The five fights that defined Lennox Lewis' heavyweight legacy

An Olympic Gold medalist for Canada in 1988, Lennox Lewis' place in British sporting legend didn't always seem likely, but in 2022, the London-born fighter is rightfully regarded as one of the greatest sportsmen ever to emerge from British shores.

So, in looking back at his wonderful career, Planet Sport have picked out five of the great champions' most important, legacy-defining fights from 1993 to 2006.

Lennox Lewis vs Frank Bruno - (Oct 1 1993, Cardiff Arms Park)

TKO in round 7 - Retained WBC heavyweight title

While Lennox Lewis is now regarded as Britain's greatest heavyweight of the modern era, he certainly wasn't the most popular during the early 1990s. That honour belonged to Frank Bruno, and the two would finally get it on at Cardiff Arms Park in 1993 with Lewis WBC title on the line.

Having been awarded the title following Riddick Bowe's decision to bin his belt rather than defend it against the unbeaten Brit, Lewis was viewed by many as little more than a paper champion.

Having made a successful first defence against the always tough Tony Tucker, Lewis would enter this bout as a solid betting favourite, but a sporting underdog with the British public very much behind the beloved people's champion Bruno, who himself was looking to win a world title in this his fourth attempt.

And early on, it looked like Bruno might just have his way. Dominating the early action, Lewis appeared to be freezing on the biggest occasion of his still fledgling career.

Yet, despite a series of Bruno bombardments, Lewis would ride the storm, emerging with a brutal seventh-round stoppage against a fatigued Bruno who had given Lewis plenty of problems during a rugged and bruising encounter in front of a packed Cardiff Arms Park.

While far from his best performance, Lewis had shown plenty of heart and courage to claim the win. While his popularity in the UK remained luke-warm, the cool-headed champion had earned at least a portion of respect from a British public who remained sceptical about the Olympic Gold medalists' credentials as one of their own.

Lennox Lewis vs Andrew Golota  (Oct 4, 1997 - Boardwalk Hall, Atlantic City)

KO 1 - Retained WBC heavyweight title

Four years down the line from the win over Bruno, Lewis, now once-beaten following a shock second-round stoppage from the unheralded Oliver McCall in 1994, had still yet to fully earn the respect of a boxing public. The Brit was still considered to be the lesser of his fellow heavyweight titlists of the era including Evander Holyfield, Riddick Bowe and Mike Tyson.

Having won his title back in bizarre circumstances against a seemingly mentally unstable McCall in 1997, Lewis remained frustrated in his bid for greatness.

The KO loss at the hands of McCall had given plenty of cannon-fodder for the Brit's critics, and while McCall's breakdown in their second bout was hardly Lewis's fault, the default nature of both his title victories had left the Londoner somewhat short of achieving boxing greatness.

Now under the stewardship of the esteemed Manny Steward and having endured another miserable event against a badly over-matched and disqualified Henry Akinwande, Lewis would face what looked from the outset to be one of, if not his biggest challenges to date in the shape of the feared Pole Andrew Golota.

Having given Riddick Bowe nightmares in two unforgettable bouts in 1996, Golota was given every chance of ending Lewis' reign as WBC champion and, given his rugged style, was expected to provide Lewis, often accused of an over-cautious approach, plenty of headaches.

While Golota had appeared to be winning both of those bouts against Bowe, a series of deliberate and frankly ridiculous low-blows ended both contests, causing a riot in the first at Madison Square Garden with Bowe's team reacting violently to a series of crushing south of the border shots.

Despite all of the controversy, Golota had dominated Bowe (considered by many at the time to be the superior boxer to Lewis) and looked every inch a champion elect. If he could keep it clean.

However, in a blink, or you'll miss it event, Lewis iced the Pole with a brutal and destructive 91 second KO. A big statement had been made.

The man who had twice dominated and ultimately ended the career of Riddick Bowe had been crushed in a brutal display of punching power and aggressiveness that shocked both Golota and the boxing public.

No longer could Americans point to Bowe or, indeed, Golota as an heir apparent to the throne. For Lewis, this highlight reel KO had earned the champion new respect both Stateside and in the UK and, with it, a likely shot at the undisputed heavyweight crown.

Lennox Lewis vs Evander Holyfield (Mar 13, 1999 - Madison Square Garden)

Following an exciting win against a game Shannon Briggs and a hard-fought decision victory against the previously unbeaten Zeljko Mavrovic, Lewis now stood on the brink of heavyweight greatness with a unified title bout against WBA and IBF ruler Evander Holyfield set for Madison Square Garden in March of 1999.

In an era of great heavyweights, both men would come into this bout knowing victory would not only define them as an undisputed heavyweight champion, the first since Riddick Bowe binned his WBC title in 1992 but that it would also secure their position as the elite heavyweight of a truly golden era in the division.

A two-time champion, Lewis had already enjoyed a brilliant career; however, unfairly or not, this fight would surely prove the defining bout of his career.

This was his chance to show a still sceptical American public that he, and not the man in the opposite corner, was, in fact, the real deal.

Holyfield, twice bitten but hardly shy in his wins over the revered and feared Mike Tyson, had already secured an outstanding legacy. A former undisputed cruiserweight champion and three-time heavyweight champion, the likeable Georgian was a slight betting favourite coming into the bout and seemed likely to present the stiffest test of Lewis' career.

Yet, in an occasion that rarely lived up to its billing, Lewis would dominate and outwork the WBA and IBF champion, using his piercing jab to control the action, with Holyfield seeming to visibly age with every passing round.

Indeed, in the fifth stanza, the champion would cower on the ropes with a dominant, bear-like Lewis pawing and mauling the out-gunned veteran with remarkable ease.

However, in what must go down as one of the biggest robberies in boxing history, Holyfield would claim a barely believable split decision draw with judge Eugenie Williams remarkably scoring the fight 116-113 in the Alabaman's favour.

Lewis had landed more than twice as many punches in the fight, yet somehow, two of the three judges failed to award Lewis with the victory that had seemed as clear as day to anyone watching either ringside or on their TV at home.

While Lewis had missed out on the titles, there was little doubt in those watching that night who the real champion was.

Even American commentators couldn't disguise their disgust at the end verdict, with HBO scoring the contest 117-111 in favour of the Brit. The aforementioned Williams had even managed to score the fifth round in favour of Holyfield. Hometown cooking at a Don King promoted event seemed the likeliest explanation for this judge's "scoring" of the bout.

Eight months later, an inevitable rematch would actually prove more competitive, yet this time the decision victory was rightfully Lewis's.

An undisputed heavyweight champion at the age of 34, the Brit now stood at the top of the division with an outstanding 35-1-1 record.

Lennox Lewis vs Hasim Rahman (Nov 17, 2001 Mandalay Bay, Las Vegas)

KO in round 4 - Won WBC, IBF, and IBO heavyweight titles

Having made three further successful defences of his heavyweight titles against Michael Grant, Francois Botha and David Tua, Lewis would suffer a shocking and brutal fifth-round KO loss at the hands of American Hasim Rahman in South Africa in early 2001.

Coming into that bout, Lewis had been accused of taking his lesser-known opponent less than seriously, with the champion coming in heavy and seemingly with his eye off the ball, having spent time filming the Ocean's Eleven movie in the run-up to the bout.

For the second time in his career, an unheralded American had shocked the Brit, but this time, a rematch clause would give Lewis the chance to reclaim his titles just seven months later.

This time, he left little doubt.

Following a boisterous promotional tour that even included a seemingly unscripted bout of wrestling in a TV studio, Lewis would endure a deluge of taunts from the emboldened new champion who seemed to be relishing his tenure as undisputed top dog in the division.

Yet despite Rahman's provocations, Lewis would keep his cool inside the ring, this time outboxing his over-matched opponent with a dominant display that would culminate with one of the sweetest and most satisfying knock-out wins of any heavyweights career.

A devastating one-two combination had left Rahman on the seat of his pants, his albeit brief reign as champion surrendered as brutally and decisively than it had been acquired.

For Lewis, now a three-time heavyweight champion, his redemption was complete. A mistake erased. The Pugilist Specialist had regained his crown, and now only boxing's bad boy stood in his way of boxing immortality.

Lennox Lewis vs Mike Tyson - Jun 8, 2002 - The Pyramid, Memphis

A fight for the ages. If it happened some years earlier, perhaps.

Yet, despite both men's advanced ages of 36 and 35, respectively, this bout represented the final showdown of the elite heavyweight era enjoyed during the 1990s. Tyson vs Lewis had to happen. And somehow, it almost didn't.

Initially scheduled for April 2002 in Las Vegas, Tyson would again leave his mark on an opponent. Teeth marks, no less.

Already banned from the sport for feasting on the ears of Evander Holyfield in 1997, Iron Mike´s thirst for blood would again get him into difficulty with the enigmatic former champion launching a bizarre attack on Lewis at a scheduled press event ahead of the bout with a seemingly unhinged Tyson sinking his now-famous teeth into Lewis's ankle.

 

With Las Vegas refusing to sanction the keenly anticipated bout, Memphis would instead host the biggest fight of the new century two months later, and while both men now appeared to be reaching the end of their respective careers, all eyeballs would be on the home of the blues to see who would emerge with the stardust.

Tyson, with just 19 rounds boxed in the previous five years, had surely seen better days. A decade or more removed from his prime, some still gave the youngest ever heavyweight champion a more than a punchers chance of ending Lewis reign as the divisional ruler.

In a unique event jointly broadcast by both HBO and Showtime, an electric atmosphere ensured a spectacular sporting occasion. However, once the action got going, it was quickly clear which of these two great fighters would further enhance their status from great to legend.

While Tyson emerged with his usual aggressiveness, it was Lewis who would land the harder, solid shots in round one and from there on in, there would only be one winner in this bout of a still great champion against a badly faded but still idolised former champion.

Indeed, this was a victory for substance over style, of reality versus myth. The very idea that Tyson could somehow have reclaimed the title at almost 36, so far removed from his prime, is one that now seems almost hard to fathom.

Yet that was the mystique and energy that, to this day, continues to surround the great Iron Mike.

But this was Lewis hour. Lewis time to show his dominance and greatness. Tyson might have been little more than a ghost of his former self, but Lewis, the older man, lest we forget, demonstrated his true vintage.

A fine wine that only matured and excelled with the passing of time, the Brit was now cock of the roost, the greatest of his era, and an undoubted British boxing legend had finally secured his legacy.

The finest heavyweight of a generation, a final bout with Vitali Klitschko would add further gloss to an already distinguished and virtually un-paralleled heavyweight record.

Having vested every man he ever faced, the Pugilist Specialist would retire with an outstanding 41-2-1 record and with it, his position as the finest British heavyweight of any era surely secured.