‘The Lion’ helped to define a period of heavyweight boxing, taking out some of the division’s legends in the meantime.
As one of the greatest heavyweights of all time, Lennox Lewis got revenge on Hasim Rahman and Oliver McCall to avenge his only losses. As well as this, he has names such as Mike Tyson and Evander Holyfield on his resume.
With the final win of his career coming with a TKO victory over Vitali Klitschko, Lewis retired as a true legend. Among the things that cemented his legacy was the fact that he once called himself the undisputed champion.
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Lennox Lewis met Evander Holyfield twice in 1999
A win over Zeljko Mavrovic would see Lewis enter 1999 with a professional record of 34-1. Only being bested by McCall, Lewis had gotten revenge on his opponent, who started crying in the ring.
In March 1999, Lewis would get the chance to become the undisputed world champion. As he held the WBC World Heavyweight title, he would face the other champion of the division, Evander Holyfield.
Holyfield held the WBA and IBF titles, with recent wins including Michael Moorer and Tyson.
However, their meeting in Madison Square Garden would not have a conclusive ending. The heavyweight fight would end in a split draw, with both men retaining their respective belts.
The score would be settled between the pair eight months later, as they fought in Las Vegas in November.
In a more eventful rematch, Lewis would get the decision in their second meeting. With the bout ending with a unanimous decision, ‘The Lion’ would become the undisputed world champion.
The judges scored the bout 117-111, 116-112, and 115-112 in favor of the Englishman. However, he would not get a chance to defend his status as undisputed champion.
Lennox Lewis was stripped of WBA World Heavyweight title
Despite defeating Holyfield to claim his WBA title, Lewis would not get the chance to defend the belt.
Lewis was stripped of the title as he refused to fight the WBA’s number one heavyweight contender, John Ruiz. Instead, Lewis opted for a fight with Michael Grant.
This meant that the WBA World Heavyweight title became vacant. In 2000, it would be picked up again by Holyfield, who defeated Ruiz for the vacant belt.
Lewis would remain a unified heavyweight champion until 2001. Then, Lewis suffered a shock loss to Rahman, before getting his revenge on the fighter months later.