LEWIS SAVES FACE ... ... KLITSCHKO DOESN'T, WHEN RING DOCTOR STOPS FIGHT BECAUSE OF GASH.

Byline: Michael Rosenthal Assistant Sports Editor 

Lennox Lewis was bloody lucky.

The heavyweight champion, obviously ill-prepared for a challenge, was taken to the limit by a fighter few believed could cope with the more- experienced Briton. Lewis left Staples Center on Saturday with his WBC belt only because the surprising Vitali Klitschko had a gruesome gash above his left eye that forced the referee to stop a thrilling brawl after the sixth round.

Technically, Lewis was the winner, but the crowd of 15,939 - many of whom booed because both they and Klitschko seemed to be cheated - weren't convinced. Neither were the judges, who each had the challenger winning 58-56.

Afterward, when he was interviewed in the ring, a testy Lewis was reluctant to give Klitschko sincere credit for his fine performance.

``He would've gotten knocked out,'' Lewis said when he was asked whether Klitschko gave him a harder fight than he expected. ``He was definitely deteriorating. And he was lucky the referee stopped the fight. You saw the state of his eye.''

Lewis (41-2-1, with 32 knockouts) apparently came into the fight with several factors working against him.

He hadn't fought since he knocked out Mike Tyson last June. He weighed in at a career-high 256 pounds, which raised questions about his conditioning. He had only a week to prepare for Klitschko after his original opponent pulled out. And he's 37.

Any or all of the above seemed to come into play Saturday, as he looked nothing like the fighter who easily destroyed Hasim Rahman in 2001 and Tyson.

Klitschko (32-2, 31 KOs) was deemed too slow for a fighter as athletic as Lewis. Not on this night. He certainly was no slower than the sluggish champion and appeared to be in much better condition. Thus, a 5-1 underdog from Ukraine fought on even terms with the best heavyweight in the world.

The challenger beat the champion to the punch throughout the abbreviated fight, both with his jab and solid rights. And when Lewis landed his biggest punches, Klitschko was never shaken.

Klitschko hurt Lewis badly in the second round with a straight right - the same punch that stopped Lewis on two occasions - but couldn't finish the job and missed his best chance to win the fight. However, it was clear at that moment that Lewis had a fight on his hands.

``He was very heavy,'' Klitschko said. ``I saw every punch coming. And he didn't punch hard.''

Then came the beginning of the end for Klitschko. Early in the third, Lewis landed a right that caused a cut so severe that some doctors would've stopped it at that point. Klitschko was allowed to continue and acquitted himself well as Lewis fought both a motivated 6-foot-7 opponent and fatigue, but the cut loomed as a potential fight-stopper.

Finally, after the sixth, ring doctor Paul Wallace advised Lou Moret to stop it with two cuts under Klitschko's eye brow and two more under the eye.

At the moment he did, Lewis thrust his arms in the air and pounded his chest in a hollow gesture in the perspective of many fans, who booed him.

Klitschko was devastated. He stormed around the ring, seemingly looking for someone to complain to before he, too, raised his arms to the cheers of an appreciative crowd.

Klitschko, the WBC's No. 1 contender, had tried to lure Lewis into the ring for more than a year and was beating him before the fight was stopped even though he was certain he could go on. That was hard to swallow.

``I could see,'' he said. ``I don't know why the doctor stopped it. I felt good, I could fight. I'm so disappointed. I'm destroyed by this. I want a rematch.''

Wallace said he had no choice.

``When he looked at me, he had to change the position of his head to see me straight,'' the doctor said. ``The lid had gone over the pupil of his eye, and he couldn't protect himself. It became a dangerous situation.''

Lewis, who claimed he was getting a second wind, insisted the cut wouldn't have mattered in the end. He said he would've finished off Klitschko in the next few rounds even though Klitschko seemed to be fresher than he was.

Michael Rosenthal, [phone]

michael.rosenthal(at)dailynews.com

CAPTION(S):

4 photos, box

Photo:

(1 -- color) Heavyweight champion Lennox Lewis celebrates in the middle of the ring at Staples Center after his victory Saturday. Lewis was awarded the victory by knockout after the sixth round when the fight was stopped because of a cut over the eye of Vitali Klitschko

(2 -- color) A bloody Vitali Klitschko exchanges blows with Lennox Lewis in Round 6 Saturday.

Hans Gutknecht/Staff Photographer

(3) no caption (Vitali Klitschko fighting Lennox Lewis (shown from back) in Round 2)

(4) no caption (Vitali Klitschko fighting Lennox Lewis (shown from back) in Round 5)

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