Lennox Lewis is widely considered to be one of the greatest heavyweights to have ever entered the squared circle.
‘The Lion’ entered the paid ranks back in 1989, just one year after he walked away from the 1988 Summer Olympic Games in Seoul with a Super-Heavyweight Gold Medal.
Lewis would go on to cement his place at the top of the heavyweight division throughout the late 1990s into the early 2000s, racking up wins over the likes of Frank Bruno, Tony Tucker, Mike Tyson and Vitali Klitschko.
The British-Canadian great produced arguably the best win of his career in November 1999 when he defeated American great Evander Holyfield via unanimous decision to capture the undisputed heavyweight championship in Las Vegas.
Reflected on his career in a feature with The Ring Magazine, Lewis spoke fondly of former rival Holyfield as he claims ‘The Real Deal’ had the best defense of any fighter he faced during his professional career.
“Holyfield had excellent variety to his defence. He could cross his arms like George Foreman but he was also well schooled in the traditional type of defence you get taught in the amateurs.
“Evander presented a real challenge and I had to put in a lot of effort to break through. I couldn’t just land one or two shots and be content; it had to be threes, fours and fives.”
Holyfield is also credited with being one of the greatest heavyweights of all time, winning a version of the world heavyweight championship on four occasions during his stellar career.
‘The Real Deal’ etched his name into the boxing history books in 1990 when he became the first fighter to win the undisputed championship at both cruiserweight and heavyweight, a record that remained unmatched until Oleksandr Usyk defeated Tyson Fury in May of 2024.
