Lennox Lewis beat every man he ever faced in the squared circle – two on the second time of asking – but one heavyweight believes that record is incorrect.
Lewis remains one of the most accomplished fighters in the heavyweight division’s history. He was a three-time world champion, a two-time lineal champion and held the undisputed championship, all after having won a Gold medal in the Olympic Games in Seoul in 1988.
He had two upset losses along the way against Oliver McCall and Hasim Rahman but avenged both with stoppages in the rematches. He beat the likes of Mike Tyson, Vitali Klitschko, Frank Bruno and Evander Holyfield but one of his toughest nights came mid-way through his career in his 30th bout against Ray Mercer.
Speaking to Slater’s Boxing YouTube channel, the now 64-year-old Mercer claimed that Lewis told him in the ring after their fight on May 10 1996 at Madison Square Garden that he deserved to take the victory. Instead, Lewis got a unanimous decision and went on to lift the WBC title after beating McCall in his next fight.
“Yeah, I won that fight, man. He admitted it to me. He knows – a fighter knows. I won that fight. He said to me, he said, ‘I know you won.’ I told him, ‘where’s my half of your cheque!’ He said okay. Every time I see him, I tell him I’m still wishing! They were setting him up to fight [Mike] Tyson. So that’s what happened, that’s why they gave him the victory.”
Mercer retired as a one-time WBO heavyweight champion in 2008 with a record of 36 wins from 44 fights. He scored notable wins over Tim Witherspoon and Tommy Morrisons while falling short to Larry Holmes, Wladimir Klitschko and Evander Holyfield.
