Boxing Legend: Lennox Lewis

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Heavyweight great, Lennox Lewis was born on the 2nd of September, 1965, in London, England. The likable Lewis is a full blooded Jamaican that was born in England and moved to Canada, where he lived and ended up representing in the Olympics. After taking the Super Heavyweight Gold medal back to Canada, the young Lewis was itchy to get into the professional ranks. The decision to move back to England due to his marketability in the country was the correct move as Lewis grew to prominence by knocking out plenty of opposition.

Lewis won his first world title without having to throw a punch as the WBC declared Lewis the champ due to the reluctance of the newly crowned champion Riddick Bowe to defend his belt against the Englishmen. Lewis defended his belt a few times before walking into a right hand in the second round against Oliver McCall. Even though Lewis got up early in the count, the referee wanted no more of it and called the fight off.

After winning multiple fights and being denied by team Tyson a chance to fight for the unified crowns, Lewis got another shot at Oliver McCall as Mike Tyson vacated his WBC belt. The rematch with McCall would be different in more ways than one. It became one of the most bizarre fights in the history of boxing as McCall experienced a mental breakdown which saw him crying inside the boxing ring. Referee Mills Lane called the fight off due to McCall's tears and refusal to fight.

Lewis kept winning the fights against all the top contenders that his promoters put in front of him until he was caught off guard by a right hand courtesy of Hasim Rahman. Lewis returned the favor in their rematch with a fourth round knockout of Rahman which saw Lewis regain the Heavyweight belt yet again.


It was time for Lewis to take on Tyson; the man whom overshadowed him for the better part of his rise to the top. The Tyson vs Lewis bout got the publics attention and so did the press conference brawl that the two heavyweights had. Tyson, who made a career out of intimidating and destroying his opposition was about to be outclassed by the bigger, stronger and smarter Lewis. Lewis boxed well utilizing his jab effectively which set up the right hand. Lewis systematically broke down Tyson before knocking him out in the eighth round by a crushing right hand.

Lennox Lewis had achieved it all and could have easily walked away with his boxing legacy cemented but as all boxers say; there's always one more fight. This fight would be his final and it would be against Vitali Klitschko, the Ukrainian boxing phenomenon. A tough fight was expected and thats exactly what Lewis got as Klitschko gave him hell before losing the fight due to cuts.

Lennox Lewis, feeling the affects of a long boxing career, correctly decided to retire with a legacy that rightfully gives him a claim at being one of the greatest Heavyweights in the history of boxing. Lewis's stellar resume includes wins over Vitali Klitschko, Mike Tyson, Hasim Rahman, David Tua, Evander Holyfield, Shannon Briggs, Andrew Golota, Oliver McCall, Tony Tucker and Frank Bruno to name a couple. He ended with a tremendous record of 41 wins, 2 losses, 1 draw, with 32 knockouts.