A Boxing Memory: Lennox Lewis

A Boxing Memory: Lennox Lewis

Lennox Lewis was born in 1965 in West Ham, London, moved to Canada with his mother when he was 12, finished his stellar amateur career with a gold medal at the scandal-hit Seoul Olympics in 1988, came back to England to start his professional career and in many ways, had to prove himself all over again.

It took time, and his fights on ITV drew mixed reviews, trust me, I’m being kind. There was derision and the odd apology from the paymasters, ITV presenter Jim Rosenthal offered those apologies after Lewis bored his audience after a tepid and uninspiring six-rounds in his victory over one Dan Murphy. Make no mistake, Lewis was struggling for acceptance. The British public’s continued love affair with the perennial nearly man Frank Bruno still lingered, the move back to his native land was viewed with suspicion and judged as nothing more than a move of convenience with money the deciding factor, and when the performances failed to inspire or convince, Lewis was treading water and heading for the shadows.

But Lewis always had class and ability, he just needed the right setting and opponent to bring it out. A big domestic fight with Gary Mason in 1991 with the British and European titles on the line was the beginning of the change in perception. The fight with Mason was a savage fight and extremely uncomfortable viewing at times. Lewis showed a different side to his game. A nasty side. Mason fought with much courage that night but he was never ever the same again, that fight finished him. It made Lewis. And when he blasted out the big-punching Donovan ‘Razor’ Ruddock in 1992 in two thunderous rounds even the Americans took notice. In truth, they had no choice.

The explosive win over Ruddock should have landed Lewis a fight with the undisputed heavyweight champion of the world Riddick Bowe, but his old amateur rival tossed his WBC belt in the bin rather than face the man who beat him in Seoul in 1988. Bowe made his excuses, but they were a hard sell to the masses. The WBC declared Lewis their new champion and he never did fight Bowe. Talks went on for many a year, with various accusations from both sides. Lewis always maintained they never fancied it and that they made unrealistic financial demands in the on/off negotiations. Boxing history is littered with big fights that never happened, Lewis and Bowe should sit near the top of that list.

It wasn’t Lewis’s fault the world heavyweight title was handed to him, but it didn’t help in his fight for acceptance despite his upsurge in status and the level of his performance. Winning the battle against something you are perceived as is often a bigger battle than any you face in the ring. Lewis would eventually win that battle also. Patience was always one of his greatest assets.

On a cold wet night in Cardiff in 1993 Lewis gave Frank Bruno his third opportunity to win a world title. It got personal make no mistake about that, the Uncle Tom references aimed in Bruno’s direction cut deep and the lawyers got some work out of all the bad blood. Bruno started well. He always did. But it didn’t last. It never did. Lewis found his spite and the punches he needed to end Bruno’s brave try. Big Frank fought well that night, and eventually got his moment. Lewis and Bruno are now on better terms. Time heals most things.

Just two fights later Oliver McCall landed in London with little hope. He left as the new WBC heavyweight champion of the world. Lewis got careless, found himself on the floor and wasn’t given the benefit of the doubt. Lewis protested, he had a point, but McCall would have finished the job regardless, and Lewis was saved from a worse fate.

Lewis made changes, Emanuel Steward switched from the McCall camp and remained with Lewis for the remainder of his career. The importance of that decision should not be lost. Lewis set out on the road to redemption, a couple of tune-ups were won with little discomfort before he beat the former Rocky star, Tommy Morrison in 1995 in a fight that was worth a fraction of what it would have been if Morrison had followed the script two years earlier. Ray Mercer pushed Lewis all the way the following year in a tough fight that he could have lost. Lewis edged it on the cards and proved he had a different side to his game.

On a strange night in Las Vegas, Lewis got revenge and reclaimed the WBC title when Oliver McCall mentally unravelled before the watching world. McCall battled many demons in his life, and his performance was called disgraceful and worse by some in the media. It wasn’t, and thankfully we now have a better understanding of such matters. Lewis got the win and his title but the manner of his win did little to satisfy the many doubters that still existed.

Lewis was unlucky in many ways throughout his career and when that long search for a true defining fight finally came his way in 1999 when he met Evander Holyfield for the undisputed heavyweight championship in New York, Lewis was denied again. Lewis had to settle for a draw in a fight where many were convinced he was a victim of daylight robbery. But eight months later in a much better and closer fight, Lewis finally had his hand raised in victory. Three more wins followed including a two-round destruction of the big American hope Michael Grant before a lethargic and unprepared Lewis showed up in South Africa in 2001 and Hasim Rahman took advantage sensationally stopping Lewis with one big right hand. But when a different Lewis turned up seven months later, Rahman was the one picking himself off the canvas as an ex-champion. Lewis only lost two fights in his professional career. He avenged them both.

A fight with Mike Tyson finally got signed, sealed and delivered in 2002. It got ugly at a pre-fight press conference, the fight had to move states, Tyson who bit Lewis on the leg during the brawl that erupted at the press conference, struggled to get licenced before Memphis offered up the money and the licence. Nostalgia and the still lingering Lewis doubters had the odds far closer than what the reality really was. The fight was way past its sell-by date, and Tyson was several years removed from his prime and after his opening round efforts soon faded away Lewis had beaten the one fighter he always wanted on his resume. It could and should have happened sooner, Lewis was denied many things in his career, and fighting a prime Tyson was one of them. Very much the fight that got away. This observer always believed Lewis would have beaten any version of Tyson.

Lewis graced the ring one final time in a life-and-death struggle with Vitali Klitschko. Lewis teetered on the brink of defeat in the early rounds before he sliced up Klitschko to save his night. Lewis was behind on all the judge’s cards after six rounds, but the tide had started to turn and would likely have won even without the scars of battle. Lewis took his time before announcing his retirement. And unlike many that came before him, he stuck to it.

Harry Mullan the former editor of Boxing News, labelled Lewis the mould-breaker, and that’s exactly what he was. All the abject failures by British heavyweights on the world stage for over 100 years left the horizontal label firmly attached, but Lewis changed that. Some of the performances he served up were a little on the flat side, and you sensed at times he had a few more gears to show us. And you could argue Lewis lacked that true signature win over a fellow great who was in his prime. But there is little doubt he was avoided, and for good reason. Lewis can rightfully be considered one of the greatest heavyweights of all time, but equally so, also one of the most underappreciated. But in retirement and with the passing of time, that appreciation has finally come.