Lennox Lewis was the first British boxer to hold the undisputed world heavyweight title since Bob Fitzsimmons (who won the title in 1899). Lewis won Olympic gold in 1988.
Background
Lennox Lewis was born in London, England on September 2, 1965, and moved to Canada as a child. At the 1988 Olympic Games, Lewis earned the gold medal in the super-heavyweight division, and then went pro. He was undefeated in his first 22 professional fights, but was declared the World Boxing Council heavyweight champion in 1994. He lost and regained the title several times, and defended it against Mike Tyson. In April 2000, he was stripped of the World Boxing Association portion of his title after a legal dispute. Three years later, in 2003, he retired from boxing. Lewis is one of three champions to end his career with no unavenged defeats.
Career
Lewis went pro following his Olympic win, and returned to his native England. In October 1992, he won the World Boxing Council belt after knocking out Canadian Donovan "Razor" Ruddock in two rounds. Lewis would lose and regain the WBC title several times over the course of his career. In 1994, he lost his belt to Oliver McCall. The pair had a rematch three years later, in February 1997. In a strange turn of events, McCall refused to box in the fourth and fifth rounds of the match, bursting into tears in the ring. The referee stopped the fight and awarded Lewis the winner.
In March 1999, Lewis fought World Boxing Association and International Boxing Federation champion Evander Holyfield. Following a declared tie, the pair fought again, and Lewis prevailed. On April 21, 2001, Lewis was knocked out by underdog Hasin Rahman, but regained the title in a rematch that November.
On June 8, 2002, Lewis successfully defended his title against American boxer Mike Tyson, in a fight promoted as a historic match up. Despite the hype, Lewis knocked Tyson out with relative ease. Tyson later pleaded guilty to biting Lewis's leg in an unofficial fight leading up to the televised 2002 bout.
Views
Quotations:
The fight will last as long as I allow it to last, and then I will knock him out.
People know I was the last true champion.
My main goal was to win all the belts, and I have done that.
Connections
Married at Violet Chang, a former Miss Jamaica runner-up. They have four children.