Lennox Lewis Part Four: Frozen Out

Lennox Lewis hired the services of long-time admirer and Kronk Gym legendary trainer Emanuel Steward, the man working in the opposite corner the night he lost his WBC heavyweight title to Oliver McCall. Lewis next fought on 13th May 1995 at California's Arco Arena. His opponent was Lionel Butler, rated one place behind Lewis in the WBC rankings at number three.

Butler didn't have the greatest starts to his paid career, dropping a four-round decision to Phil Jackson in February 1989 and a month later Riddick Bowe, making his professional debut, stopped him in two rounds. Butler continued his win/lose streak, losing a ten-round points decision to Oliver McCall in July 1990, dropping to 5-7-1 with one stoppage to his name.

After losing for the tenth time in April 1991 to Kevin Ford, Butler went on a run of 16-0, including a first-round knockout of Tony Tubbs in August 1992 and a third-round stoppage of James 'Bonecrusher' Smith in August 1994, before facing Lewis in a title eliminator.

Lewis came in at his heaviest so far of 248 pounds (112.49KG) but this was dwarfed by Butler's weight of 261 pounds (118.39 KG). Though Butler looked out of shape, he appeared dangerous in the early stages, looking to get in his big right on a suspected gun-shy former champion.

The Brit used his height and reach advantages to good effect, keeping the danger man at bay before flooring him twice in round five en route to a TKO victory. Lewis got his career back on track as Butler never got this close to a world title shot again.

With Mike Tyson set to make his return to boxing in August 1995 after serving his prison sentence for the alleged rape of beauty pageant Desiree Washington, Lewis prepared for a potential match-up by taking on the short, squat Australian, Justin Fortune. The bout took place at The Point in Dublin and Lewis enjoyed an eight-inch (20.32 cm) height advantage over the five-foot-nine-inch (175 cm) Fortune.

The Australian had a record of 11-2 and was looking to make it his third win in a row against Lewis. The Irish boxing fans were treated to a powerful display from the former world champion as Lewis unleashed three uppercuts in the fourth to put Fortune down and out without the referee bothering to count.

A sterner test awaited Lewis in Atlantic City on 07th October 1995 in the guise of Tommy 'The Duke' Morrison. The former WBO heavyweight champion was scheduled to face Lewis in a unification match in early 1994. However, in October 1993, he put his belt on the line against the unheralded Michael Bentt, who floored Morrison three times in the opening round to scupper a big-money showdown with the WBC champion.

Morrison, who found fame early on in his career as the leading antagonist in Rocky V, had an unbeaten record of 28-0 (24 KO's), earning him a shot at WBO heavyweight champion Ray Mercer in October 1991. Mercer had defeated Morrison in the Seoul Olympic trials and the blond Kansas resident was looking to gain revenge. 

The challenger came out blasting and for the first three rounds had Mercer on the back foot. The champion finally rallied in the fourth and Morrison was visibly tired. He was unaccustomed to have his opponent absorb his punches the way Mercer was doing. The champion charged out of the blocks in the fifth and had his man against the ropes as he administered a brutal beating, ending Morrison's unbeaten record with just 28 seconds of the round on the clock.

'The Duke' regrouped, winning his next eight by stoppage and faced George Foreman for the vacant WBO heavyweight crown on 07th June 1993. Foreman, at the ripe old age of forty-four, was installed as a seven-to-five favourite. Morrison used his youth and constant movement to outscore the former heavyweight champion to lift the WBO belt.

With a defence over substitute Tim Tomashek, Morrison then agreed terms to face Lewis, before losing his title to Bentt. Morrison then went on a run of eight fights without defeat, including a draw with Ross Puritty in July 1994 and his up-and-downer against Donovan 'Razor' Ruddock in June 1995.

The Lewis-Morrison battle took place at Atlantic City's Convention Center on 07th October 1995. 'The Duke' boasted thirty-nine kayos in his 45-2-1 resume, but it was Lewis who showed the power, dropping Morrison in the second, fifth and twice in the sixth, improving to 28-1 (24 KO's).

Lewis next stepped into the ring to face another ex-WBO heavyweight champion, Ray Mercer. The bout took place at Madison Square Garden in May 1996 and both men shared the bill with Tim Witherspoon's stoppage victory over Jorge Luis Gonzalez and Evander Holyfield's controversial win against Bobby Czyz.

Mercer, Like Lewis, claimed a gold medal at the Seoul Olympics. He turned pro in February 1989, aged twenty-seven, cramming in twelve wins before the year was out, culminating in an eight-round decision against Ossie Ocasio. 

In March 1990 he picked up his first professional title, beating Kimmuel Odum for the vacant IBF Intercontinental heavyweight title. Five months later he won his second championship by outpointing Bert Cooper for the NABF heavyweight crown. Mercer then stopped Francesco Damiani in the ninth round to become the World Boxing Organisation heavyweight champion. 

With a brutal fifth-round stoppage of Tommy Morrison in his first defence, Mercer elected to relinquish his title and face Larry Holmes, instead of his top contender, Michael Moorer. Holmes was forty-two-years-old and Mercer was installed as a four-to-one favourite to keep his unbeaten record. 

The veteran ex-champion put on a masterclass of boxing and outscored his younger opponent unanimously by scores of 117-111, 117-112 and 115-113. Holmes went on to challenge undisputed heavyweight champion Evander Holyfield in his next outing, whilst Mercer won against Mike Dixon and Jerry Halstead.

Mercer was then in line to face heavyweight champion Riddick Bowe and guaranteed $1.5 million if he could get past Jesse Ferguson in February 1993. Things didn't go to plan for Mercer, as Ferguson out-boxed his man. During the contest, realising he couldn't win, Mercer reportedly offered his opponent $100,000 to throw the fight. Ferguson refused and took the decision 97-94, 96-94 and 99-91.

Mercer was then charged on 29th June 1993 for bribing his opponent. He pleaded not guilty and was acquitted on 29th March 1994. Before his 1994 acquittal, he won three bouts, including a points victory in a rematch with Ferguson in November 1993. 

His only outing in 1994 ended in a draw and in May 1995 he took on Evander Holyfield, who had been out of action for thirteen months since losing his heavyweight belts to Michael Moorer in April 1994. Both men fought on an even keel and Mercer opened a cut on his opponent's eye. Holyfield rallied, managing to floor Mercer and took control of the bout, winning the ten-rounder on points. 

Mercer was out of action for almost a year when he took on Lennox Lewis in New York. The ex-WBC champion looked to establish his jab, as Mercer forced the action with his bombs in an action-packed opening round. Lewis had to work hard in the second as Mercer had his man covering up on the ropes towards the end of the round. It was a flashy moment of success for the American, though the action was more eye-catching, though Lewis' work rate was much higher.

Lewis established his jab in round three and Mercer took the big rights without flinching. The former WBO champion had his moments, though not enough to make an impact with the scoring. The British fighter nailed Mercer with a right uppercut and momentarily stunned the American. It looked to be a one-sided round as Mercer shipped some more uppercuts, before springing into action to have his say. Both men traded as the bell signalled the minute respite. 

The fifth was a quieter round with Lewis landing dominantly with his jab, as Mercer bulled forward looking to land one big punch. Both men were happy to tee off on each other in the sixth and the facial damage, Mercer's cut lip and Lewis's swollen eyes, were becoming more evident.

Again they traded some big shots in the seventh but Lewis's output was probably enough to bank him the round. Mercer looked to land the harder artillery in round eight as Lewis bounced around on his toes showing off his boxing skills. The pattern continued for the next six minutes, as the American looked to pile on the pressure in the final round with Lewis boxing well from the outside.

The crowd gave both Olympic champions a standing ovation at the end of the contest and the judges also delivered a close verdict. Melvina Lathan had it 95 apiece, whilst Luis Rivera and George Colon handed in cards of 96-95 and 96-94 in favour of Lewis. 

The victor was full of praise for his foe: "I felt that I was comfortably ahead. But I don't take anything away from Ray Mercer. Ray Mercer is no slouch. Ray Mercer comes to fight all the time. He had everything to gain and nothing to lose. Ray gave Holyfield a great fight. He gives everybody a great fight."

Lewis next boxed for the WBC heavyweight title in February 1997 against the only man to have beaten him professionally, Oliver McCall. The championship was left vacant when Mike Tyson elected to face Evander Holyfield, rather than face the top-rated Lewis.

Since being knocked out by McCall, Lewis watched Larry Holmes and Frank Bruno challenge McCall, with Bruno outpointing the American in September 1995. As the number one contender, Lewis expected Bruno to fulfil his mandatory obligations, but when Bruno challenged McCall, his contract stated he could challenge for the title, as long as he made the first defence of the belt against Mike Tyson.

Tyson destroyed Bruno within three rounds in March 1996 and faced WBA compatriot Bruce Seldon six months later to unify the heavyweight division once more. Lewis took step aside money for Tyson-Seldon to take place, looking forward to facing the winner. Tyson then relinquished the WBC title in order to face Holyfield and Lewis signed to fight the number two WBC contender McCall.

McCall, who last boxed in February 1996, was also facing his demons out of the ring. In July that year, he was arrested for cocaine and marijuana possession, entering drug rehabilitation a month later. That December he was arrested again for throwing a Christmas tree in a hotel lobby and spitting on a police car, entering rehab again after the incident.

A press conference was held on 18th December 1996 to officially announce the rematch. Don King promised that McCall would be ready for the February date, despite still being in treatment. Lewis was installed as a four-to-one favourite and controlled the first three rounds with his jab, landing the occasional right.

At the end of the third, the fight took a bizarre turn, with McCall refusing to go back to his corner. McCall's odd behaviour continued in the fourth as the American covered up and threw just two punches in three minutes. At the bell McCall started walking around the ring and referee Mills Lane took McCall by the arm and led him back to his corner. The American was in tears as his handlers and Lane were talking to him, trying to fathom out what was wrong. 

With McCall saying, "I want to fight. I need to fight," he continued into the fifth. Though he never backed up his words, Lewis continued to throw punches as McCall looked more despondent by the second and Mills Lane finally had seen enough, awarding the contest to Lewis after 55 seconds, meaning the new champion had regained his old crown.

Lewis was back in the ring in July 1997, taking on the unbeaten number-one contender Henry Akinwande. The challenger had given up his WBO heavyweight title to specifically challenge Lewis. Standing at six-foot-seven inches (201 cm) he was only a few men to be taller than Lewis. 

Akinwande started his career in 1989, keeping a perfect record until December 1992 when he drew with Axel Schulz in Germany for the vacant EBU heavyweight title. In March 1993 he outscored Jimmy Thunder for the vacant Commonwealth crown and two months later he outpointed Schulz to finally bag the vacant EBU championship.

At the end of 1995, Akinwande based himself in the US to carry on his impressive record, earning him a shot at the vacant WBO title, vacated by Riddick Bowe. In the opposite corner stood Jeremy Williams, who had only lost to Larry Donald in a twenty-seven-fight career. Akinwande wasted little time, blasting out Williams after 43 seconds of the third round. 

The new champion then stopped Alexandra Zolkin in the tenth round and outpointed Scott Welch in defence of his belt, before vacating and challenging Lewis. What looked on paper to be a tough contest was anything but. Lewis came out aggressively and Akinwande elected to hold. By the second round Mills Lane deducted a point from the challenger's ledger for excessive holding. Not long after, the referee warned him to fight or he'd get thrown out.

The crowd booed at Akinwande's tactics, as the champion was the one who was looking to make a fight of it in an untidy affair. A right from the submissive challenger seemed to have Lewis touching the canvas, with Lane not giving a count, letting the action continue.

Lane had to plead with Akinwande to fight in the fifth round, even getting his corner to tell him to engage or face disqualification. Before the round was out, the referee had seen enough and threw out the challenger. Lewis was the victor, but for the second fight in a row, he was denied the devastating knockout he craved to get him a massive fight with one of the other titleholders.

With WBA champion Evander Holyfield taking on IBF counterpart Michael Moorer in November 1997, Lewis was pitted against Poland's Andrew Golota. Hailing from Warsaw, Golota obtained an Olympic bronze medal in Seoul as a heavyweight. In 1990 he fled his native country after getting into a fight and faced five years in prison. He married an American girl of Polish descent and moved to Chicago, starting his pro career in February 1992.

Golota stayed unbeaten until July 1996 when he faced Riddick Bowe at Madison Square Garden. Bowe, who had only lost once to Evander Holyfield in a thirty-nine-fight career, looked a shadow of himself. Golota was winning comfortably, but his ill-discipline got the better of him, losing points in the fourth and six rounds for blatant low blows. 

Another punch south of the border in the seventh cost the Pole another point and before the three minutes were up Golota landed low again. Referee Wayne Kelly had seen enough and disqualified him. Golota was up 67-66 and 67-65 (twice) despite the point deductions. The fight would also be remembered for the mass rioting within the crowd.

Bowe and Golota got it on again that December at Atlantic City's Convention Center. Again, Golota was ahead on the judges' cards and once more his dirty tactics let him down. He floored Bowe legally in the second, though lost a point for a blatant butt. He was deducted a point again in the fourth for a low blow, losing the round 10-7 as Bowe put him to the canvas for the first time in his career. He had the former heavyweight champion on the floor again in the fifth, but he cancelled out his good work in the ninth, getting disqualified by Eddie Cotton for another low blow.

With Bowe's future at world level in very much doubt, Golota's was also in jeopardy, but he was handed a lifeline when Lennox Lewis gave him a shot at his WBC championship.  

Where Golota found Bowe easy to hit, Lewis, a six-to-five favourite, was accurate from the start. An overhand right drove him into a neutral corner and an eight-punch flurry put the challenger onto the canvas. Golota got up on shaky legs as Joe Cortez gave him every opportunity to carry on.

The champion, sensing a quick victory, tore into his stunned prey. The challenger took another barrage and was down again, not knowing what had hit him, with the referee waving the finish after just 95 seconds. Lewis had finally found the devastating performance he needed to force a fight with the other champions, but a lucrative unification match was still a long way from being signed.

In March 1998 the WBC champion took on Lineal heavyweight champion Shannon Briggs. After claiming gold at the US National Championships in 1992, the heavyweight started the paid ranks that July. Briggs amassed a ledger of 25-0 (20 KOs) until he ran into Darroll Wilson (15-0-2, 10 KOs), who TKO'd him in the third round in March 1996.

Briggs stopped his next four and found himself in the ring with Lineal heavyweight champ, George Foreman. The forty-eight-year-old, who never lost the WBA and IBF belts he took from Michael Moorer in the ring, was a betting favourite over his twenty-five-year-old opponent.

After twelve rounds, it looked as though Foreman, who was the aggressor throughout and landed more punches, was a clear winner. However, the judges saw a different story, with scores of 117-113, 116-112 and 114 apiece, handing Briggs a controversial majority decision.

The victory sent Foreman into retirement and put Briggs back in the heavyweight mix, challenging Lewis in his next outing. The WBC champion was a twelve-to-one betting favourite, and started like one, until a left hook had Lewis reeling and a right to the back of the head hurt the champion. Briggs unloaded as Lewis covered up on the ropes and grabbed on until the bell ended a frantic opener. 

The champion, showing no adverse effects from the bombs landed in the previous round, got the second underway behind his dominant left jab. The power of the challenger resurfaced again for a 15-second period, as Lewis weathered the storm and landed his left lead and some jarring rights.

Lewis started the third aggressively and kept the man from Brooklyn on the end of his jab and right hand. The champion started fast again in the fourth, forcing Briggs to hold on to the top rope to keep his balance. The pressure was turned up a notch and the Lineal champion was on the canvas. 

The champion went head hunting and Briggs had to take what was being dished out. He rallied towards the end of the round, catching Lewis with some bombs, who unleashed his own tremendous power to put the sculpted New Yorker down again. He bravely got up, but it was Lewis who was in total control as the bell sounded. 

Briggs started the fifth brightly, showing great courage after the beating he took in the previous round. Lewis weathered the storm and got his punches going again, landing at will. A left followed by a short right put the challenger on his back and he looked to be out. 

Bravely he got up and wanted to continue, as Lewis stepped up the pressure once more. Briggs was on the ropes, taking some big shots. He threw a desperate left hook that missed the target. the momentum of the punch put Briggs down again. Frank Cappuccino saved the brave challenger from further, unnecessary punishment, calling a halt to the proceedings.

The heavyweight title lineage now went to Lewis as he looked for a lucrative unification match with WBA and IBF champion Evander Holyfield, but first, they had to dispose of their mandatories, Vaughn Bean and Zeljko Mavrovic respectively.

Holyfield outpointed Bean on 19th September 1998, whilst Lewis faced Mavrovic seven days later. The number one contender, hailing from Croatia, started his pro career in March 1993. He fought the majority of his contests in Germany and won the vacant EBU heavyweight title against France's Christophe Bizot in April 1995.

Mavrovic made six successful defences and took his unbeaten record to 27-0 (22 KO's) before challenging Lewis. Although the champion weighed 243 pounds (110.22 KG) and outweighed the challenger by 29 pounds (13.15 KG), Mavrovic still lasted the whole twelve rounds without getting knocked off his feet. The dominant display was reflected in the judges' scores of 119-109, 117-112 and 117-111 as Lewis paved the way to Holyfield.

All the best fight fans

Lea 

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