In 2003, Lennox Lewis ended his athletic career as the reigning world heavyweight champion. Before him, only two boxers could boast of such a feat: Gene Tunney and Rocky Marciano.

“The Lion”, as he was called, fought 44 fights in the professional ring, of which he won 41, lost 2 and drew.

The great fistfighting champion was born on September 2, 1965 in London to Jamaican immigrants. His mother raised him alone, and when Lennox was ten, she flew to Canada to find work in a polystyrene factory. The woman took the boy with her, but soon after, due to financial difficulties, she sent him to relatives in the UK, only to be able to find him with her after two difficult years in Kitchener, Ontario . In the Canadian school, Lennox showed a talent for playing football, soccer and basketball. In the latter, he won the provincial championship in 1983 with the school team. His favorite sport however was boxing and his idol was Muhammad Ali. That’s why he chose the ring over the dance floor or green grass, even though he was offered a college scholarship there.

“It’s always been my dream to follow in his footsteps,” Lewis told Spiegel. “We were similar because we both had the ability to pick ourselves up after losses. He was written off at one point, but came back stronger, showed he was a true champion, and regained his titles.

In an amateur ring
Lewis’ first major success in amateur boxing was the 1983 AD World Junior Championship, won in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. A year later, the young “Lion” represented Canada at the Los Angeles Olympics, where he reached the quarter-finals of the super-heavyweight. There he had to recognize the superiority of the last gold medalist, Tyrell Biggs.

“Patience is an important part of boxing,” he adds. – I failed in the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles, so many people persuaded me to turn professional as soon as possible and start earning a lot of money. They said that Seoul would be boycotted and that I was wasting my time as an amateur. But I still had something to prove. In 1988 I won Olympic gold and it was only then that I was ready to fight professionally.

Become professional

Lennox ended his amateur boxing career with a record of 75 wins (58 by knockout) and 7 losses. When he was ready to turn professional, he returned to Great Britain and decided to fight under the flag of this country. He made his debut on May 27, 1989 in London beating Al Malcolm by knockout in the second round. Two and a half years later, Lewis had a successful rematch with Tyrell Biggs, and in October 1992, quite unexpectedly, he defeated favorite Donovan Ruddock in a knockout match for the WBC World Heavyweight Championship. However, defending champion Riddick Bowe refused to face the UK representative, so there was no rematch for the Games final in Seoul. Thus, on January 14, 1993, “The Lion” received the belt without having to step into the ring.

Bowe didn’t want this fight and his manager didn’t want this fight either. They have made so many absurd demands that our confrontation has really become impossible. They demanded millions more, and the truth is they had no intention of raising this fight,” Lewis told The Independent.

First failure

Lennox successfully defended the WBC belt three times, beating Tony Tucker, Frank Bruno and Phil Jackson. In September 1994, however, he collapsed after a beating from Oliver McCall and it took him almost three years to regain the lost belt in a rematch.[[[[

“At the beginning, I didn’t even think of writing boxing history, but over time and with the victories, I felt like leaving something behind me,” he told Spiegel. “It became incredibly important to me. I wanted people to always remember me for whatever reason. Of course, many boxers have such a desire, but its implementation is in a higher school of conduct. Larry Holmes was supposed to be Muhammad Ali’s successor, but for some reason he didn’t arouse so much emotion among the public.

Lewis vs. Holyfield and the second loss[[[[

By March 1999, Lennox had won all of his fights, although against Ray Mercer he did so by majority decision. “The Lion” fired boxers such as Henry Akinwande, Andrzej Gołota, Shannon Briggs or Željko Mavrović, to finally face two clashes with Evander Holyfield. In the first, where the belts of the IBF, WBA and WBC federations were at stake, there was a draw, and eight months later there was also an IBO trophy in the pool, then Lewis beat the American at points. In later fights, Michael Grant, Frans Botha and David Tua attempted to threaten Lennox, but their efforts proved unsuccessful. On April 22, 2001, Hasim Rahman accomplished the impossible. At the gala in South Africa, the representative of Great Britain underestimated the American, who in the fifth round delivered the fatal blow, sending the favorite to the chessboards.

“I lost, which made me want to knock him out in a rematch,” Lennox told the Guardian. – Boxing taught me that a well-controlled failure makes you stronger. It’s impossible not to get wet in a downpour, just as it’s impossible to fight without taking a beating. From the beginning of my adventure with boxing, I knew that there could only be one winner and that in every duel there was a possibility of defeat. Winning and losing are part of the sport and you just have to accept it. During my professional career, I walked out of the ring twice defeated, but each time I got a successful revenge and I’m proud of it.

Lennox Lewis versus Mike Tyson.

The rematch with Rahman took place in the fall of the same year in Las Vegas. “The Rock” took two solid hooks in the fourth round, and “The Lion” thus regained the IBF, IBO and WBC belts. However, to prove his greatness, Lennox eventually had to face Mike Tyson, considered by many to be the best heavyweight boxer of the late 80s and early 90s. There was a lot of buzz surrounding the duel, boxers took in huge payouts, but “Iron Mike” only shone before the clash, insulting and tackling Lennox. Lewis dominated the ring, landing a series of punches in the eighth round, sending Tyson to the ground. On June 8, 2002 in Memphis, it became 100 percent clear that the heavyweight division had a new king.

“I just had to face Tyson,” he adds. “If I hadn’t done it a lot of people would have said I was good, but I never beat Mike. When I saw Tyson against Danny Williams and Kevin McBride, I was looking at a fighter who didn’t want to fight anymore. He fought his last two fights because he thought he had to, not because he wanted to. You shouldn’t be in the ring in those situations. Before, I thought he wanted to. challenge me. In fact, the whole world wanted this duel, and it took us a long time to prepare for it. But today, I believe that Tyson did not want to appear in the ring at this time.

Lennox Lewis vs Vitali Klitschko

On June 21, 2003, at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, Lennox Lewis took on Vitali Klitschko, who had previously donned the WBO championship belt but lost it to Chris Byrd. The duel was on the line for the IBO and WBC trophies, and the Ukrainian was seen as a strong contender. Ba, “Doctor Iron Fist” proved to be such a demanding rival that he fought an effective battle with Lewis, in which he led on points. Unfortunately, in round three, a cut from Lennox appeared above his eye, which looked worse by the minute. For this reason, in the sixth episode of the clash, the referee decided to stop the fight, awarding a technical knockout in favor of the British. To this day, many observers believe that if the duel had been over, “The Lion” would have walked out of the ring losing.

“It’s completely absurd,” Lewis protested in an interview conducted by Alexander Osang and Gerhard Pfeil. – Klitschko fought well, bloodshed, but a lot of people don’t understand that if we had finished him, it would have ended badly for Vitaly. I had exhausted him for six rounds, and letting this battle continue would be like forcing an inexperienced swimmer to venture offshore.

End of career

After the clash between Lennox Lewis and the eldest brother, Klitschko remained dissatisfied and it was only a matter of time when a rematch would be arranged which would once and for all dispel any doubts about who deserved to win in the match. largest city in California. . However, only a few weeks have passed. and “The Lion” stunned the entire boxing world by announcing his retirement from boxing. On the one hand, he said goodbye to the ring as the reigning world champion, but on the other, there was no dot on the “i” in all of this. After all, he always sought revenge himself after losing, and Vitaly didn’t get such luck from him, although he undoubtedly deserved it.

“Boxing has brought me a lot of joy in the past, but I don’t miss the ring,” he told Thomas Hauser. – It’s a big piece of bread. You must exploit all of your opponents’ weaknesses, and only the strongest will survive. One wrong move can end the fun forever. I think I quit at the right time. Some things can only be achieved up to a certain age. Then comes the next stage of life. I’m still the same man, but my goals have changed. Instead of being the best boxer in the world, I want to be the best husband and father right now.

Poker player, chess player, fan and actor

In 2009, “The Lion” was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame. In sports retirement, he cannot complain of boredom. The legendary boxer enjoys playing chess and poker and watching football with his favorite club, West Ham United. Lewis also likes to talk about current affairs in the boxing world, and he has also tried acting in films such as “Ocean’s Eleven” and “Johnny the Convict”.

“Acting is a bit like boxing, because both jobs require training and discipline,” he adds. – Here too, you have to want to learn, and theater teachers have something of a boxing coach in them. They always want you to do your best and try to bring out your full potential. Preparing for a role is also a bit like preparing for a fight. After all, rivals and playable characters change. The difference is that on set, no one is trying to knock you out.

Retired

In the world of big boxing, Britons have always been annoyed that top boxers often avoid duels with each other and artificially break records in the process. Lennox knows the solution to this problem, but he is aware that it makes no sense in our time.

“Several world champion belts are just nonsense,” he told spiegel.de. – An organization like football, basketball or baseball would make this sport more respectable. However, promoters and the media are not interested in such a solution. They control cash flow, organize fights and create champions.

After his athletic career ended, Lennox Lewis moved to Miami with his wife, former Jamaica finalist Violet Chang. The couple have four children: two sons and two daughters. The Lion has been planning for many years to open an international boxing academy and a label, but so far none of these plans have been put into practice.

Ziemowit Ochapski

See also:
This project can save players’ health
“I have a gift.” The Italians are delighted with the young Pole