Lennox Lewis Comes Falling Down

Lennox Lewis Comes Falling Down
by Steve Kim (Saturday Apr 21, 2001)

It hasn't been the best month for British boxing. Just two weeks after Prince Naseem Hamed was beheaded by Marco Antonio Barrera, Lennox Lewis was toppled by underdog Hasim Rahman.

Lewis was building his case for being the premiere heavyweight of this generation and headed towards a showdown with Mike Tyson. Now, with his imitation of Billy Wells, Don Cockell, Henry Cooper and Frank Bruno (y'know, the long line of British Horizontal Heavyweights), in one fell swoop (actually one big right hand) Lewis lost whatever respect he had garnered from the American media that had always been cynical of him.

The formula was very simple: an under motivated champion + high altitude + unfocused preparation = Hasim Rahman, heavyweight champion of the world. Hasim Rahman, heavyweight champion of the world. I know, it doesn't sound right, and Lewis only has himself to blame.

It's interesting that Lewis, knowing he had to deal with the high altitude of Johannesburg and the unusual start time (to accommodate HBO), would only get to South Africa less than two weeks before the fight. What makes it even more interesting is that he decided tohold this fight as a goodwill gesture to the African people and Nelson Mandela.

That's right, he thought so much of his own diplomatic gesture that he went to South Africa less than two weeks, while Rahman had spent a good six weeks with the natives. No, they wouldn't be chanting 'Lewis Bomaye' for this fight. The greatest irony is that Mandela himself couldn't attend. He missed a helluva an upset.

Rahman out jabbed Lewis early in the center of the ring, keeping Lewis from triggering his trademark right hand. In the process he would lengthen the fight, slowing the pace just enough not to get blown out early. The longer the fight lasted, the bigger the advantage to 'the Rock'.

Lewis was sucking wind by the end of the second round. Rounds three and four Lewis tried to press Rahman, but the gutty challenger did just enough to neutralize the soon to be ex-champion — simply by making the fight last.

And as it turned out, it only lasted 'till the end of the fifth round, as a booming right hand sent Lewis crashing to the canvas. Earlier, Lewis was shaken by another right hand just as he seemed to be establishing control of the bout. No telling if a well-conditioned Lewis could have taken these types of blows, but it's evident that he beat himself as much as Rahman did.

"NO LEWIS-TYSON!!! NO LEWIS-TYSON!!!" bellowed the new heavyweight champion of the world. While that may be true, what it does is set off a chain reaction of now-compelling fights in the heavyweight division involving Rahman, Lewis, Tyson, Tua, Ruiz and Holyfield.

It sure beats having to hear HBO and Showtime posturing over not making a Lewis-Tyson fight.

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