Lennox Lewis
Statistics | |
---|---|
Real name | Lennox Claudius Lewis |
Nickname(s) | The Lion |
Rated at | Heavyweight |
Height | 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) |
Reach | 84 in (2.13 m) |
Nationality | Canadian/British[1] |
Birth date | September 2, 1965 (1965-09-02) (age 42) |
Birth place | West Ham, London, England |
Stance | Orthodox |
Boxing record | |
Total fights | 44 |
Wins | 41 |
Wins by KO | 32 |
Losses | 2 |
Draws | 1 |
No contests | 0 |
Lennox Claudius Lewis born September 2, 1965 is a retired British/Canadian professional boxer. Despite representing Canada at the Olympics and Commonwealth Games, he fought under the British flag as a professional. He is a former undisputed lineal heavyweight champion. Along with Muhammad Ali and Evander Holyfield, Lewis is one of three boxers in history to have won the heavyweight championship three times. Lewis is 195cm (6 ft 5 in) tall and has an 84-in reach, much longer than average for his height. During his boxing prime, he weighed 112kg (247lb). Lewis often referred to himself as “the pugilist specialist”.
Lewis was born in West Ham, London, England in 1965 to Jamaican born parents, and moved to Kitchene, Ontario, Canada in 1977 at the age of 12. He attended Cameron Heights Collegiate Institute for high school, where he excelled in the sports of Canadian football, soccer and basketball. He eventually decided that his favourite sport was boxing. He became a dominant amateur boxer and won the world amateur junior title in 1983.
The next year, Lewis represented Canada as a Super Heavyweight in the 1984 Summer Olympics held in Los Angeles. He advanced to the quarter-finals, where he lost a controversial decision to American Tyrell Biggs and settled for a fifth-place finish.
Lewis chose not to turn professional after the Olympics, and instead fought four more years as an amateur, hoping for a second chance to win a gold medal. After winning several more amateur titles during those years, he travelled to Seoul, South Korea for the 1988 Summer Olympics and achieved his goal. In the gold medal match, Lewis defeated future world champion Riddick Bowe by a second round technical knockout.
Having achieved that goal, Lewis declared himself a professional boxer and moved back to England. He claims he’d always considered himself British, but failed to win the hearts and minds of British fans who feel his “coming home” was more about the convenience of his career than homesickness. The early part of his pro career was filled with knock outs of journeymen, and he quickly rose in the world rankings.
Upon retiring from boxing, Lewis moved to Miami Beach with his wife, Violet Chang, a former Miss Jamaica runner-up. The couple have a daughter named Ling, and a son, Landon. Lewis told AventuraUSA.com in 2007 that he is contemplating opening an “international boxing academy” and perhaps one day starting a record label, but contrary to rumours, he has yet to embark on either endeavour.
Lewis is an avid chess player, seeing chess as a good preparation method for a boxing match.
Amateur highlights
Medal record | ||
---|---|---|
Competitor for Canada | ||
Men’s Boxing | ||
Olympic Games | ||
Gold | 1988 Seoul | Super Heavyweight |
Commonwealth Games | ||
Gold | 1986 Edinburgh | Super Heavyweight |
- Record: 75-7(58)[10]
- 1983 Junior World Super Heavyweight Champion
- Represented Canada as a Super Heavyweight at the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles. Results were:
- Defeated Mohammad Youssuf (Pakistan) TKO 3
- Lost to Tyrell Biggs (United States) points
- 1985 Silver Medalist at World Cup competition.
- 1986 Super Heavyweight Gold Medalist at the Commonwealth Games in Edinburgh, Scotland
- 1987 Super Heavyweight Silver Medalist at Pan-American Games in Indianapolis. Lost to Jorge Luis Gonzalez of Cuba in the final.
- 1987 Won the North American Super Heavyweight championship competition, defeating Jorge Luis Gonzalez
- Won the Super Heavyweight Gold medal for Canada at the 1988 Olympics in Seoul, South Korea. Results were:
- Defeated Chrispine Odera (Kenya) TKO 2
- Defeated Ulli Kaden (East Germany) TKO 1
- Defeated Jasz Zarenkiewicz (Poland) forfeit
- Defeated Riddick Bowe (United States) TKO 2
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