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Lennox Lewis knows bizarre fights
STATELINE, Nev. (AP) -- Before Mike Tyson decided to bite Evander Holyfield, Lennox Lewis was sure nothing could top the bizarre way he won his piece of the heavyweight title.Oliver McCall was crying in the ring and had stopped defending himself when Lewis was declared the WBC heavyweight champion in the fourth round of their Feb. 8 title fight.
Lewis had the title, but in a way he felt cheated. His big moment was overshadowed by McCall's breakdown in the ring, and his win was a hollow one.
"I was denied my glory to a certain extent," Lewis said. "My main premise was to get the WBC belt, but I wanted to do it in a better fashion than I did."
Lewis (30-1) gets his chance to show his skills for the first time since winning the title when he defends it against No. 1-ranked Henry Akinwande in a scheduled 12-round fight at the Caesars Tahoe showroom Saturday.
"I want to prove I'm the best heavyweight on the planet," Lewis said.
The fight matches two of the tallest heavyweights in the business -- Lewis is 6-foot-5 and Akinwande is 6-7 -- who have some other similarities.
Both are British fighters -- Akinwande by way of Nigeria -- and both have held titles in the past.
Only Akinwande is undefeated though, with only a draw in 33 fights marring his record. He gave up the WBO version of the title to get in line to challenge Lewis for the more prestigious WBC crown, getting the fight by being the mandatory No. 1 challenger.
"I'm looking forward to being the WBC champion of the world," Akinwande said.
Coming just two weeks after Tyson was disqualified for biting Holyfield in their WBA title fight, Lewis sees his title defense as a chance to get the heavyweight division upright again.
Though most people in and out of boxing now consider Holyfield the true champion, Lewis claims he is a better boxer and puncher than the WBA champion.
"Holyfield can't say he's the best boxer on the planet," he said. "He's boxed Riddick Bowe three times and Mike Tyson twice. Yet he seems to put me by the wayside because he realizes I'm the man to beat him."
Lewis, who had been inactive for more than a year before beating McCall, previously had been given the WBC title when Bowe threw it in a garbage can in London. He was knocked out by McCall in their first fight, though, and has a reputation of a fighter who possesses a lot of talent but has trouble training and focusing for fights.
Against Akinwande, an akward defensive fighter, he must look good to regain some credibility.
"It's an opportunity for me to show my stuff," Lewis said. "I think the whole world will be watching. The fight with McCall people didn't get their money's worth and in the Tyson fight they didn't. They'll get their money's worth in this fight."
Lewis acknowledged that with Tyson out at least a year, there will be fewer big money opportunities in the heavyweight division. But he said it gives an opportunity to some promising fighters to make a reputation for themselves.
"People still want to see the sport, especially the heavyweights," he said. "You still have great champions out there such as myself and you have the up and coming superstars."
Akinwande, who lives in Florida, said he doesn't expect any bizarre endings to this title fight.
"I'll make sure that we work within the boxing rules," he said.