EvanL
02-06-2004, 09:56 PM
First reigning world heavyweight champion to quit since Rocky Marciano in 1956
ROBERT MILLWARD
ASSOCIATED PRESS
LONDON (CP) - A boxing career that began as a teenager in a Kitchener, Ont., police gym without a proper ring ended Friday with Lennox Lewis' retirement as reigning world heavyweight champion.
With six championship belts draped on a podium around him, Lewis said he fought his final bout in Los Angeles last June when he beat Vitali Klitschko and he wouldn't defend his World Boxing Council title in a rematch against the Ukrainian.
"I realize that this is the drug of the sport, there's always one more fight, always somebody to fight," Lewis told a packed news conference after making his announcement at the five-star Grosvenor House Hotel.
"I don't really want to get caught up in it, there has to be a time when I should gracefully bow out."
Lewis, 38, becomes the first reigning heavyweight champion to retire since Rocky Marciano in 1956, and only the third in history to leave at the top. The other heavyweight to quit while still holding the title was Gene Tunney in 1928.
Although Muhammad Ali retired with the WBA title in 1978, he lost comeback bouts against Larry Holmes and Canadian Trevor Berbick before finally quitting.
Lewis's professional record is an impressive 41-1-2, a career that featured victories over the best heavyweights of his time, including Mike Tyson and Evander Holyfield.
As an amateur he won a gold medal for Canada at the 1988 Olympics in Seoul. Lewis was born in London but raised in Kitchener, Ont. He moved back to England to campaign as a pro fighter.
In announcing the end of his career, Lewis paid tribute to his adopted home.
"Let me begin by saying thank you to all, especially my adopted country Canada, my native country Jamaica and the country that I was born in, England," he said.
It's believed Lewis's mother Violet was influential in his decision to quit boxing after a 12-year pro career.
At his news conference, Lewis lifted fiancee Violet Chung's left hand to show off the diamond engagement ring he bought her and talked about starting a family now that boxing is behind him.
"I have got a new life and a new future and there is definitely more to Lennox Lewis than just boxing," he said. "I am definitely going to miss boxing because it is something which is in my blood and will be for a long time."
There's no chance, he said, of a comeback.
"I realized there has to be a time to go and there was always the question of hunger," he added.
"If I wasn't hungry like I was against Hasim Rahman, Evander Holyfield or Razor Ruddock then I knew I definitely shouldn't box any more. I have always asked myself the question of why old heavyweights come back and I plan to stay out of the ring."
Lewis turned to boxing in Kitchener, where a school principal suggested boxing as a way of settling scores with kids who teased him over his East London accent rather than fighting in the playground.
In a 1993 autobiography titled Lennox Lewis written by Joe Steeples, Lewis recalled that none of his playground tormentors ever showed up at the gym operated by the Waterloo Regional Police Boxing Association, but that's where he met Arnie Boehm (****ounced Beam), who would become his coach for the next decade.
"They didn't have a proper ring. You used to have to box in the circles on the basketball court," Lewis says in the book. "So they put me in a circle with one of the guys. The first punch - Whack! I get punched on my nose. I don't like it. My eyes are watering. I think to myself, `This isn't for me."'
But despite playing football and basketball as a youth, boxing was his sport, something he proved by bursting onto the scene by defeating American Rid**** Bowe for the super-heavyweight Olympic gold medal in Seoul.
Lewis, who is building a house in Kitchener and spends considerable time with his mother in Brampton, Ont., described Boehm as an instrumental force in his life after his amateur trainer died of a heart attack in October 2002.
"I remember this man bought me my first head gear and jock, he took me camping, he taught me how to drive, he taught me how to fish," Lewis said after attending Boehm's funeral.
Lewis, who stands six foot five, turned pro and fought under his British citizenship after a brilliant amateur record in 104 bouts of 95-9, with 52 knockouts.
As he retired Friday, Lewis said the time he spent fighting as an amateur for Canada taught him how to cope with life on the road, something that would help him as a pro.
"Being able to travel to different places, all over America, all over Europe, just helped me become a better boxer," he said.
"I went against all different styles, I went through different trials and tribulations, going one place dealing with the food, dealing with boxing not in your hometown, not on your turf."
His sixth pro fight was held at the Kitchener Auditorium on Dec. 18, 1989, when he beat Greg Gorell from Kansas in a fifth-round technical knockout.
There was talk of a title fight against Canadian Kirk Johnson at the Air Canada Centre in Toronto a couple of years ago, but the fight never came off.
The last major public event Lewis attended in Canada was in Toronto shortly after Boehm's funeral when he helped honour Ali, his boyhood idol.
"I remember when me and my mother used to sit in front of the television and watch him and I said, `I would love to be like Muhammad Ali.' So he is definitely an idol to me," he said at the time.
Lewis became Britain's first world heavyweight champion since the 1880s when Bowe gave up the WBC crown in 1992 in a bizarre incident by dumping the belt in a garbage can. After he was awarded the title, Lewis retained it a year later by beating Tony Tucker.
His two losses were classified as upsets, ending in knockouts to Oliver McCall and Hasim Rahman, both of whom he beat in rematches. His only draw was against Holyfield, but he later beat his nemesis on points in 1999 to become the undisputed world champion.
Lewis described his rematch victory over Rahman in Las Vegas in November 2001 as the sweetest moment in his career.
"My best win has got to be Rahman because he disrespected me continually," he explained. "He took advantage of his five minutes of fame and pretended he was heavyweight champion when I was only lending it to him, and to knock him out in three rounds when he had beaten me in four was special."
Lewis has accepted a directorship of the sports management company that oversaw his career and reportedly will pursue an interest in hip-hop and rap music as a promoter and producer.
As he walks away from boxing, Lewis was described as a fighter who failed to win over the public imagination, a man who reigned as the champion of a weakened heavyweight division.
But he beat all the top fighters of his generation and was lauded in some British newspapers Friday as one of the top 10 heavyweights of all time.
"The challenge is out there for others to go out and achieve what I have achieved over the past 12 years," he said. "If I had the chance to do my whole career again there is nothing I would change."
ROBERT MILLWARD
ASSOCIATED PRESS
LONDON (CP) - A boxing career that began as a teenager in a Kitchener, Ont., police gym without a proper ring ended Friday with Lennox Lewis' retirement as reigning world heavyweight champion.
With six championship belts draped on a podium around him, Lewis said he fought his final bout in Los Angeles last June when he beat Vitali Klitschko and he wouldn't defend his World Boxing Council title in a rematch against the Ukrainian.
"I realize that this is the drug of the sport, there's always one more fight, always somebody to fight," Lewis told a packed news conference after making his announcement at the five-star Grosvenor House Hotel.
"I don't really want to get caught up in it, there has to be a time when I should gracefully bow out."
Lewis, 38, becomes the first reigning heavyweight champion to retire since Rocky Marciano in 1956, and only the third in history to leave at the top. The other heavyweight to quit while still holding the title was Gene Tunney in 1928.
Although Muhammad Ali retired with the WBA title in 1978, he lost comeback bouts against Larry Holmes and Canadian Trevor Berbick before finally quitting.
Lewis's professional record is an impressive 41-1-2, a career that featured victories over the best heavyweights of his time, including Mike Tyson and Evander Holyfield.
As an amateur he won a gold medal for Canada at the 1988 Olympics in Seoul. Lewis was born in London but raised in Kitchener, Ont. He moved back to England to campaign as a pro fighter.
In announcing the end of his career, Lewis paid tribute to his adopted home.
"Let me begin by saying thank you to all, especially my adopted country Canada, my native country Jamaica and the country that I was born in, England," he said.
It's believed Lewis's mother Violet was influential in his decision to quit boxing after a 12-year pro career.
At his news conference, Lewis lifted fiancee Violet Chung's left hand to show off the diamond engagement ring he bought her and talked about starting a family now that boxing is behind him.
"I have got a new life and a new future and there is definitely more to Lennox Lewis than just boxing," he said. "I am definitely going to miss boxing because it is something which is in my blood and will be for a long time."
There's no chance, he said, of a comeback.
"I realized there has to be a time to go and there was always the question of hunger," he added.
"If I wasn't hungry like I was against Hasim Rahman, Evander Holyfield or Razor Ruddock then I knew I definitely shouldn't box any more. I have always asked myself the question of why old heavyweights come back and I plan to stay out of the ring."
Lewis turned to boxing in Kitchener, where a school principal suggested boxing as a way of settling scores with kids who teased him over his East London accent rather than fighting in the playground.
In a 1993 autobiography titled Lennox Lewis written by Joe Steeples, Lewis recalled that none of his playground tormentors ever showed up at the gym operated by the Waterloo Regional Police Boxing Association, but that's where he met Arnie Boehm (****ounced Beam), who would become his coach for the next decade.
"They didn't have a proper ring. You used to have to box in the circles on the basketball court," Lewis says in the book. "So they put me in a circle with one of the guys. The first punch - Whack! I get punched on my nose. I don't like it. My eyes are watering. I think to myself, `This isn't for me."'
But despite playing football and basketball as a youth, boxing was his sport, something he proved by bursting onto the scene by defeating American Rid**** Bowe for the super-heavyweight Olympic gold medal in Seoul.
Lewis, who is building a house in Kitchener and spends considerable time with his mother in Brampton, Ont., described Boehm as an instrumental force in his life after his amateur trainer died of a heart attack in October 2002.
"I remember this man bought me my first head gear and jock, he took me camping, he taught me how to drive, he taught me how to fish," Lewis said after attending Boehm's funeral.
Lewis, who stands six foot five, turned pro and fought under his British citizenship after a brilliant amateur record in 104 bouts of 95-9, with 52 knockouts.
As he retired Friday, Lewis said the time he spent fighting as an amateur for Canada taught him how to cope with life on the road, something that would help him as a pro.
"Being able to travel to different places, all over America, all over Europe, just helped me become a better boxer," he said.
"I went against all different styles, I went through different trials and tribulations, going one place dealing with the food, dealing with boxing not in your hometown, not on your turf."
His sixth pro fight was held at the Kitchener Auditorium on Dec. 18, 1989, when he beat Greg Gorell from Kansas in a fifth-round technical knockout.
There was talk of a title fight against Canadian Kirk Johnson at the Air Canada Centre in Toronto a couple of years ago, but the fight never came off.
The last major public event Lewis attended in Canada was in Toronto shortly after Boehm's funeral when he helped honour Ali, his boyhood idol.
"I remember when me and my mother used to sit in front of the television and watch him and I said, `I would love to be like Muhammad Ali.' So he is definitely an idol to me," he said at the time.
Lewis became Britain's first world heavyweight champion since the 1880s when Bowe gave up the WBC crown in 1992 in a bizarre incident by dumping the belt in a garbage can. After he was awarded the title, Lewis retained it a year later by beating Tony Tucker.
His two losses were classified as upsets, ending in knockouts to Oliver McCall and Hasim Rahman, both of whom he beat in rematches. His only draw was against Holyfield, but he later beat his nemesis on points in 1999 to become the undisputed world champion.
Lewis described his rematch victory over Rahman in Las Vegas in November 2001 as the sweetest moment in his career.
"My best win has got to be Rahman because he disrespected me continually," he explained. "He took advantage of his five minutes of fame and pretended he was heavyweight champion when I was only lending it to him, and to knock him out in three rounds when he had beaten me in four was special."
Lewis has accepted a directorship of the sports management company that oversaw his career and reportedly will pursue an interest in hip-hop and rap music as a promoter and producer.
As he walks away from boxing, Lewis was described as a fighter who failed to win over the public imagination, a man who reigned as the champion of a weakened heavyweight division.
But he beat all the top fighters of his generation and was lauded in some British newspapers Friday as one of the top 10 heavyweights of all time.
"The challenge is out there for others to go out and achieve what I have achieved over the past 12 years," he said. "If I had the chance to do my whole career again there is nothing I would change."