[3] Instead, Lewis turned his sights on a possible match with Vitali Klitschko, who had become the WBC's number one contender after defeating Larry Donald by tenth-round technical knockout.

The WBC ruled that a rematch with Tyson would be allowed on the basis that the winner would next defend their title against Klitschko.

In the third round, Lewis came out aggressively and landed a strong right hand within the first 10 seconds that opened up a deep cut above Klitschko's left eye.

Lewis initially welcomed the idea, stating after his victory that he hoped to face Klitschko once more in either November or December 2003.

[9] Klitschko's eye injury had healed to the point that he had been cleared to face Lewis and a tentative date of December 6 was set for the rematch.

[10] Instead, Klitschko boxed Kirk Johnson in a WBC title eliminator on December 6, 2003 to determine who would face Lewis next.

Klitschko easily dispatched Johnson, winning by second-round technical knockout, to set up a rematch with Lewis.