!

That UPPER CUT! 🔥

I always thought it was a shame Vitali's career was so blighted by injuries, I always thought he was the better fighter out of the two brothers

What a brutal sport. Respect to both.

Both of these guys in thiear prime would take wilder to school in his prime.

What a fight , what a fight . The biggest for biggest. Two great fighters.

Dramatic fight and one of a waning fighter in Lewis at 38 against a guy who would rule the division after this. Still shows the class of Lewis , Klitschko has a PhD but Lewis was very intelligent in the ring it was like a chess match for him, Lewis still had enough class , look at the jab late in round 4 he catches Klitschko with absolute class and the uppercut he landed was tremendous, Klitschko took it well and showed great heart and showed why he would top the division after Lewis. Let's be honest Lewis was finished but still had enough class , a prime Lewis demolishes Klitschko no problems . Lennox for me is top 3 of all time HW beat all his opponents, revenged his losses . Fantastic fighter .

What a great fight from two truly great CHAMPIONS!

The fact that lewis is 37 years of age in this fight is a credit to him and surely he is up there with the greats

Lenox was my favorite heavy weight at the time but I must admit i had forgotten the way ended this brawl. Klitschko not deserve a lost on this fight, a no contest would had been fairest

"Look at the state of his face," "he was definiely TETERIORATING!" Classic Lennox Lewis. I was cracking up when he said that.

Loved both of these fighters, and would have loved to see a rematch. Lennox is a legend, and deserving the status. It just really bothers me that Vitali doesn't get the credit he deserves. He was NEVER knocked down, and was NEVER - ever - behind after the 3rd round in any fight. Yet, nobody mentions him when talking about "the best". He had an almost 90% KO ratio - which is insane. I won't talk about "coulda-shoulda-woulda" because that is just stupid. What I'll talk about is the numbers. This was a legitimate loss for Klitschko - and it should have been his first, and only. His only other loss was to Chris Byrd, where he was ahead 8 rounds to 1...but tore his rotator cuff. I'm sure that, had he been more familiar with American boxing at the time, he would have found a way to finish the fight by avoiding Byrd. The guy has a PHD in Sports Medicine, for crying out loud. He did what he would URGE any other athlete to do in that situation, when, in truth, he could have lost every remaining round and still won a unanimous decision.

Lewis was past his best by this point and really the tyson fight should of been his last. But at least lewis knew when to stop.

Lewis is bang on. At the end of the fight Klitschko is cut 3 times on the left side of his face and has a busted up mouth / lip from the big uppercut. So how can Larry say Klitschko was able to "avoid" his right hand? Lewis was getting to him with the bigger shots.. And this is boxing, opening and busting up a cut is a legit way to win a fight.

Real clash of titans, great fight, hats off. It looks like a terminator fight) Both had great ratio of high skills, size, agility, tremendous toughness. Lewis is one of the most skillful heavyweights in history. I think he had the best opposition. Vitaly is one of the toughest (never been knocked down) and most unusual heavyweights. It was almost impossible to prepare to fight against him. Both will always be in any of my top of the greatest. The controversial end of this fight has a good side. Because their confrontation turned in eternal question with different theories.

The beginning of the Klitschko reign. Lewis made a staggering amount of money, had a glittering career and got out when he was at the top. Smart move. He knew his time was up and he left in style. A fantastic boxer and all round nice guy.

What a brill boxer Lewis was ..Watching his fights against Ruddock,Tyson,Holyfield,Klitschko ,Bruno,Tua,Tucker ,Rahman etc is always great ..He retired as Heavyweight Champion as he was 38 and way by his peak..You see how great he was as this was Klitschkos only genuine defeat in his whole career ..Prime Lewis would have knocked him spark out ..90s was a brill era in heavyweight boxing ... :)

Lewis did look quite rusty in the first two rounds and a bit gassed. Kitschko was also gassed and had taken a few nasty head strikes, notably the thunderous upper cut. The fight was getting closer as the rounds went on, and we'll never know who would have one. The fact that the ref stopped the fight is not Lewis's fault, although many comments seem to think it was. What I do know is that you can never count out a great champion that Lewis was. He is tough, determined and has a big heart. It is what it is and people should except the outcome. Lewis had a remarkable career and is one of the heavyweight greats. Kiltschko also had a great career. Enough with the bellyaching already about Kitschko getting robbed!

Had to rewatch this after how many years because I favored klitcho and easily saw him winning if not for the stoppage. Watching it again confirmed that. Klitcho beat him pretty much in every round, if they didn’t stop the fight due to the cut vitali certainly won

32:09 master piece. Greatness.

Yet some people think Wilder would beat Lewis or Klitscho. Don't possibly see how.

Lewis gained my total respect after this fight. A great Champion for the sport. PS And can I call out HUGE love for the late Emanuel Steward . One of the best trainers in my lifetime.

Lewis is in my top 2 all time heavyweights.

Lenox is the most underrated boxer of all time…how the heck does he keep hitting a moving target at exact same spot? That eye of klisko was his target for many rounds and he kept hitting home👀

32:08 timestamp for that sweet uppercut

Great fight by two great fighters.

Fight of the decade in that era

Vitali was winning 4 x 2 the rounds but his health is more important than a possible victory, and a probable cirurgy.

There's no way these new boxers could hang back then. They fought fought!

I'm Canadian and a big Lewis fan. I think Vitali was ahead in points when the fight was stopped.

Vladimir is talking from passion....a real fighter....he said "no one punched me hard, he didn't punch hard" but if you see his face, his face is ripped, his eye would have popped out if he continued punishing that skull.

Larry Merchant "how do you think Vitali managed to keep avoiding your right hand"... Left side of Vitalis face falling off from Lewis' right hand.

Vitali was never knocked out let alone knocked down in his career GOAT

Lennox Lewis terbaik 👍👍👍

Great fight, a rematch would of been good but sadly we never got to see it.

Klitschko looked awesome here. Great fight from both men

Lewis 84” reach no wonder he was master of the jab , his arms are longer than my legs 😂😂

This was the luckiest day of Lewis' boxing career.....At the end of the fight he looked like the cat that ate the canary....

These gave there all for our enjoyment, god bless them.

Look how great this match up was, hammering shots from the first bell. Joshua Parker was a shambles.

best hw fight ive ever seen... certainly the best super-heavyweight fight.

Fantastic fight. Lewis gave just as good as he got and both men fought like warriors. There was no problem with that result.

That was fcn brilliant 👍🥊

That uppercut at 32:09 ... You can hear it loud and clear from the microphones that were recording the fight. LOL

No one seems to mention the tremendous job Lou Moret had done as a referee in this fight. He was literally dwarfed by both Lewis and Klitschko, but handled the action in the ring perfectly, despite it being so rough and brutal!

The more times i watch this, the better it gets.

Great fight and shouldn’t have been stopped

I think people were too harsh on Lewis in the aftermath of this fight. Yes Klitschko was ahead but the fight was literally only halfway over, plus Lennox was coming back strong and was showing his champion's heart. If the fight had gone longer, who knows what would have happened? It wasn't Lewis' problem that it was ended early. Plus the cut was caused by a PUNCH. People need to read the rules, if a punch causes the damage and the fight has to be stopped then of course it's a legit win, it's like knocking a guy clean unconscious.

Klitchko “ I saw every right punch coming “ klitchkos face 🤪

In such situation , one should not make it a prestige issue. Victory and defeat are the parts of a game.

Entiendo a vitaly un gran campeón pero esa parte de la cara estaba seriamente dañada otro golpe podría ser devastador e irreversible lenox justo vencedor de este combate estas situaciones siempre hay que pararlas y hay que darles la la razón a los referís

If this fight had a really ending then it would be one if the greatest HW fights ever.

vitali deserved a rematch

Both fighters were great champions. respect

It was time for Lewis to retire by the time of this fight, but he managed to pull off a win against a very good opponent indeed. Lewis was the best heavyweight since Ali, probably the 2nd best ever, and like a true great, was able to pull off a win even when he was, arguably, not the best man in the ring that night.