Lennox Lewis Part Three: The History Maker
With Bowe signing an agreement with the World Boxing Council prior to his fight with Holyfield to face the winner of Ruddock-Lewis, the WBC gave Bowe until 13th December to reach a deal, or the contest would go to purse bids. Rock Newman, the heavyweight champion's manager, made two offers to Team Lewis.
His first offer guaranteed Lewis $3 million, giving Bowe a ninety percent share of the purse and Lewis ten percent. The second offer was for Lewis to not contest Bowe next, but to face an interim opponent in the United States for $2.5 million and then fight Bowe for $9 million or a negotiated percentage.
Frank Maloney refused both offers and countered a 75-25 percent split of the purse, saying if the gross of Bowe-Lewis was the same as the $25.5 million for Bowe-Holyfield, then the champion would earn $17 million. Newman turned down the counter bid and Maloney accepted the initial offer on the table, only to be told they were too late and Bowe accepted a deal against an imminent opponent.
Bowe held a press conference in London on 14th December 1992 and threw the prestigious green world title belt into a bin. "If Lewis wants the belt, he has to get it out of the garbage."
The World Boxing Council then awarded their belt to Lewis in January 1993, making him the first British born boxer to win a version of the world heavyweight championship since Bob Fitzsimmons in 1897. Britain had seen fighters such as Tommy Farr, Don Cockell, Henry Cooper, Joe Bugner, Richard Dunn and Frank Bruno fail in their bids to equal Fitzsimmons' success.
The First Defence
On 08th May 1993, the new WBC heavyweight champion put his belt on the line against the top-rated Tony 'TNT' Tucker at the Thomas and Mack Center in Las Vegas. Tucker started his paid career in November 1980, amassing a record of 32-0 (28 KO's) when he contested the vacant USBA heavyweight title in September 1986, decisioning James Broad.
Tucker was mandatory challenger to International Boxing Federation champion Michael Spinks. With Spinks electing a lucrative match with Gerry Cooney instead, the IBF stripped him of the title and ordered Tucker versus James 'Buster' Douglas to take place on 30th May 1987.
Douglas started brightly before fading down the stretch and letting his early lead evaporate as Tucker stopped him in the tenth round to become champion. Sixty-four days later, Tucker faced WBC and WBA heavyweight champion Mike Tyson, to determine the first undisputed champion since Leon Spinks in 1978.
Both champions were undefeated and Tucker, who rocked Tyson with a right uppercut in the opening round, adopted a survivalist approach, allowing Tyson to come away with a unanimous decision. Tucker's reign of sixty-four days is still the shortest period a heavyweight champion has held the title.
Tucker began to party more after his first defeat and got into drink and drugs and didn't return to the ring until December 1989, a third-round knockout of Dino Homsey. Tucker kept the wins going, picking up a split decision over NABF heavyweight champion Orlin Norris in June 1991. With three more stoppages under his belt, Tucker made the first defence of his title against Oliver McCall, winning by a split decision in June 1992. He had seven wins in that twelve-month period, before facing Lewis.
Don King won the purse bids to stage the champion's first defence, paying him $9,150,000, whilst Tucker received just over $3 million. Lewis put the thirty-four-year-old challenger down for the first time in his career in round three, repeating that feat again in the ninth. After twelve rounds Lewis was given a unanimous decision 118-111, 117-111 and 116-112. Although the champion won comfortably, his performance didn't impress the American media, who brandished him amateurish, putting rival champion Riddick Bowe as a firm favourite should a potential showdown ever take place.
Battle of Britain
Frank Bruno and Lennox Lewis made history on 01st October 1993 when two British born boxers contested a heavyweight world title for the first time. Bruno was looking to make it third time lucky, having already failed in his attempts to dethrone Tim Witherspoon and Mike Tyson in 1986 and 1989 respectively.
Bruno, Britain's most popular heavyweight since Henry Cooper, was born in Hammersmith, London, on 16th November 1961. The tearaway youth, who got expelled from school for hitting a teacher, found boxing as his savior from a life of crime.
His short amateur career of 20-1 culminated in an ABA heavyweight title, aged eighteen, the youngest man to achieve such a feat. After going under eye surgery in America to repair a sight defect, he turned pro in March 1982, knocking out Lupe Guerra in the first round.
His record of 21-0, all stoppages, carried a number nine rating by the WBC when he stepped into the ring with the American James 'Bonecrusher' Smith. It looked as if Bruno was on his way to his first points victory, until the American exploded into action, pummelling the British fighter on the ropes. Bruno took many answered punches, before dropping to the canvas and failing to beat referee Harry Gibbs count.
Smith was unsuccessful in an IBF challenge to Larry Holmes in his next contest, as Bruno had to lick his wounds and went back to winning ways, lifting the EBU title from the big Swede, Anders Ecklund at the start of October 1985. In March 1986, almost two years after his first defeat, Bruno had his most impressive win to date, knocking out ex WBA heavyweight champion Gerrie Coetzee in just 110 seconds.
The victory set up a clash with WBA heavyweight champion Tim Witherspoon, who outpointed Tony Tubbs for the belt in January 1986. Witherspoon had already won the WBC title back in March 1984, outscoring Greg Page for the vacant championship, before losing it in his maiden defence to Pinklon Thomas five months later.
Witherspoon was coaxed to London's Wembley Stadium on 19th July 1986 and 40,000 British fans were spurring on their man to take the title off the fat, out of shape champion. However, looks were deceiving and although Bruno was boxing well, all three judges had the American up going into the eleventh of the fifteen-round contest.
Four overhand rights toppled Bruno into a sitting position in Witherspoon's corner. The challenger's corner immediately threw in the towel and referee Isidro Rodriguez stopped the contest without administering a count. Bruno dropped to 28-2 (27 KO's), whilst Witherspoon improved to 25-2 (17 KO's). The champion then lost his title in his next contest with a one round drubbing by fellow Bruno conqueror 'Bonecrusher' Smith.
Bruno won all four of his 1987 bouts by stoppage, culminating in a domestic showdown at Tottenham Hotspurs home football ground at White Hart Lane with veteran Joe Bugner. Bruno clubbed his thirty-seven-year-old opponent in the seventh round, keeping him the number one contender with the WBA and WBC for undisputed heavyweight champion Mike Tyson.
Originally, Tyson-Bruno was to take place at Wembley Stadium on 03rd September 1988. With Tyson suing his manager Bill Cayton to break their contract, the bout was pushed back to 08th October. Another delay occurred when Tyson broke his hand in a street fight with Mitch Green, rescheduling for 22nd October.
Tyson was then knocked unconscious when he crashed his BMW into a tree, postponing the Bruno defence until 17th December. Tyson and his wife, Robin Givens, then sued each other for divorce and as the heavyweight champion wanted to be close to his lawyers, he not only changed the date to 14th January 1989, the venue was also changed from England to the United States.
Tyson and Cayton also went back to court to finally separate from each other and Bruno finally got his chance on 25th February 1989 in Las Vegas. Tyson hadn't fought in eight months, stopping Michael Spinks in 91 seconds and Bruno had been out of action for sixteen months.
Even with his personal problems, Tyson was installed as a seven-and-a-half-to-one favourite to keep his title. Those odds looked like they should have been wider when Tyson put Bruno down within 10 seconds. The challenger showed his mettle, rocking and nearly flooring the twenty-two-year-old champion.
Tyson recovered from his mini crisis and ended up dominating the remainder of the fight, stopping a hapless Bruno with his back on the ropes taking heavy artillery before Richard Steele stopped the fight in the fifth round.
Bruno stayed out of the ring until November 1991, stopping the Dutchman John Emmen in the opening round. He blew away Jose Ribalta in two rounds in April 1992 and six months later got some rounds in the bank in a fight littered with fouls against the South African Pierre Coetzer, stopping his man in the eighth.
Six months later it looked as if Bruno would be extended to his second points win, until he found the knockout blow to stop Carl 'The Truth' Williams in the tenth and final round. The victory set up the historic showdown with Lennox Lewis on a rainy night at Cardiff Arms Park for the WBC heavyweight title.
The Battle of Britain's build-up got a bit nasty. Lewis saw Bruno as a sell-out to his West Indian roots to become part of the British fabric and called him an Uncle Tom. Bruno was proud of his heritage and took exception to being labelled as a stooge, the white businessman's play thing. The Bruno camp issued Lewis with a legal writ. Even though it was never served, the build up to the contest was going to be a bitter one.
The Cardiff Arms Park crowd of 25,784 gave Bruno a hero's welcome as he made his ring walk. His boots covered in plastic carrier bags to protect them from the wet ground in an attempt to prevent him from slipping on the canvas. Lewis came into a less enthusiastic reception and the usually cool champion looked a bit edgy during the ring announcements.
The Cardiff Arms Park crowd of 25,784 gave Bruno a hero's welcome as he made his ring walk. His boots covered in plastic carrier bags to protect them from the wet ground in an attempt to prevent him from slipping on the canvas. Lewis came into a less enthusiastic reception and the usually cool champion looked a bit edgy during the ring announcements.
The gladiators were scheduled to start fighting at 1 am to accommodate HBO's schedule to give their American audience a live prime time slot. During the week the relentless and unreliable British weather unmercifully drenched Cardiff, bringing a twenty-four-hour postponement a high possibility. If the weather halted the fight before three completed rounds then the bout would be declared a technical draw. If the clouds opened from the fourth on-wards, the boxer ahead on the judges' cards at the time would be deemed the winner.
Fortunately the predicted deluge held off and the referee Mickey Vann had terrible trouble getting both men to touch gloves before the first bell. The challenger, weighing 238 pounds (107.95 KG), took the centre of the ring and drove forward as Lewis, 229 pounds (103.87 KG), moved around the ring trying to establish the jab.
The usual mechanical Bruno brought the fight to Lewis, out jabbing the champion at times, making him look disorganised. Both men were guilty of rabbit punching towards the end of round two and Mickey Vann berated them for it.
Lewis started the third fast, looking to impose his will on the heavier challenger, but it was Bruno who landed the punch of the fight so far, catching the champion with a right to the head. Lewis was shaken and looked to hold as Bruno let his hands go, looking to find Lewis's untested chin.
The champion started round four quickly, then allowed Bruno to win the battle of jabs, as the challenger came forward and was wise to the danger right hand of Lewis. Finally in the fifth, Lewis landed a double jab and followed it up with a right. Bruno, determination etched on his face, responded with a big overhand right of his own. The champion's jab was beginning to work, though the challenger kept a high work rate throughout.
Lewis upped the gears in the sixth and actually made Bruno take a backward step for the first time in the contest. The challenger also had his say and both men's eyes were swollen from the battle damage they sustained.
Round seven started at a frantic pace, with both men trading jabs. Bruno then backed Lewis to the ropes and looked to unload some punishment with the champion trapped in the corner. Suddenly a left hook form Lewis detonated on Bruno's jaw.
From that moment on it was all Lewis, as Bruno took punch after punch. He was against the ropes as the champion fired in some big rights. The crowd thought Mickey Vann had stopped the fight, but it was only to berate the champion for illegally using his left hand to set up a right. Bruno still hadn't recovered and took some more big shots on the ropes, before his trainer had seen enough and the referee stopped the contest at one-minute and 12 seconds of the round.
Even though Bruno appeared to be wining the fight, only British judge Adrian Morgan had the challenger in front with a card of 59-55. The two American judges, Jerry Roth and Tony Castellano had the contest dead level with 57 apiece. Again the American media were unimpressed with the champion's performance and believed he would be easy pickings for Bowe.
More Defences
Size, though, played a huge factor and Jackson's 218 pounds (98.88 KG) played right into the champion's 235 pounds (106.59 KG) hands. The challenger was floored in the opening round and Lewis dominated from there, scoring another knockdown in the fifth. Referee Arthur Mercante Snr called a halt to proceedings after another knockdown in the eighth.
Lewis travelled back to London to make the fourth defence of his crown against his mandatory challenger Oliver McCall. A win for Lewis would finally set up a fight with Riddick Bowe. Although 'Big Daddy' lost the WBA and IBF belts to Evander Holyfield, Lewis and Bowe were set to make a fortune.
McCall, born in Chicago on 21st April 1965, was a tough opponent, who was yet to be stopped in his 24-5 (17 KO's) resume. He had also sparred over three-hundred rounds with Mike Tyson, claiming to have never been off his feet. He started his paid career in November 1985 with a first round TKO, only to lose his next bout one month later.
He stayed unbeaten through 1986 and '87, only to drop to 11-2 (7 KO's) in January 1988. He didn't suffer another defeat until he faced James 'Buster' Douglas in July 1989, who went on to cause a huge upset when he dethroned Mike Tyson in his next fight.
With Douglas sitting at the top of the heavyweight food chain, McCall's career looked like it was about stutter. He outscored Lionel Butler after the Douglas defeat, only to suffer his fourth loss to Orlin Norris in November 1990.
In April 1991 he halted the unbeaten career of Bruce Seldon, stopping the future world champion in the ninth round. Three more victories got him a shot at Tony Tucker's NABF heavyweight title in June 1992. Tucker made a first successful defence, outscoring 'The Atomic Bull'. McCall then went on a five-fight knockout spree, including an eighth round TKO over ex WBO heavyweight champion Francesco Damiani, before his 24th September 1994 date with Lennox Lewis.
The champion, who weighed in at 238 pounds (107.96 KG) dismissed McCall as nothing but a sparring partner saying: "He's there to be hit."
Lewis worked well behind his left lead in the opening round as McCall, scaling in at 231 pounds (104.78 KG), fired in some good body shots and a right to the head. The champion looked to take control early in round two, forcing McCall to the ropes, looking to land his big right.
'The Atomic Bull' timed the champion's attack perfectly, landing a right to the jaw, downing Lewis for the first time in his career. The unbeaten champion got up on unsteady legs as Mexican referee Jose Guadalupe Garcia reached the mandatory eight count and decided to stop the contest. In doing so, any big money fight with Bowe was now dead in the water.
McCall now had the WBC belt around his waist, meaning his promoter, Don King, who had nothing to do with this promotion, had some sort of control on the heavyweight title again. "I was totally robbed," said Lewis afterwards. "I was cleared to fight on."
"I'm absolutely sure of what I did. Lennox Lewis was knocked out. To allow more punches to Lewis could have had fatal consequences. My duty is to protect the health of the boxer," said Garcia in defence of his criticised quick stoppage.
Lewis also claimed the punch was a lucky one, but trainer Emanuel Steward disagreed: "It was well planned."
Team Lewis then sacked Pepe Correa and they hired the man who plotted their downfall in an attempt to regain the heavyweight title.
Boxing Books are available on Amazon, Kobo, Apple Books, Smash Words, Google Play, Barnes & Noble, and most other digital stores: https://linktr.ee/leroy_fight_writer
Comments
Post a Comment