Lennox Lewis

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Name: Lennox Lewis
Alias: The Lion
Birth Name: Lennox Claudius Lewis
Hometown: West Ham, London, United Kingdom
Birthplace: West Ham, London, United Kingdom
Stance: Orthodox
Height: 196cm
Reach: 213cm
Pro Boxer: Record
Amateur Boxer: Record

Amateur Highlights

Lewis won Gold at the 1988 Olympics
Photo: Stan Behal/Toronto Sun
  • Record: Usually listed as being either 85-9 or 94-11. However 85-12 is closer to what the records seem to suggest. With all known Walkover results taken out and Lewis' record is likely 80-11. 5 of his defeats later being avenged. Lewis has never lost twice to the same man. He has won every rematch he has had.
  • Unbeaten in first 3 years of his amateur career before losing aged 15 to 18 year Old Donovan Razor Ruddock.
  • 1980 Ontario Canada Junior Championships: Lost a 3:2 decision to Donovan Ruddock in the middleweight class.
  • May 1982 Lost a 3:2 decision to H. Thompson in the Canadian Junior Championships.
  • Super Heavyweight Gold Medalist for Canada at the 1983 Junior World Championships in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic.
  • Super Heavyweight Gold Medalist at the 1984 Canadian Amateur Championships.
  • Canadian Super Heavyweight representative at the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles, California, USA.
    • Defeated Mohammad Yousuf (Pakistan) RSC 3
    • Lost to Tyrell Biggs (United States) 0-5 (this means all 5 judges had Biggs winning)
  • Super Heavyweight Gold Medalist at the 1985 Canadian Amateur Championships.
  • Super Heavyweight Silver Medalist for Canada at the 1985 World Cup Championships in Seoul, South Korea.
    • Defeated Juan Antonio Diaz (Argentina) RET-1
    • Lost to Vyacheslav Jakovlev (Soviet Union) 0-5
  • Super Heavyweight Gold Medalist at the 1986 Canadian Amateur Championships.
  • Canadian Super Heavyweight representative at the 1986 World Amateur Championships in Reno, Nevada, USA. Lost 3:2 decision to Petar Stoymenov of Bulgaria in his opening round match.
  • Lost a 2:1 decision to Jonathan Littles (USA) in Bay City USA in the Tope invitational. He then beat J. Davidson by RSC2 in the same tournament.
  • Super Heavyweight Gold Medalist for Canada at the 1986 Commonwealth Games in Edinburgh, Scotland.
  • Lost in Semi finals to Valeriy Abadzhyan (USSR) by RSC3 on a body shot in the TSC Tournament,Werner-Seelenbinder-Halle, Berlin, GDR,October 01-07, 1986.
  • Forfeited bout for third Place so is recorded as a loss by walkover to Ladislav Husarik (CZE)
  • Super Heavyweight Gold Medalist at the 1987 Canadian Amateur Championships.
  • Super Heavyweight Silver Medalist for Canada at the 1987 Pan-American Games in Indianapolis, Indiana, USA.
    Results:
  • Super Heavyweight Gold Medalist for Canada at the 1987 North American Championships in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Defeated Jorge Luis Gonzalez of Cuba by a 2-1 decision in the final.
  • Lost a disputed 3-2 decision in the Quarter finals to Ulli Kaden (East Germany) in the Amateur World Cup Oct 26th-31st 1987 Belgrade, Yugoslavia.
  • Super Heavyweight Gold Medalist at the March 1988 Canadian Amateur Championships beating R. Ayotte by RET1.
  • Silver medalist in the Intercup in West Germany. Lewis beat Crispine Odera (KEN) by RSC2. Then avenged a previous defeat to Petar Stojmenov (BUL) by a 3:2 decision. In the finals Lewis lost a 5:0 points decision to Aleksandr Miroshnichenko (URS).
  • Won the Canada Cup by beating Elton Wright (USA) by RET1 in June 1988 in Ottawa, Canada.
  • Super Heavyweight Gold Medalist for Canada at the 1988 Olympics in Seoul, South Korea.
    Results:

International Boxing Hall of Fame Record

Professional Record

Lewis defeated Evander Holyfield in 1999 to become the Undisputed World Heavyweight Champion
Photo: Al Bello/Allsport

Championship Record:

Variant Record

Major, Regional & Minor Titles

Major World Titles:

  • WBC Heavyweight Champion (1992-1994, 1997-2001, 2001-2004)
  • WBA Heavyweight Champion (1999-2000)
  • IBF Heavyweight Champion (1999-2001, 2001-2002)

Minor & Regional Titles:

Notes

  • Defeated everyone he came in contest with.
  • Lewis was born in England and moved to Canada at the age of 12.
  • In his early days, Lewis was known as "The Kitchener Thunderbolt," as he learned to box in his hometown of Kitchener, Ontario. Like Canadian Larry Gains before him, Lewis chose to advance his career in Europe where he could become a big fish in a little pond and get the British people behind him.
  • Lewis won the Lonsdale Belt outright after successfully defending his British Heavyweight Championship against Glenn McCrory in 1991 and Derek Williams in 1992.
  • Lewis knocked out Razor Ruddock in two rounds in a WBC title eliminator on October 31, 1992.
  • Before Riddick Bowe defeated Evander Holyfield to win the Undisputed World Heavyweight Championship on November 13, 1992, he signed an agreement with the WBC to make his first title defense—if he should defeat Holyfield—against the winner of the title eliminator between Lewis and Ruddock. The WBC gave Bowe and Lewis until December 13 to reach an agreement or the fight would go to a purse bid. If Bowe refused to meet Lewis, the WBC title would be awarded to Lewis.
  • Rock Newman, Bowe's manager, made two offers to Lewis. The first would have guaranteed Lewis $3 million, while giving Bowe 90% of the purse and Lewis 10%. The second offer was for Lewis to refuse the WBC title, have an interim fight in the United States for $2.5 million, and then fight Bowe for $9 million or a percentage to be negotiated. Frank Maloney, the manager of Lewis, rejected both offers and countered with his own proposal: a 75-25 percent split of the purse. Newman turned it down. Maloney later had a change of heart and agreed to the first offer, but Newman told him he was too late. Newman said a deal for Bowe to defend the title against an opponent other than Lewis was imminent.
  • On December 14, 1992, Riddick Bowe held a news conference and dumped his WBC title into a garbage can. "If Lewis wants the belt, he has to get it out of the garbage," Bowe said. The WBC then declared Lennox Lewis the new WBC heavyweight champion.
  • Lewis was the first British-born boxer to win a world heavyweight title since Bob Fitzsimmons in 1897.
  • The Boxing Writers Association of America named Lewis Fighter of the Year for 1999.
  • Hasim Rahman's knockout of Lewis in 2001 was named Upset of the Year and Knockout of the Year by The Ring.
  • Lewis was awarded the M.B.E. (Member of The Order of The British Empire) in 1999 and the C.B.E. (Commander of the Order of the British Empire) in 2002.
  • The Ring named Lewis' 2002 knockout of Mike Tyson Knockout of the Year.
  • Lewis retired as World Heavyweight Champion on February 6, 2004.
  • Lewis defeated every professional opponent he faced, one of only three World Heavyweight Champions to do so, with Rocky Marciano and Ingemar Johansson being the other two. Gene Tunney and Riddick Bowe avenged their professional defeats, but Tunney had a no-contest, 4 draws and a number of no-decision fights against boxers he never defeated, and Bowe had a no-contest against Buster Mathis Jr., whom he never defeated.
  • Lewis never lost twice to the same fighter, amateur or pro. Every rematch he ever had he was able to avenge his previous defeat. Lewis avenged 5 of his amateur defeats and all of his professional defeats including the draw with Evander Holyfield.
  • Three fighters retired after losing to Lewis: Andrew Gerrard, Noel Quarless and Zeljko Mavrovic.
  • Lewis recorded five first-round knockouts and 15 knockouts within three rounds.
  • From 2006 to 2010, Lewis worked as a ringside analyst for HBO.
  • Lewis was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 2009.
  • Lewis has appeared in a number of television shows and movies: Filmography


Preceded by:
Riddick Bowe
Vacated 		WBC Heavyweight Champion
1992 Dec 14 – 1994 Sep 24 		Succeeded by:
Oliver McCall
Preceded by:
Mike Tyson
Vacated 		WBC Heavyweight Champion
1997 Feb 7 – 2001 Apr 22 		Succeeded by:
Hasim Rahman
Preceded by:
Evander Holyfield 		WBA Heavyweight Champion
1999 Nov 13 – 2000 Apr 29
Stripped 		Succeeded by:
Evander Holyfield
Preceded by:
Evander Holyfield 		IBF Heavyweight Champion
1999 Nov 13 – 2001 Apr 22 		Succeeded by:
Hasim Rahman
Preceded by:
Brian Nielsen
Stripped 		IBO Heavyweight Champion
1999 Nov 13 – 2001 Apr 22 		Succeeded by:
Hasim Rahman
Preceded by:
Hasim Rahman 		WBC Heavyweight Champion
2001 Nov 17 – 2004 Feb 6
Retired 		Succeeded by:
Vitali Klitschko
Preceded by:
Hasim Rahman 		IBF Heavyweight Champion
2001 Nov 17 – 2002 Sep 5
Vacated 		Succeeded by:
Chris Byrd
Preceded by:
Hasim Rahman 		IBO Heavyweight Champion
2001 Nov 17 – 2004 Feb 6
Retired 		Succeeded by:
Wladimir Klitschko


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