The Bunce Diary: Twenty Years After His Last Battle, We Must Remember What Made Lennox Lewis Great
NEW YEAR OF BOXING, same old boxing stories at heavyweight.
You know: this will be my last year, I’ll have three battles, a new savior is found, a deal is being discussed, I’m invisible, no one wants to fight me, I’ll be back , the contract has been sent. And on that go.
It’s almost the same every year. It’s been a little different under Lennox Lewis’ rule, reign and pride and this year marks the 20th anniversary of his last game. At first, I typed 10th, honestly. It was a blur of the year.
The great Hugh McIllvanney swore that the Great Lennox would only be respected when he left the game, the ring, politics and sport. Apparently Hughie was almost right.
The names Lewis left piled up form the true measure of his fighting legacy. He left them in excruciating pain as they staggered, staggered, fell, gave up, danced on jelly legs and collapsed in blood and defeat. Few respect him more than fans and media. How gloating we were when Ray Mercer scored ten. My phone rang at around 8 a.m.: “Exploded, he’s exposed. I told you,” gloated a very famous British boxing figure.
Mercer brawl made him. Real fights, not the he-you-talk-you-talk, tend to do that. Only tough fights can make boxers difficult.
At the time, it was all too easy – and, lazy – to criticize Lewis for not fighting Riddick Bowe. And criticized for not attracting David Tua. And importantly for not eliminating Evander Holyfield in the second battle. And importantly because he lost twice – how dare he! You get it, it’s easy to take down a man we only see in combat.
Lewis fought and defeated 13 heavyweight ‘world champions’. No one does it and no one will ever do it. He also beat a list of top, ranked and dangerous men. It’s easy to get rid of them as they wobble and somersault or, like Tassel, fly through the air for 36 minutes. Muhammad Ali meets 10 world heavyweight champions; Wladimir Klitschko hit 12 and met 15, but I was kind to the belts of the men Wlad met.
Lewis did Mike Weaver in season six and Tommy Morrison in season six. Veterans or threats went the same way. He ruined Shannon Briggs in an old-fashioned penalty shootout in the fifth inning. He first did so to smash Andrew Golota’s head and heart. They fought fearlessly. Some even gave the undefeated Michael Grant a real shout out; Lewis shouted “Timber” in the second half. The thump of Grant’s 31 and 0 landings rocked the Garden. Grant done, Lewis coldly. Grant happened to be a bum when he fell to earth. Funny, that happened a lot with Lewis. You know the rule for critics: He’s too old, he’s overrated. The opposite when Oliver McCall and Hasim Rahman landed.
And, damn it, he beat Frank Bruno in the middle of the night. And he posed with a little sheep, wearing the Confederate flag and daring to smile. And after every big fight, he disappears and we have very little left to grab. And then, as the extraordinary battles unfold, there is a switch that is turned on; Lennox is very good.
Eventually, in the final battles, he started to hurt in places he didn’t even know he was. The wins continue without any outdated articles about retirement. The men closest to him saw the signs and knew they were fighting during borrowed time. Lewis walks in style.
The last three wins were a great reminder: Rahman got his revenge in the fourth, Mike Tyson was last in the eighth and Vitali Klitschko in the sixth. Then good night. He disappeared and reappeared eight months later causing his mother to cry with joy, in a Park Lane hotel in 2004, he retired with the manners he could have wrapped up in. bag when leaving the old game. bosh.
Hughie was almost right.
When he retired, he finally became the regal figure he is now. No one in this current heavyweight league has the right combination of achievement and true humility. He lost two bad matches, miscalculated and got injured. And let’s not forget that twice he was at the center of malicious fights in the ring with his opponents. His modesty has limits; pass it and there will be blood. There’s nothing fake about Lewis and I doubt he’s ever threatened a man with an insult without letting go of his fist; in other words, he never threatened a man. Rahman’s brawl on a television set is an example. He was offended, he gave a warning and then he let go of his fist. That’s it.
In the boxing business at any level, it’s not just about ability – the stab, the chin, the heart. It demands more than the flimsy demands of modern boxing, a theater where the best are put on a pedestal too soon and occupy that sacred ground with the frivolous pomp we devour. How we love pictures now.
It really takes more than that and to be a heavyweight takes some other ingredients. They are rare, difficult to recognize easily and often appear only at extreme times. Politeness is somewhere.
Lennox Lewis had a lot of such moments on happy Saturday nights. Please don’t question what he will do against modern beasts and giants. Just stopped, thanks.
In retirement, Lewis talks about his journey. Failures, heavy defeats, waiting for battles, criticism and glory. That, you see, is the way. It’s the boxing journey and he knows there’s always another Saturday night.
