Editing Lennox Lewis (section)

====Lewis vs. Klitschko====
{{Main|Lennox Lewis vs. Vitali Klitschko}}
Lewis was forced to vacate the IBF title in 2002 after refusing to face mandatory challenger [[Chris Byrd]]. In May 2003, Lewis sued boxing promoter Don King for US$385&nbsp;million, claiming that King used threats and bribery to have Tyson pull out of a rematch with Lewis and a fight on the [[Card (sports)|card]] of a Lewis title defence.

Lewis scheduled a fight with [[Kirk Johnson]] for June, but when Johnson suffered an injury in training, Lewis fought [[Vitali Klitschko]], the WBC's No. 1 contender and former [[World Boxing Organization|WBO]] champion. Lewis had planned to fight him in December, but since Klitschko had been on the undercard of the Johnson fight anyway, they agreed to square off on 21 June. Lewis entered the ring at a career high 116&nbsp;kg (256{{frac|1|2}} pounds).<ref name="USA TODAY 2003-06-23">{{cite news | first=Dan | last=Rafael | title=Lewis shows his age in struggle to defend title | date=23 June 2003 | publisher=Gannett Co. Inc. | url =https://www.usatoday.com/sports/boxing/2003-06-22-lewis-vitaly_x.htm | work =USA Today | access-date = 21 December 2023 | archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20030626025916/https://www.usatoday.com/sports/boxing/2003-06-22-lewis-vitaly_x.htm | archivedate=26 June 2003}}</ref> Lewis was dominated in the early rounds and was wobbled in round two by solid Klitschko punches. Lewis opened a cut above Klitschko's eye with a right cross in the third round and gave a better showing from the fourth round onwards. With both fighters looking tired before the start of round seven, the doctor advised that the fight should be stopped because of a severe cut above Klitschko's left eye, awarding Lewis victory by TKO. Klitschko was leading 58–56 on all three judges' scorecards when the fight was stopped. Lewis was guaranteed US$7 million and Klitschko US$1.4 million. The gate was US$2,523,384 from an attendance of 15,939 at the [[Staples Center]] in California. The fight aired live on [[HBO]]'s ''[[HBO World Championship Boxing|World Championship Boxing]]'' with approximately 7 million viewers.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.multichannel.com/news/ufcs-debut-fox-draws-57-million-viewers-290079|title=UFC's Debut on Fox Draws 5.7 Million Viewers|date=29 March 2018}}</ref>

Interviewed about the fight by HBO, Dr. Paul Wallace explained his decision to stop the fight:
<blockquote>
When he raised his head up, his upper eyelid covered his field of vision. At that point I had no other option but to stop the fight. If he had to move his head to see me, there was no way he could defend his way against a punch.
</blockquote>
Klitschko's face required sixty stitches.<ref>[https://www.nytimes.com/2003/06/25/sports/boxing-60-stitches-for-klitschko.html "BOXING; 60 Stitches for Klitschko"], ''The New York Times'', 25 June 2003, retrieved 23 December 2010.</ref><ref>[http://www.eastsideboxing.com/boxing-news/Klitschko-Transcript.php "National Conference Call Transcript: Vitali Klitschko, Wladimir Klitschko, Cut Man Joe Souza, Dr. Pearlman Hicks, Attorney Ron DiNicola"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120718112520/http://www.eastsideboxing.com/boxing-news/Klitschko-Transcript.php |date=18 July 2012 }}, ''eastsideboxing.com'', retrieved 23 December 2010.</ref><ref>[http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/boxing/3010520.stm "Relief for Lewis, stitches for Klitschko"], BBC, 22 June 2003 retrieved 23 December 2010.</ref>

Because Klitschko had fought so bravely {{Citation needed|date=November 2023}} against Lewis, boxing fans soon began calling for a rematch. The WBC agreed, and kept the [[Ukraine|Ukrainian]] as its No. 1 contender. Lewis initially was in favour of a rematch:
<blockquote>
I want the rematch, I enjoyed that fight. It was just a fight. We went at it. You have to play dollars and cents but I'm opting more for the rematch.<ref>{{cite web|last=Rafael|first=Dan|url=https://www.usatoday.com/sports/boxing/2003-07-02-notebook_x.htm|title=Lewis eager for rematch with Klitschko|work=USA Today|date=2 July 2003|access-date=21 December 2023|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20160226224024/http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/sports/boxing/2003-07-02-notebook_x.htm|archivedate=26 February 2016}}</ref>
</blockquote>
Negotiations for the rematch followed but Lewis changed his mind.<ref>{{cite news| url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/boxing/3124345.stm | publisher=BBC News | title=Lewis 'snubs' Klitschko | date=4 August 2003}}</ref> Instead, Klitschko fought and defeated Kirk Johnson on 6 December in WBC Eliminator, setting up a mandatory rematch with Lewis. Lewis announced his retirement shortly thereafter in February 2004, to pursue other interests, including sports management and music promotion, and vacated the title. Lewis said he would not return to the ring. At his retirement, Lewis's record was 41 wins, two losses and one draw, with 32 wins by knockout.