It was on this date that Lennox Lewis first put the heavyweight division on discover with a scintillating KO of a most harmful and battle-tested adversary. What higher time then, to contemplate the best victories within the profession of the previous undisputed and lineal heavyweight champion? A brilliant heavyweight gold medallist on the 1988 Olympics, Lewis went on to carve out a Corridor of Fame profession and set up himself among the many nice heavyweights in historical past. However which victories stand out among the many relaxation? Contemplating the calibre of opponent and the importance of the end result, right here’s one man’s tackle Lewis’s twelve most spectacular performances.
12. TKO7 Frank Bruno, 1st October 1993: For the primary time ever, two Brits squared off for a model of the heavyweight championship. Bruno, beloved by the British public, made issues private by taunting Lewis, who’d represented Canada within the Olympics, insinuating that solely considered one of them was a “true Brit”. Over six rounds Bruno appeared in cost, scoring with strong jabs that started swelling Lewis’s face. However within the seventh a monster counter left hook had Bruno badly harm, and Lewis rained down proper palms till the plucky challenger, upright however frozen stiff on the ropes, was rescued by referee Mickey Vann.
11. TKO5 Shannon Briggs, twenty eighth March 1998: Briggs, the brash New Yorker, talked a giant recreation and entered with a reputable declare because the lineal heavyweight champion, having simply crushed an aging George Foreman. Lewis, in the meantime, was maybe overconfident after his ruthless demolition of Andrew Golota. Stunned early by Briggs’ velocity, Lewis was wobbled within the first, earlier than reasserting management and blasting Briggs to the canvas twice in a fourth-round shoot-out, then laying him flat out with an enormous proper within the fifth. Briggs confirmed immense braveness to pull himself off the canvas, however was mercifully stopped quickly after, in considered one of Lewis’s extra thrilling victories.
10. UD12 David Tua, eleventh November 2000: A brief and squat heavyweight at simply 5 toes 10 and 245 kilos, the “Tuaman” threw a hellish left hook that arguably made him probably the most harmful puncher alive. In his solely defeat, a twelve spherical struggle with Ike Ibeabuchi, he’d additionally proven baggage of stamina and coronary heart to go together with the super energy. But he struggled to put a glove on Lewis. In a masterful show of boxing, the champion used his superior ring IQ to befuddle Tua on the tip of his jab, outclassing him over twelve one-sided rounds.
9. KO2 Michael Grant, twenty ninth April 2000: It’s simple to neglect now, however Grant was as soon as touted because the successor to the heavyweight throne. And after lastly being topped because the undisputed champion, Lewis went straight after the most effective challenger out there in his very first protection. For as soon as, no less than in accordance with the story of the tape, Lewis was within the uncommon place of being bodily outmatched, Grant being taller, heavier, youthful, and with an extended attain. The American got here out aggressively, however Lewis battered him to the canvas 3 times within the opening spherical and completed him off with a humongous uppercut within the second.
8. TKO6 Tommy Morrison, 7th October 1995: A yr faraway from his shock defeat to Oliver McCall, Lewis was nonetheless within the means of rebuilding beneath the tutelage of Manny Steward. Morrison was a top-quality heavyweight with a harmful left hook, and he was coming off an exhilarating stoppage over Razor Ruddock, however Lewis made it look simple. A gradual stream of stiff jabs and exhausting rights busted up Morrison’s face, and when he was bludgeoned to the ground for the fourth time by a sequence of heavy hooks and uppercuts in spherical seven, referee Mills Lane had seen sufficient.
7. MD12 Ray Mercer, tenth Could 1996: In a gathering between two gold medallists from the 1988 Seoul Olympics, Lewis gritted out a call over a succesful and harmful opponent. With the kayo loss to McCall nonetheless lingering, a sceptical trans-Atlantic viewers remained unconvinced that Lewis was robust sufficient to ever turn out to be heavyweight champion once more. However towards the power-punching, iron-jawed ex-marine, Lennox confirmed he may battle within the trenches towards a prime American contender. The battle was a bruising, shut encounter, however dispelled the parable that Lewis lacked coronary heart or the power to take a punch.
6. KO8 Mike Tyson, 8th June 2002: Had this megafight taken place within the mid-nineties, it could be proper on the prime of this checklist. Sadly, by 2002 “Iron” Mike’s peak was a distant reminiscence. However whereas the parable of Tyson’s invincibility had lengthy since been uncovered, his magnetic grip on the general public consciousness held agency, making the match one of many highest grossing occasions in historical past. Mike started positively, even connecting with some harmful wanting left hooks, however his fuse burned out shortly. Lewis then dominated behind his lengthy, painful photographs till a trademark, large proper hand closed the ebook on the final remaining rivalry from an amazing heavyweight period.
5. TKO6 Vitali Klitschko, 21st June 2003: “Dr. Ironfist,” stepping in at simply two weeks’ discover, took the battle straight to the champ, and an upset appeared attainable as Lewis was rocked early on and behind on all of the scorecards. However after taking the Ukrainian large’s finest photographs in a tougher-than-expected dogfight, Lennox regained management and commenced crashing house proper palms and monstrous uppercuts. Klitschko, dazed however defiant, was pulled out after the sixth as a result of horrific cuts Lewis’s punches had inflicted on his face. The very fact Vitali went on to turn out to be the most effective heavyweights of the following period is a testomony to Lewis’s greatness.
4. UD12 Evander Holyfield, thirteenth November 1999: Little question the primary encounter with “The Actual Deal” at Madison Sq. Backyard ought to be thought-about a victory, the draw verdict from the judges some of the controversial in a long time, however the easy reality is each males weren’t at their finest that night time. Holyfield barely confirmed up, whereas Lewis was overly cautious and tentative. The rematch was a unique story, with the 2 champions placing all of it on the road. Evander could have been 37-years-old, however he was nonetheless probably the most achieved opponent Lewis had ever confronted, and he gave one final nice effort to make this conflict greater than worthy of the hype. Each had moments of ascendancy, with Lewis boxing to an early lead, earlier than a surging Holyfield had him on shaky legs within the center rounds. The youthful man landed the extra telling blows as they battled down the stretch and, lastly, after a decade of chasing the last word prize, Lennox Lewis was topped the undisputed world champion.
3. KO1 Andrew Golota, 4th October 1997: The abortive Lewis vs Bowe superfight was one of many largest disappointments of nineties boxing. It got here shut on a couple of events, however was wrecked for good due to Polish unfastened cannon, Golota. Handing a comprehensive beating to Bowe over two fights, he’d in some way managed to lose each for repeated low blows. Regardless of the DQ losses, the performances proved he was a drive to be reckoned with, and the bookmakers had him and Lewis at nearly even cash, with a number of critics tipping the Pole. Lewis made an absolute mockery of the slender pre-fight odds although, blitzing a shell-shocked Golota in simply 95 seconds of scientific heavyweight destruction.
2. KO4 Hasim Rahman, seventeenth November 2001: Rahman scored a shocking kayo of Lewis in South Africa and nearly squirmed his manner out of the rematch, till a New York decide ordered him to honour the contract. The 2 brawled on a TV studio ground throughout a heated build-up, however the former champion’s focus was unflappable. Razor-sharp from the off, Lewis used his legs to field and transfer, peppering Rahman with stiff jabs earlier than teeing him up with an ideal sweeping proper hand that splayed him out on the canvas. The revenge knockout to turn out to be a three-time champ was certainly one of many sweetest victories of an amazing profession.
1. KO2 Donovan “Razor” Ruddock, thirty first October 1992: The so-called “Combat for the Proper” promised the victor a shot on the undisputed crown, versus the winner of Holyfield vs Bowe. Lewis, 21-0 (18), was untested at elite stage, whereas Ruddock had confirmed his class in two aggressive losses towards Tyson. The facility-punching Canadian, 27-3-1 (20), got here in as a 2-1 favourite, however a beautifully-timed overhand proper took Ruddock’s legs from beneath him within the first spherical, and a brutal barrage in spherical two left him face first on the canvas, in a scintillating efficiency that despatched shockwaves by the division. “It nearly appeared as if Lewis had worn out 93 years of English heavyweight futility in three minutes and 46 seconds of boxing,” reported the Los Angeles Occasions. It doesn’t get rather more emphatic than that.
