Lewis- Klitschko and Mayorga-Forrest

By Tom Donelson

12.06 - Now that Lennox Lewis is going to fight one of the Klitschko brothers, I will give my view of the fight and pick. Vitali, like his younger brother, has had a extensive amateur boxing career and he has basic boxing skills. This will not be an easy fight but Lewis should prevail. The Klitschko brothers are cautious fighters and simply use their size to imitate their opponents. Working behind their jabs, the Klitschkos close the distance with their opponents and then using a variety of punches, they end their bouts. Their one weakness is that they appeared mechanical when fighting. As Corrie Sanders showed recently, the Klitschko are not invincible and Lewis certainly will not be intimidated.

Lewis strengths are his combination of boxing skills and power. Lewis destroyed Michael Grant when Grant had some of his skills and confidence and the not the Grant we saw the past weekend. So Lewis has the ability and skills to beat Klitschko. In big fights, Lewis fights smart. He does not allow himself to be swept into the moment and he will fight within himself. He will box and if the opening is there to end it, he will end it.

The two things that can defeat Lewis are his overconfidence and age. When Lewis has lost, it was because he did not take his opponent seriously. In the big fights, he fought smart and used his skills. If Lewis comes out against Klitschko like he did against Oliver McCall and Hasim Rahman in his first battle against them, then Klitschko will win in quick order. If he fights smart, he will win a decision or knock Vitali out in the middle or late rounds. The second thing is father time. Lewis is 37 years old and fighters can age in the ring quickly. Just as Holyfield looked old in his first fight against Lewis, Lewis can be defeated by father time. With no fights in a year and no tune-ups, the real question is whether we will see the Lewis that beat Tyson or an old Lennox Lewis.

All things being even and guessing that Lewis can still delay the inevitable erosion of skills for at least 12 more rounds, Lewis will win either in a TKO in the middle or late rounds or gain a easy decision.

Now for another fight that is being overshadowed: the welterweight battle between Vernon Forrest and Ricardo Mayorga. Mayorga is the real deal, having easily defeated "Six-Heads" Lewis and Vernon Forrest. Mayorga is a pressure fighter, who just keeps coming and who can take a punch. While many criticize Forrest for fighting Mayorga, my own take is that Mayorga forced Forrest in a pitched battle. He took Forrest legs away and his power did the rest.

The second fight may last longer but I will pick Mayorga by a knock out. Mayorga is a talented fighter and is the best welterweight. The man can take a punch, and when he hits his opponent- it is "good night sweet prince" as one former ESPN boxing announcer use to say. Mayorga is not the poster boy for perfect training methods, unless you think smoking two packs a day excellent for training. After big wins, Mayorga has a smoke in the ring and it is way of sending a message to his opponent- "Hey look dude, I am your master and now that I kicked your butt, I am just going to take a cigarette break."

Mayroga throws punches from all angles and those punches are delivered with bad intentions. Vernon Forrest is an excellent boxer and before he met Mayroga, he was undefeated. After beating "Sugar Shane" Mosley, Forrest was going to be the Welterweight new superstar and even a fight with Oscar De La Hoya could be seen over the horizon. Mayorga sent those dreams packing and now Forrest is in a must win situation. He can't make a mistake against Mayroga, for one mistake and it is over. He has to box and stay out of harms way with the idea of tiring the Nicaraguan. Forrest still has to remember ending up on the floor in the third round in their last fight. So will Forrest fight the perfect fight? This is the Welterweight version of Marciano- Walcott. Jersey Joe Walcott was fighting the perfect fight for 13 rounds and easily winning the fight before he made one mistake and blocked a Rocky Marciano right with his head. Fight over. Mayroga has power in both hands and he can be losing every round but the last and end it with one punch. He will beat Forrest again. By a knockout.