LENNOX LEWIS
PROFILE AND BIO
Lennox Lewis made his professional debut in June 1989 and KO'd Al Malcome in the second round. He went on and scored 20 straight victories, 17 by knockout and 10 of his opponents could not endure more than three rounds.
He challenged Donovan "Razor" Ruddock on October 31, 1992. The winner was expected to battle the winner of the Holyfield-Bowe bout in a heavyweight elimination tournament. Lewis moved to the top of the heavyweight division by flooring Ruddock three times to earn a second-round stoppage.It seemed he was assured of a shot at the undisputed heavyweight championship of the world. However. After Bowe defeated Holyfield in November 1992 to capture the undisputed heavyweight championship, he refused to honor the agreement. and the WBC stripped Bowe of their title and announced that Lewis would be crowned the WBC heavyweight champion.
In September 1994, Lewis incurred his first professional loss to WBC's No. 1 contender, Oliver McCall, when he received a crushing right hand sending him to the canvass in the second round. He rose to his feet but the referee called a halt to the bout. Many ringside spectators thought the stoppage to be premature and that he should have been allowed to continue. He vowed to regain the title.
In May 1995, he destroyed Lionel Butler in a fifth round TKO. He was assured by WBC President, Jose Sulaiman, during the post-fight press conference of facing the winner of the Oliver McCall-Frank Bruno bout. However, he was skipped over again for a title shot, this time for Mike Tyson.He continued trying to obtain a championship fight, with TKO victories being added to his record (Justin Fortune and Tommy Morrison), en route to battling one of the fiercest warriors in the heavyweight division: Ray Mercer.
In May 1996, he outboxed and outpunched Mercer at Madison Square Garden to win a unanimous decision. Lewis was given an opportunity to fight McCall for the vacant WBC title after Tyson declined $45 million to defend the title and gave up his title in response to a court order to defend his crown against him.
In February 1997, he challenged McCall and regained the WBC heavyweight championship and avenged the only blemish on his record. He was awarded a fifth-round TKO when McCall sobbed and refused to fight.
Later in July 1997, Lewis retained his WBC heavyweight championship defeating overmatched Henry Akinwande. Akinwande clutched him from the onset of the bout and referee disqualified Akinwande in round five after several warnings and a point deduction.
In October 1997, he floored Andrew Golota midway through round one. Golota rose to his feet only to be punished further by Lewis, forcing the referee to halt the bout.
In March 1998, he successfully defended his crown for the third time in a TKO in the fifth round against Shannon Briggs and capture the Linear Heavyweight Championship in a bout that received consideration as 1998's "Fight of the Year.
In September 1998, he fulfilled his mandatory defense requirement by dominating WBC's No. 1 heavyweight contender, Zeljko Mavrovic. In March 1999, he outboxed WBA/IBF champion, Evander Holyfield, but was robbed of the undisputed heavyweight crown when the judges scored the bout a draw. Then on November 13, 1999, World boxing Council (WBC) Heavyweight champion and Linear Heavyweight champion Lewis defeated World boxing Association (WBA)/International Boxing Federation (IBF) Heavyweight Champion Evander Holyfield for 12 rounds to earn a unanimous decision victory and capture the undisputed heavyweight championship of the world. For the first time in more than a century a British fighter had won the (undisputed) heavyweight championship of the world.
He outpunched the three-time world heavyweight champion to become professional boxing's first undisputed heavyweight champion since Riddick Bowe in 1992, helping to eraise his bitter memory of their March bout in which the three ringside judges scored the bout a draw. He pumelled Holyfield throughout the bout with right uppercuts and thunderous overhand rights. In round nine, He landed a right uppercut causing Holyfield to buckle and return to his corner at the end of the round on unsteady legs.On April 12, 2000 following a lawsuit by Don King Productions, a federal judge ruled that the WBA could not sanction the bout with Michael Grant scheduled for April 29 when he was to defend his undisputed heavyweight crown. He refused to cancel the fight and surrendered his WBA crown when he entered the ring on April 29th. He did however floor the 6'7" Grant four times in two rounds to successfully defend his IBF/WBC crowns and his Linear Heavyweight Championship.Three months later he blasted Francois Botha with a three-punch combination late in round two sending Botha through the ropes and nearly onto the laps of ringside observers. This was his 13th straight victory.
In April 2001, he relinquished his world heavyweight crown when he was caught by an overhand right late in round 5 by Hasim Rahman and he dropped to the canvas and unable to beat the 10 count. In November 2001 in a rematch, he caught Rahman with a single punch to regain his world heavyweight crown.
In June 2002, he defeated Tyson before a sellout crowd in Memphis, Tenn. by knocking out the former undisputed champion in the eighth round.
In June 2003, Lewis was to face Canada's Kirk Johnson for the WBC Heavyweight Championship, but instead, Vitali Klitschko was pulled in as a substitute when Johnson tore a pectoral muscle during training just weeks before the scheduled bout. He retained his title although Klitschko fought valiantly despite cuts and bruises, in particular,a nasty gash on his eye. The fight was stopped before the start of the 7th round when the ring doctor felt Vitali was unable to continue.
That bout, proved to be the last fight of his professional career as he announced his retirement from the ring at a press conference on February 6, 2004. Although speculation suggested a rematch with Klitschko was in the offing, he said,
"I will definitely be the third heavyweight boxer dated February 15, 2004 - Post Retirement) |
