Following a long and successful amateur career, which included a gold medal winning performance in the 1988 Seoul Olympics that came through the KO of 'Riddick bowe' (who also went on to win the world heavyweight crown) the former world undisputed heavyweight champion Lennox Lewis turned professional in 1989. His 2 round win over Canadian boxer Donnovan Ruddock in Oct of 1992 gained him recognition as an opponent in the heavyweight ranks. Lewis is a resident of Canada and England, was scheduled to fight Riddick bowe during the Evander Holyfield vs Riddick fight. Bowe was a victim of a gruesome knockout by Lewis in the amateur ranks, was unable to live up to his word by not giving Lewis an deserved title shot and, in a scandalous move, tossed the WBC title into a garbage bin. The WBC commission decided to remove Bowe from the ring and make Lewis the new WBC champion. Lennox Lewis continued to defend his title for a number of fights, until he was defeated in two rounds by Oliver McCall in September 1994. Lewis was able to return to the heavyweight division under the guidance of Emanuel Steward as his trainer. Lewis was denied another title shot because champion Mike Tyson gave up his WBC title in order to face Evander Holyfield.
No comments:
Post a Comment