LEnox Lewis is credited with defeating Evander Holyfield in 1999 to become the last undisputed heavyweight champion of the world, a feat that ranks among all-time greats, from Jack Johnson and Joe Lewis to Rocky Marciano. pauses thoughtfully when considering whether it should be classified in the same league as Muhammad Ali. His answer then was powerful. “Yes, of course.” I truly believe that I belong in the same room as them. ”
Just a week away from next Saturday night’s Tyson Fury-Olexandr Usyk fight, 58-year-old Lewis’ reminiscences about boxing’s once-illustrious but now-broken history are refreshing. Barring a draw in Saudi Arabia, either Fury or Usyk will become boxing’s first undisputed world heavyweight champion this century.
Lewis dissects an interesting bout in Riyadh and shares compelling details about his two fights with Holyfield 25 years ago, before identifying potential successors. In March 1999, after completely outboxing Holyfield in their first unification bout at Madison Square Garden, Lewis was subjected to a travesty of a draw that was the subject of a judicial investigation. In their rematch nine months later in Las Vegas, he was clearly victorious, adding Holyfield’s WBA, IBF and IBO titles to the WBC belt he already owned.
“I felt the magnitude of it,” Lewis says, recalling the feeling of fighting for the undisputed title. “I had never met Holyfield, but I had seen this HBO documentary about Holyfield and it talked about how great he was and what a complete champion he was. I’m thinking, ‘How can I call him so great, but he didn’t fight me?’ I wanted to prove that I was the undisputed champion, and I said, ‘Holyfield has never seen a fighter like me.’
Lewis said that before his first match, “When I entered the ring, I saw Holyfield coming out singing a gospel song and I thought, ‘He doesn’t take me seriously.’ ” he recalls. I wanted to show him, “Oh, I’m real, and there’s someone in front of him who takes me seriously.” I’m not in the ring singing. ”
In conversation, the usually relaxed and reserved Lewis suggested that Holyfield’s seemingly devout faith could not mask his turbulent personal life. Was this a way to get under the skin of a rival? “Of course I was,” Lewis says with a smile. “He admitted it.”
Furious, Holyfield promised to win by knockout in the third round. Lewis is still in disbelief at his claims. “That’s ridiculous. I held my breath until that round and thought, ‘Let me show you what I can do.’ But it actually upset him. ”
Lewis easily fended off Holyfield’s desperate attacks and, as he says, “Throughout the fight I felt in complete control. However, Holyfield was more technical than other heavyweights. It actually made me a better fighter because I had the skills. He needed them because of his size. [Holyfield had originally been a cruiserweight]. But do you know how he really improved me?Because I used his head [to butt Lewis]. There was no point in crying to the referee, so I had to change my mind and say, “Okay, this is the situation.” Could you please adjust it? ” So I adjusted it. ”
Holyfield was much more skilled and powerful for most of the 12 rounds, so one of the judges, disgraced American Eugenia Williams, declared Holyfield the winner, and British judge Larry O’Connell A look of disbelief was etched on Lewis’ face when he heard that he had scored. draw. Only experienced South African judge Stanley Christodoulou got it right, agreeing with the consensus of almost everyone else watching the fight when he handed down a clear verdict for Ruiz.
“I couldn’t believe it was a draw because the punch count was so overwhelmingly in my favor,” Lewis said. He threw and landed a lot more punches. I lost my mind and said to my manager at the time, Frank Maloney: Go and check it out. There is a mistake. ‘I was shocked. But you know what saved me from the shock? The fact that everyone was saying, “You won the battle.” All I wanted was for everyone to see that I was a better fighter and that I was the true heavyweight champion of the world. ”
The result was a scandal, and Williams was eventually brought before a federal grand jury to answer questions about his relationship with Holyfield’s promoter, Don King.
I was in Las Vegas for the rematch in November 1999 and remember how devastated and sad Holyfield looked after Lewis won by unanimous decision on points. Despite all the odds, Lewis’ pride can still be heard in his voice. It wasn’t easy because I had to do it twice and before that they were trying to push me away by not fighting or blocking me. There were barriers that stopped me from becoming the undisputed heavyweight champion of the world. ”
Almost 25 years later, with his status as boxing’s last great heavyweight sealed, it’s timely to hear Ruiz’s assessment of the impending fight between Fury and Usyk in Riyadh. “You’re looking at two very good, very determined fighters, guys who have never lost. [a professional bout]. On May 18th, we will find out who is the best of this era. ”
Lewis clearly chose Fury. “I believe the bigger fighter, the better fighter wins. They’re both very skilled, Usyk has good movement, good balance, and he’s good at matching punches. But he’s a 6-foot-9 guy. Tyson Fury for me is very elusive even though he’s so big. If he misses you, he’ll make you pay.
“It’s an interesting matchup, but I always say that when two people have the same technical skills, the bigger fighter will win because he can impose his size on the opponent. He has won before, but in this case Tyson Fury has a variety of weapons. [three] In his fight with Deontay Wilder, he is aggressive and advances well. These battles really showed his skill, talent, and qualities as a ring general. I will put my money into Fury – as long as it is 100% focused Fury. ”
In his last, almost disastrous fight over six months ago, Fury fell to the floor and nearly lost to former Ultimate Fighting Championship heavyweight titleholder Francis Ngannou, who was making his boxing debut. “If it were me against Ngannou, I would go out there and show that boxing is completely different than the UFC,” Lewis suggests. Fury should have gone after him and knocked him out. Anthony Joshua did it a few months later.
“But Fury wasn’t in his prime. He was overweight and wasn’t taking the fight seriously. Joshua proved boxing was different. He hit Ngannou with a very good right hand. But the way he fell was not good. This is a dangerous sport, so we won’t play it.”
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If Fury had been in top form, would he have given Lewis a tougher test? “Yes, because of his size. I’ve been watching him for a long time and he’s a good boxer. He’s the one who shadowboxes the most of them. I can tell you. Yo.”
What would Lewis’ strategy have been if he had faced Fury in his prime? “That’s an interesting and really good question. But I’m a pugilist expert, so I don’t want to tell people how I do it. I don’t want anyone to use my information without me. .”
Is Lewis confident he could beat Fury? “Absolutely. Everyone has flaws, you have to find them. Holyfield was very effective when he boxed me, because he stopped me from turning. I had a few setbacks, but I found a way.”
He and Holyfield have both defeated Mike Tyson, but Lewis won a highly publicized match in July when the then 58-year-old Tyson took on YouTuber Jake Paul in a dubious but officially sanctioned match. He was adamant that he would support his archenemy. “Absolutely, absolutely,” Lewis said, expressing support for Tyson. “I’m really looking forward to it because you have to see them as entertainers. The public loves them and wants to see them in action.”
But does Lewis, who knows the damage boxing can do, worry about the safety of a man who is almost 60 and new to boxing? “I’m worried about Jake Paul,” Lewis said. “Tyson still knows how to punch, you can see it when he hits the bag. If Jake Paul gets hit with one of those punches, he’ll feel it. Jake -I know Paul doesn’t want to get hit.
“Tyson knows how to come forward and hang up the ring. How good is Jake Paul’s defense? It might just be a matter of time? I met Mike a few weeks ago and he’s… He looked good. He was walking around without a shirt on and showing off his body, so he was getting ready.”
Are the scammers still trying to lure Lewis back into the ring? “Yes, I am. But as my friend says, I’m not stupid.” I hope that means rejecting any comeback stunt for an undisputed champion as important as Lewis? he laughed. “I was looking to see if I could get you there. For me, money talks but bullshit walks.” This means he would consider an astronomical offer to return. mosquito? “Exactly. I’ll consider it 100%.”
Lewis still smiles when I ask him if he exercises regularly. “Yes, I will. This morning I ran five miles and swam about 100 meters. Then I got up and took a shower.”
While we laugh at his jokes, we agree that it was far more significant that he became one of only three world heavyweight champions to retire while still holding the title. Gene Tunney and Rocky Marciano were ahead of him. “That was important to me because setting goals and achieving goals is an important thing. When Manny [his last trainer, Emanuel Steward] When he told me to have the last fight with Vitali Klitschko, he said: “You’ll beat him and be known as the greatest of this era and the next.” I’m like, “I’ll take it.” I’m already the undisputed champion. What could be higher than that? I thought it was a good challenge for me.
“Muhammad Ali is my hero and people always asked me, ‘Why do you think he stayed in boxing too long?’ I tried to think about the aspects of why these champions keep coming back. I For me, the answer was money, which is understandable because everyone you meet is like that. [in retirement] “Hello, Champion!” When will you return to the ring? I’m like, “Hey, dude.” It ended 20 years ago. ”
Lewis smiled one last time, his sagacity as evident as his amusement. “As my show business friends say, I decided to retire and do what they want more of,” he tweets.
