LEWIS DEFEATS V.KLITSCHKO
WINS BY TKO 6

Round by Round Commentary - by Anne Vitello

ROUND 1
The clash of the titans starts off with a few mutual sizing-up jabs, and then Lewis landing a right -- a slightly glancing blow. The action proceeds with lots of single blows, a few one-twos, and lots of clinching. The ref reminds them "no wrestling". And Klitschko lands a decent right! Lennox's left counter misses. Then it's Vitali with another right. Hmmm. This could be interesting. Lewis starts using his jab in the final minute, perhaps shades of how the tide will turn later? This is some old-school hay-making. Both fighters are lumbering and lobbing. Lewis punctuates the round with a final uppercut.

ROUND 2
Vitali picks up where he left off with his right. Lennox Lewis is not the best version of himself tonight. Far from it. He looks rather annoyed at actually having to fight this man. OH my, here comes Dr. Klitschko. He hurts Lennox with that right. And what follows is a giant-sized, slow motion version of Gatti-Ward. Wow. Serious action! Lennox Lewis's face is tattooed with evidence of the hard-hitting, head-hunting Klitschko's determination. Lewis is NOT steady on his feet. He has enough heart to finish the round. We are in for some throwback heavyweight action tonight. Goody.

ROUND 3
Klitschko is cut, with a capital C. The fighters are digging deep, and staying busy. Lennox went on the offensive early in the round, and regained some ground. In the process of close-quarters hooks, Lennox opens a gash in Klitshko's eyebrow. Vitali Klitschko is taking everything, and returning in kind. What a tremendous surprise, to see a classic heavyweight war tonight. Lewis obviously started off overconfident. But he's beginning to warm up. That cut could mean the fight for Klitschko. Too bad. He has earned my full respect tonight. There can be no doubt about his abilities (however unconventional or sluggish his style) in the context of the current heavyweight talent pool.

ROUND 4
The boxers tumble to the canvas. The laws of gravity are at work along with these two great bears. Both men are clearly fatigued now. This round is marked by more of a survival mode than anything else. Lennox Lewis shows shades of his technical self, but just shades. Klitschko is not afraid. This is quite a key factor. Lennox Lewis is in for a hard day's night. But he can prevail, he's just going to have to suck it up and accept the reality of this bout. Vitali is battling the cut more than anything else. He is elevating his status in the boxing community with each round, and clearly demonstrating once and for all that there is real validity to the Klitschko phenomenon.

ROUND 5
Lewis makes good use of his uppercut. Yet his famous, big right is not playing a significant role tonight. He is getting a bit more snap into his punches, but is really just off his game. I am surprised at how unprepared Lewis was going into the ring tonight. This is not the man who pasted Tyson a year ago. Both fighters show serious fatigue. In close quarters, a profound series of body shots! In what looks like holding and hitting, but is explained by Larry Merchant as a legal move, Lennox unloads what seems like an endless rain of body blows. Vitali just hangs in there and absorbs it. He still connects well with that right. I can't recall a recent heavyweight bought that was as exciting as this!

ROUND 6
This is the kind of action that gets a fan's adrenaline going. Even though their movements looks practically underwater at times, these men are giving an inspirational performance tonight. Lewis' uppercut could save the day for him. There can be no doubt about Klitschko's heart, that's for sure. And, does he have a real chin, or does Lewis just lack power tonight? Lennox is an inconsistent champion. His habit of rising (or sinking) to the level of his opponents can and does get him into trouble ...as in right now when he underestimates a dangerous Ukrainian. Vitali Klitschko has stepped up in a way that yours truly certainly would not have expected. Now Lewis makes contact with a solid left hook as well as the uppercut - one of his few effective weapons tonight. It's an unusual and truly satisfying fight night.

POST-FIGHT COMMENTS:
What an awesome night at the fights! A contentious and beaten-looking Lennox Lewis bickered with Larry afterward. Confronted with the possibility that he underestimated Klitschko, Lennox maintained that Vitali was lucky that the fight was stopped. When pressed to discuss if the contest was harder than he had anticipated, Lewis hedged once, mentioning that he had had only a week to prepare, and that the hard blows of the second round did "wake me up". But otherwise he held to his story that this mandatory opponent was bound to lose: "Look at the state of his face!" Neither fighter had an answer as to how Lennox's right hand was neutralized tonight. Lewis described a fight strategy of initiating a "dogfight" and making Vitali battle in the phone booth. Klitschko for his part simply noted that he saw the right coming. And this was in fact clear; either Vitali was fast enough or Lewis was slow enough to enable Klitschko to avoid - with actual head movement?! - being on the direct receiving end of a potentially devastating Lewis right. Up until now, I would have associated the word potential with Klitschko. But he obviously earned his stripes tonight.

Leading on all three scorecards, but defeated by blood and the ring doctor, Vitali probably could have gone on. But, that really was a gulley that opened up above his eye. And with his (now wildly apparent, even to previous doubters, ahem) abilities, it is wisest to ensure his long-term career health than to take a risk with such an injury. Naturally, Klitschko expressed intense desire for a rematch (something that Lennox mentioned doing if the money was right). Lewis won the fight, but Vitali won the crowd. And me. It's official. I'm a Klitschko believer. Prior to tonight, the term "European style" irked the heck out of me, as a lame tag for guys who threw punches with their heads held high, and who couldn't move. Well, if what Vitali did in the ring is European style, then let's start importing some more. The heavyweight division just got interesting.