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Lewis needs to hit homer
Respect has always slid off Lennox Lewis the way snow just kinda slides off the side of a mountain during an avalance.
Meet the Rodney Dangerfield of the heavyweight division.
But before you shake your head and shed any tears over the unfairness of it all, remember there's a key consideration here. We just said Lewis doesn't get any respect. We didn't say he deserved any. There's a big difference.
The biggest knock against the Jamaican-Brit-Canadian is he never fights anybody good.
And it's true. But it's not entirely Lewis' fault. There's just not that many good boxers out there for him to go against.
And whenever a quasi-quality fight ever does come up for Lewis, something goes terribly wrong. Case in point: Lewis' WBC heavyweight title.
Then WBC champion Riddick Bowe, who Lewis (then just a Canadian) beat for Olympic gold at the 1988 Olympic Games in Seoul wasn't happy with negotiations for a Bowe-Lewis fight. Angrily, Bowe nixed the deal.
This is Riddick Bowe we're taking about, the big galoot who beat Evander Holyfield two out of the three times they've fought.
The frustrated WBC, which saw good coin coming out of that Bowe-Lewis fight, took Bowe's belt away, but not before Bowe tossed it in the trash can.
Lewis fished the strap out, wiped off the three-day old banana peels, and wore it the next time he went to the ring.
No heavyweight title was ever won in an easier fashion. Knocking out someone in Round 1 still takes more effort than rooting around in the garbage.
For Lewis, though, that's the way things go. You win however you can. You can't control your opposition. Just check out some of Lewis' other wild pro boxing experiences.
In July, 1997, just a few days after Mike Tyson bit off Evander Holyfield's ear, Lewis won by disqualification over Henry Akinwande, who insisted on holding and hugging his opponent until even the promoters were embarrassed.
Boxing-types said Lewis looked sluggish.
In February, 1997, Lewis beat Oliver McCall when McCall refused to throw any punches at Lewis, and then burst into tears in the middle of the ring.
By comparison, winning a belt by plucking it out of the trash seems kinda justified.
Boxing-types say the only time Lewis ever looked impressive was during his October, 1997 butchering of 'pot-shot artist' Andrew Golota.
They say Lewis has little desire, that if Holyfield's and Lewis' hearts were put on a scale, Holyfield would make a bowling ball look light, and Lewis wouldn't make weight against a feather.
In tonight's fight, they say Lewis better swing for the quick home run, that if a boxing match breaks out, Lewis is woefully unprepared.
But his last fight, in September, Lewis went the distance against Croatian Zeljko Mavrovic.
And the bout before that against the flashy Shannon Briggs, Lewis faced adversity early, was nearly knocked out, but battled back to score the KO victory in Round 5.
Still, Lewis has the reputation of a one-punch knockout artist. And he even cultivates that image though it mulches his considerable boxing skill.
Lewis wants to be feared and revered. Instead, he is ridiculed, called a talented-but-sleepy-eyed slug who hasn't proved anything.
But now, Lennox Lewis is mad. Evander Holyfield treats him like a road bump, declaring an easy knockout.
If Lewis didn't have desire before, at least he has motivation now.
"(Evander's) insulted me, he's going to wake up and apologize," says Lewis.
Sounds like someone's going for the home run.
LENNOX LEWIS
WBC heavyweight champ
Age: 33
Hometown: claims London, England; raised in Kitchener, Ont.
Record: 34-1, 27 KOs
Notables: Won the 1988 Olympic gold medal as a Canadian in the superheavyweight division at Seoul, Korea. Defeated Riddick Bowe in the Olympic final.
Last action: Lewis outpointed Croatia's Zelijko Mavrovic Sept. 26, 1998.
Fact: Touted as a hardcore chess player, Lewis gave up his Canadian citizenship for tax reasons and lack of interest in boxing in Canada. He eventually moved to London and lives with his mother, Violet.