Heavyweight legend Lennox Lewis never faced an opponent in his career that he was not able to defeat.
As Lewis was able to avenge losses to Hasim Rahman and Oliver McCall, he left no stone unturned in his incredible career.
The former unified world heavyweight champion also boasts wins over the likes of Mike Tyson, Vitali Klitschko, and Evander Holyfield, leaving ‘The Lion’ with a 41-2-1 record.
Despite his dominance in the late 1990s and early 2000s, Lewis was also tested by some top heavyweights in close fights. This includes a 1996 fight that helped him get back to the world title.
Lennox Lewis slugged it out with Ray Mercer in 1996
Lewis tasted defeat for the first time in 1994, after being shockingly stopped by McCall. Losing his WBC World Heavyweight title after Lewis defeated Frank Bruno, Tony Tucker, and Phil Jackson to retain the belt, he was stopped by his rival.
Despite it being a shock result, Lewis would have to work his way back into title contention. After defeating three opponents, including Tommy Morrison, after the loss, he would meet Ray Mercer.
The two fought in May 1996, competing in Madison Square Garden. Mercer went into the bout with a 23-3-1 record and was a former world champion.
However, Mercer was looking for his first win in almost three years, as Lewis was considered a favourite. Despite the odds, the bout would by no means be an easy one for Lewis.
Competing in a 10-round, non-title fight, the heavyweights would slug it out for the duration of the bout.
Mercer began the fight aggressively, as he was aiming to cause significant damage to ‘The Lion’. However, despite catching the fighter with some clean punches, Lewis would not go down.
As Lewis began to find his rhythm, he was able to win more rounds in the bout. As the fight reached the judges’ scorecards, the bout ended in a majority decision.
It would be Lewis who emerged as the victor narrowly winning the fight on two of the three scorecards.
The win was Lewis’s fourth in a row, as he was able to rematch McCall in his next fight.
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Lennox Lewis defeated Oliver McCall in bizarre circumstances
Although Lewis’s win against Mercer was seemingly to set up a fight with Tyson, the then-champion opted to fight Holyfield instead.
This would mean that in February 1997, Lewis and McCall would compete for the vacant WBC World Heavyweight title. Fighting in Las Vegas, the fight would not go as expected.
Although Lewis won the first three rounds of the bout in a normal manner, McCall had seemingly had enough in the fight. Refusing to fight competitively for rounds four and five, the referee stopped the fight.
McCall had begun crying in the fight with Lewis before the fight was waved off in the fifth round. The win meant that Lewis was a two-time champion and amended the only loss on his record to that point.