LONDON, 11 August 2003 — Britain’s world heavyweight boxing champion Lennox Lewis will take the rest of the year off - but has made no final decision on whether to hang up his gloves for good.
Lewis retained his WBC title in June with a sixth-round win over Vitali Klitschko after the Ukrainian suffered a horrific cut.
Plans for a rematch in November were immediately proposed however they were scuppered by Lewis only last week.
While he is still undecided about whether to retire from the sport, the 37-year-old says he has no plans to fight again this year.
“I haven’t decided if I will retire yet. Nothing is final. But, I do know that I am not going to fight this year,” he told www.fightnews.com.
“Maybe next year. If I decide to fight, it won’t be a problem for me to get in shape. It will take me less than three months to get ready. “There’s a lot of money involved in a rematch with Vitali (Klitschko) and a rematch with him is definitely something that I would consider.
“At least this time, I would have more than two weeks to prepare for him. The next time around, I would do even more damage than I did the first time.”
Lewis’ lawyer Judd Burstein had earlier stated: “While Lennox has not made a final decision on his retirement, he has decided that he will not fight again this year.
“Having made that decision, he did not think it would be fair to HBO, potential sites, Vitali Klitschko and, most importantly, the sport of boxing to keep everyone in limbo.”
