Lennox Lewis Knew He Would Beat One Heavyweight Legend But Refused To Fight Him

Lennox Lewis is undoubtedly one of the greatest heavyweights to have ever laced up the gloves.

The British-Canadian legend burst onto the professional scene in in 1989, shortly after he captured an Olympic Gold Medal at the 1988 games in Seoul, defeating Riddick Bowe in the gold medal match.

Lewis remained unbeaten through his first 25 bouts, picking up the British, Commonwealth and European titles before he captured the WBC world heavyweight title with a unanimous decision victory over Tony Tucker in May 1993.

He suffered the first defeat of his career against Oliver McCall at the back end of 1994, but would avenge this in their rematch several years later. Lewis went on to defeat Evander Holyfield to claim the undisputed heavyweight championship in 1999, in what was arguably his greatest ever victory, later declaring Holyfield his toughest opponent.

In a feature with The Ring Magazine, Lewis admitted he refused to face ‘Big’ George Foreman back in the 90’s, as he claims it would have been a ‘lose-lose’ situation for him.

“No. I never wanted to fight George. It is a lose-lose situation. If you beat him, like I would have, then you beat an old guy and everyone hates you, because they loved George. And if he beats you, you got beaten by an old guy and you are rubbish.”

Foreman returned to the sport in 1987 after a 10-year hiatus, where he went on to defy the odds and become the oldest world heavyweight champion in boxing history when he sensationally knocked out Michael Moorer in the tenth round of their bout in 1994, capturing the WBA and IBF titles from the previously unbeaten heavyweight superstar.