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? An excellent 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 consequence, 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 one among 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 damage, and Lewis rained down proper arms 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 sport and entered with a authentic declare because the lineal heavyweight champion, having simply crushed an growing old George Foreman. Lewis, in the meantime, was maybe overconfident after his ruthless demolition of Andrew Golota. Shocked 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 tug himself off the canvas, however was mercifully stopped quickly after, in one among 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 warfare with Ike Ibeabuchi, he’d additionally proven luggage of stamina and coronary heart to go together with the great 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 straightforward 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 perfect challenger accessible in his very first protection. For as soon as, a minimum of 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 thrice within the opening spherical and completed him off with a humongous uppercut within the second.
8. TKO6 Tommy Morrison, seventh October 1995: A yr faraway from his shock defeat to Oliver McCall, Lewis was nonetheless within the technique 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 exciting stoppage over Razor Ruddock, however Lewis made it look straightforward. A gentle stream of stiff jabs and arduous rights busted up Morrison’s face, and when he was bludgeoned to the ground for the fourth time by a collection of heavy hooks and uppercuts in spherical seven, referee Mills Lane had seen sufficient.
7. MD12 Ray Mercer, tenth Might 1996: In a gathering between two gold medallists from the 1988 Seoul Olympics, Lewis gritted out a choice over a succesful and harmful opponent. With the kayo loss to McCall nonetheless lingering, a sceptical trans-Atlantic viewers remained unconvinced that Lewis was powerful sufficient to ever turn into heavyweight champion once more. However in opposition to the power-punching, iron-jawed ex-marine, Lennox confirmed he might battle within the trenches in opposition to 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, eighth June 2002: Had this megafight taken place within the mid-nineties, it might 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 rapidly. Lewis then dominated behind his lengthy, painful pictures till a trademark, large proper hand closed the ebook on the final remaining rivalry from an awesome heavyweight period.
5. TKO6 Vitali Klitschko, twenty first June 2003: “Dr. Ironfist,” stepping in at simply two weeks’ discover, took the battle straight to the champ, and an upset appeared potential as Lewis was rocked early on and behind on all of the scorecards. However after taking the Ukrainian big’s greatest pictures in a tougher-than-expected dogfight, Lennox regained management and commenced crashing dwelling proper arms and monstrous uppercuts. Klitschko, dazed however defiant, was pulled out after the sixth because of the horrific cuts Lewis’s punches had inflicted on his face. The very fact Vitali went on to turn into 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 of a victory, the draw verdict from the judges one of the controversial in a long time, however the easy fact is each males weren’t at their greatest that night time. Holyfield barely confirmed up, whereas Lewis was overly cautious and tentative. The rematch was a special 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 final 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 just a few events, however was wrecked for good because of Polish unfastened cannon, Golota. Handing a complete beating to Bowe over two fights, he’d one way or the other 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 virtually 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 medical heavyweight destruction.
2. KO4 Hasim Rahman, seventeenth November 2001: Rahman scored a surprising kayo of Lewis in South Africa and virtually squirmed his manner out of the rematch, till a New York choose ordered him to honour the contract. The 2 brawled on a TV studio flooring 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 into a three-time champ was certainly one of many sweetest victories of an awesome 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 in opposition to 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 via the division. “It virtually 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 Instances. It doesn’t get way more emphatic than that.
