Lennox Lewis picked a former opponent who he feels hit harder than Mike Tyson and Evander Holyfield.
The man who Lennox Lewis says hit him the hardest during his heavyweight boxing career might surprise you.
Lewis fought some of the top heavyweights in boxing history, including Mike Tyson and Evander Holyfield. During an age in which wild heavyweight knockouts were commonplace, Lewis opted to outsmart the competition using technical prowess and precision.
Lewis’s style was extraordinary during his era in boxing’s heavyweight division. He utilized it to defeat the likes of Tyson, Holyfield, and Tommy Morrison during his career.
While it’s unanimously believed that all heavyweight boxers can pack a punch, one of Lewis’ former opponents had the power he never felt for the rest of his career, including for showdowns with all-time greats Tyson and Holyfield.
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Lennox Lewis pinpoints the opponent who hit him the hardest
During a 2015 interview with Ring Magazine, Lewis explained why Shannon Briggs tops his list of the hardest hitters he faced during his boxing career.
“He lacked endurance but [Shannon] Briggs certainly knew how to put his bodyweight behind a punch,” Lewis said. “Unfortunately for him, you need the full package when you face me so power isn’t enough.
“Fans may expect me to say [Oliver] McCall or Hasim Rahman (both KO’d Lewis) for punching power but I basically set myself up against both of them… I was surprised by Briggs’ hand speed. He was able to close the gap very quickly and that allowed him to get off the big punches. Sometimes you don’t realize how quick someone is until you’re in there.” (h/t talkSPORT)
Briggs once hit an opponent so hard that he was unconscious for 15 minutes inside the ring. He feared he might’ve unintentionally ended Dicky Ryan’s life after landing the knockout punch in their 2006 fight.
Luckily for Lewis, he didn’t face a similar fate when he fought Briggs in 1998, rallying to earn a fifth-round TKO. But 53 of Briggs’s 60 career victories ended by knockout.
Lennox Lewis knocked out Shannon Briggs in 1998
After knocking out Vitali Klitschko in 2003, Lewis walked away from professional boxing after retaining his heavyweight belts. But a former rival attempted to lure him back to the ring earlier this year in a matchup of two heavyweight legends.
Briggs hasn’t fought since knocking out Emilio Zarate in 2016. He was briefly linked to a crossover boxing match with UFC legend Rampage Jackson, but lengthy fight negotiations eventually fell through.
Despite getting the better of Briggs in the ring, Lewis feels his former adversary packed the hardest punch he felt during his legendary career. While they continued on different trajectories in the ring, Lewis and Briggs are considered two of the most underrated boxers in the sport’s illustrious past.