Lewis may be tempted to avenge compatriot

FORMER world heavyweight champion Lennox Lewis has hinted he could be tempted out of retirement by a mouth-watering rematch with WBC title-holder Vitali Klitschko.

Lewis hung up his gloves after a sixth-round stoppage win over the Ukrainian in June 2003, when Klitschko was forced to retire on cuts.

But after watching Klitschko demolish Danny Williams in Las Vegas on Saturday night, Lewis admitted he would like to avenge his compatriot.

“Watching it stirred something inside me,” said Lewis.

“I am only nine months from being fully fight fit and seeing what happened to Danny made me want to step in.

“I wanted to tap him on the shoulder and say, ‘Sit down, mate, let me take over and finish it for you. Let me show you how it is done’.

“I really felt like jumping in the ring, as when I retired all the B-class fighters like Chris Byrd and Hasim Rahman suddenly became A-class.

“Those two may be able to give Klitschko a decent contest. But what he really needs is someone tall and good. I wonder who that could be,” he said.

Williams, meanwhile, has vowed to carry on boxing in the hope of securing another world title shot.

“I want to continue,” said the former British champion.

“Look at Frank Bruno, he lost three times in world title fights and then finally got his title.”

And Lewis believes Williams can still realise his dream of winning a version of the world heavyweight title.

Lewis feels Williams has the ability to remain a key player in a poor division crying out for recognisable names of any description.

Lewis said: “There are definitely plenty more fights out there for Danny and he now knows what it is like to box at the top end of the heavyweight division.

“I think Danny boxed a brave fight, he gave it 100% and that is all anybody could have asked for.”

Williams is now established in the mix of second-tier title fighters like Chris Byrd, Hasim Rahman and Andrew Golota.

Las Vegas gamblers had mostly heard of Williams last weekend, largely on the basis of his stunning July victory over Mike Tyson.

It would not take much for him to land a crack at one of the lesser belts - or accept a rematch against Tyson somewhere in the future.

Williams’ decision to continue was made easier by the plaudits which rolled in from both sides of the Atlantic for his gutsy display.

Klitschko himself revealed he classed his victory as the best of his career as he failed to put away the Briton early despite flooring him four times.

The Ukrainian - now well established as the leading heavyweight in the world - could face the former world champion Hasim Rahman in his next defence.

But Klitschko was remaining coy about his plans this week after having his hands bandaged following his win.

Klitschko said: “I am not prepared to go into who I will fight next or when and where it will be. “I am happy with the performance but it is all about learning and gaining experience.”