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Lewis, Lennox

in full Lennox Claudius Lewis

(born September 2, 1965, London, England) first British boxer to hold the undisputed heavyweight world championship since Bob Fitzsimmons lost his title to James J. Jeffries in 1899 (see also boxing).

Lewis was born to Jamaican parents, spent his early childhood in England, and then moved with his mother to Canada. By age 15 he was an exceptional fighter. An all-around athlete, he was a fullback for his high school football team, a forward for the basketball team, and a shot-putter for the track team. He focused on boxing, however, and developed into one of Canada's best amateur fighters. After losing in the quarterfinals of the 1984 Olympic Games to American Tyrell Biggs, Lewis set his sights on the 1988 Olympics in Seoul, South Korea, where he beat American Riddick Bowe for the gold medal.

Lewis's professional career began in 1989. He returned to his native England, where he began racking up victories. Undefeated in 21 professional fights, the 6-foot 5-inch (1.96-metre), 230-pound (104.3-kg) Lewis met Donovan (“Razor”) Ruddock in October 1992 and knocked him out in the second round. This appeared to set up a showdown with Bowe, who had become the heavyweight champion, but, fearing the challenge, Bowe's manager set the fighter up with easier opponents in order to cash in on his status. The World Boxing Council (WBC) stripped Bowe of his title and awarded it to Lewis, who defended the title three times before losing in an upset to American Oliver McCall in London in September 1994.

For the next few years, Lewis won all his fights and tried hard to secure another championship fight. In 1997 American boxer Mike Tyson held the WBC heavyweight title but was unwilling to face Lewis. When a court order demanded that Tyson defend his crown against Lewis, he surrendered the title. Lewis then faced his foe McCall for the vacant WBC crown. On February 7, 1997, Lewis was awarded the fight in the fifth round after McCall refused to fight. Lewis defended his title four more times before the March 1999 fight against American Evander Holyfield, who held the heavyweight titles of the World Boxing Association (WBA) and the International Boxing Federation (IBF). Lewis may well have beaten Holyfield in this match at New York City's Madison Square Garden, but in a decision that prompted an investigation by boxing's governing bodies, the fight was called a draw. Those in attendance were sure that Lewis had won the fight, and the announcement of a draw elicited boos from the crowd. Ironically, many observers thought that Holyfield staged the better fight in the November rematch in Las Vegas, Nevada, but Lewis landed more punches and emerged, finally, as the undisputed champ in that fight, which thereby unified the heavyweight title.

In April 2000 Lewis was stripped of the WBA portion of his title. Henry Akinwande, the boxer promoted by Don King whom Lewis had agreed to fight first if he gained the WBA title, was unable to fight because he had been diagnosed with hepatitis. Lewis then agreed to fight Michael Grant. King balked at the title fight, which did not feature one of his boxers; an American court agreed with King; and Lewis lost that portion of his title. In 2000 Lewis went on to defeat Grant, Franz Botha, and David Tua to retain his IBF and WBC heavyweight titles.

In a surprising outcome in April 2002, Lewis lost to underdog Hasim Rahman in a fifth-round knockout. In the November rematch Lewis reclaimed his title from Rahman, knocking him out in the fourth round. Lewis's next fight was one for which fans had been waiting for years, against Tyson. The fight had been difficult to achieve. Each fighter was contractually bound to different cable television networks; further, because of his many legal difficulties, Tyson had been refused a license to box by the sanctioning bodies of many of the states in which such a large fight would normally be held. Eventually, the media companies came to an agreement, and the fight was held on June 8, 2002, in Memphis, Tennessee. Lewis knocked Tyson out in the eighth round. In the fall of 2002, Lewis relinquished the IBF portion of his heavyweight title. While still recognized as the legitimate heavyweight world champion, Lewis announced his retirement in 2004 with a record of 41 wins (32 by knockout), 2 losses, and 1 draw.

Lewis was admired for the dignity he brought to the sport of boxing. He was awarded the Member of the British Empire (MBE) in 1999 and the Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in 2002.

Copyright © 1994-2005 Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.