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Lennox Lewis factfile

Mike Tyson (left), Lennox Lewis (right)
Lewis, left, stopped Tyson in the eighth round of their 2002 fight.

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FACT BOX
Born: September 2, 1965
Height: 6ft 5in
Reach: 84in
Turned Pro: June 27, 1989
Fight record: 41 wins (31 KOs), 2 defeats, 1 draw
Titles: Olympic gold medal (1988); WBC title (1993); WBC, IBF, WBA titles (1999)

LONDON, England -- Lennox Lewis on Friday became the first reigning world heavyweight boxing champion to retire since Rocky Marciano.

1965: Born Lennox Claudius Lewis, September 2, London.

1974: Aged nine, taken to Kitchener in Ontario, Canada.

1978: Aged 13, started boxing at Kitchener Police Club.

1984: Represents Canada in Los Angeles Olympic Games.

1986: Wins Commonwealth Games super-heavyweight gold medal in Edinburgh.

1988: At Olympic Games in Seoul, captures super-heavyweight gold medal, beating American Riddick Bowe in final. Returns to London to become a professional.

1989: Professional debut at Albert Hall. Knocks out Al Malcolm in second round. Five more wins follow in three different countries.

1991: Beats Gary Mason at Wembley for British and European heavyweight titles.

1992: In December, becomes WBC world heavyweight champion after Bowe throws his belt in a bin.

1993: Triumphs over Frank Bruno in Cardiff, Wales, when referee stops fight in seventh round.

1994: Loses title to Oliver McCall in second round at Wembley.

1997: In February, regains title in extraordinary circumstances after fight against McCall is stopped in fifth round when his opponent appears to lose interest in the bout. In July, is involved in another bizarre fight as fellow Briton Henry Akinwande is disqualified in fifth round for repeated holding despite several warnings and points deduction by referee Mills Lane. Retains WBC title.

In October, produces best performance of his career so far by stopping Poland's Andrew Golota in first round to retain his title in Atlantic City.

1999: After signing a $60 million deal to meet WBA and IBF champion Evander Holyfield, the unification fight in Las Vegas ends in a controversial draw on March 13. Lewis claims he was robbed. But on November 13 Lewis wins unanimous points decision in Las Vegas rematch, becoming the undisputed heavyweight king of the world.

2000: Politics dog the new undisputed heavyweight champ as the number one challengers from the WBA and the IBF both call for Lewis to be stripped of the respective titles after he finalized a deal to meet unbeaten American Michael Grant at Madison Square Garden at the end of April.

A New York judge rules that the Briton must be stripped of his WBA belt, thus taking away his coveted undisputed heavyweight crown, but Lewis makes short work of Grant, knocking the American down four times as he wraps up an impressive victory inside two rounds.

Champ Lewis: Career of drama and controversy
Champ Lewis: Career of drama and controversy

In June Lewis hits back at over comments made following Mike Tyson's 38-second demolition of Lou Savarese in Glasgow, when the American snarled that he wanted to "eat" Lewis' children. The Briton remarked "he's got to eat my right and left hand first."

In July Lewis weighs in for the clash with Frans Botha at 17st 12lbs, three pounds heavier than he was against Grant, but turns on his devastating best to destroy the South African in two minutes 39 seconds and retain his undisputed world heavyweight title. In November Lewis sees off the hugely disappointing David Tua by the wide margins of 117-111, 119-109 and 118-110 to safeguard his world heavyweight titles.

2001: In February Lewis falls out with promoter Panos Eliades, ending an association which began in 1992. In April Lewis weighs in with a new personal record of 18st 1lb for his defense against Hasim Rahman in Carnival City -- 2lbs heavier than Lewis' previous heaviest against America's Oliver McCall in 1997 -- but Lewis dramatically loses his WBC and IBF titles in one of heavyweight boxing's biggest shocks. A mighty right hand from Rahman catches him flush on the chin and he crashes on his back to be counted out after two minutes 32 seconds of round five.

In August Lewis and Rahman trade insults before scuffling on the studio floor in front of the television cameras at a press conference arranged to promote their rematch. Lewis ends his 11-year partnership with manager Frank Maloney in November, shortly before regaining the WBC, IBF and IBO heavyweight titles in Las Vegas with an impressive fourth-round knockout of Rahman.

2002: A January press conference to announce confirmation of fight with Mike Tyson descends into farce as the duo scuffle in front of the cameras at New York's Millennium Hotel. Tyson finally gets a fight license for June in Memphis where Lewis stops Tyson in the eighth round of a one-sided contest at the Pyramid Arena.

2003: Lewis announces he will get back into the ring for the first time in over a year to face Canadian Kirk Johnson in Los Angeles on June 21. After Johnson was forced to pull out with injury, Lewis successfully defends his WBC title against Vitali Klitschko when the Ukrainian was stopped on cuts in the sixth round.

2004: Lewis announces retirement from ring on February 6.


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