Lennox Lewis vs. Mike Tyson
 |
| File:Lewis-Tyson.jpg | ||||||||||||||||
| Date | June 8, 2002 | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Title(s) on the line | WBC/IBO/IBF Heavyweight Championship | |||||||||||||||
| Tale of the tape | ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
Lennox Lewis vs. Mike Tyson was a boxing match that took place on June 8, 2002, at the Pyramid Arena in Memphis, Tennessee, between WBC, IBO and IBF heavyweight champion Lennox Lewis and former WBC, WBA and IBF heavyweight champion Mike Tyson. The fight was for Lewis' Heavyweight championship titles. Lewis defeated Tyson by KO in the eighth round.
General information
The referee for the fight was Eddie Cotton, making it his 20th World title bout. Alfred Buqwana of South Africa, Anek Hongtongkam of Thailand and Bob Logist of Belgium judged the contest, both the WBC and the Tennessee Athletic Commission wanted judges from different continents.[1] Lewis weighed in at 249.25lb and Tyson at 234lb(second highest weight for Tyson).
The fight was promoted by Main Events and was a pay-per-view shown as a joint collaboration between HBO and Showtime in the United States and on Sky Box Office in the United Kingdom. It was the highest-grossing event in pay-per-view history, generating US$106.9 million from 1.95 million buys in the USA, until it was surpassed by De La Hoya vs. Mayweather in 2007.[2]
However, the ticket sales were slow[3] because they were priced as high as US$2,400, but a crowd of 15,327 turned up to see the biggest sporting event ever in the city of Memphis, Tennessee.
The fight was originally scheduled for April 6, 2002 in Las Vegas. However, Las Vegas rejected the fight and several other states refused Tyson a license before Memphis finally bid US$12 million in order to host the fight.
In attendance were such stars as Samuel L. Jackson, Denzel Washington, Tom Cruise, Britney Spears, Clint Eastwood, Ben Affleck, Hugh Hefner, Halle Berry, Richard Gere, Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, Vince McMahon, The Undertaker, LL Cool J, Wesley Snipes, Kevin Bacon, Chris Webber and fellow heavyweight boxer Evander Holyfield.[4]
Press conference brawl
On January 22, 2002, a brawl involving the two boxers and their entourages occurred at a press conference held in New York to publicise the bout.
Tyson went on stage at the Hudson Theatre and stared in the direction of where Lewis was to appear. As soon as Lewis appeared, Tyson quickly walked toward him and appeared to be about to assault Lewis. One of Lewis’ bodyguards attempted to block Tyson's access to Lewis before Tyson threw a left hook in the bodyguard's direction.
The two boxers rolled on the floor with personnel from both camps getting involved.
During the melee WBC president José Sulaimán claimed to be knocked out when he hit his head on the table. He later filed a US$56 million lawsuit against Lewis and Tyson for injuries caused in the scuffle. Sulaiman claims he was spat on and Tyson threatened to kill him, when he got up after being knocked out.[5]
Tyson later admitted to biting Lewis' leg and had to pay him US$335,000.
Following the brawl Tyson came to the edge of the podium, and issued a several minute-long profanity-laden tirade towards freelance journalist Mark Malinowski, who suggested that Tyson should be put in a straitjacket. Tyson punctuated his oration by vowing to introduce Malinowski to the concept of prison romance.[6][7][8]
The brawl at the press conference for this fight was named The Ring magazine Event of the Year for 2002.
The Fight
Tyson and Lewis came out jabbing away. Lewis managed to land two right uppercuts before Tyson missed with a wild left hook. With just under a minute left in the first round, Tyson landed a great left hook. Lewis then holds Tyson pushing him into the ropes and lands another jab.
During the second round, Cotton warns Lewis twice, firstly for throwing an elbow at Tyson and then for holding. Lewis landed a number of punches on Tyson, including three powerful uppercuts.
As the third round opens Tyson headbutted Lewis, however, Lewis manages to cut Tyson on his right eye later in the round.
Again Tyson rushes out in the fourth round and Lewis lands two jabs before landing a big right. With 10 seconds left in the round Lewis lands a couple of punches on Tyson who goes down. Referee, Cotton rules it a slip and deducts a point from Lewis for pushing Tyson down. Tyson's face has started to swell.
Cotton stopped the fight and talks to Lewis again in the fifth round about pushing. Tyson struggled to land a punch on the champion.
Tyson had cuts above both eyes, and late in the seventh round Lewis puts Tyson off balance landing a heavy right hook. Lewis dominated the round, landing 31 punches compared to Tyson's four.
In the eighth and final round, Tyson is hit with a heavy right and Lewis pushes him to the canvas. Tyson lies on his back on the canvas, he is counted out by the referee and makes no real effort to get up within the count.[9][10]
Aftermath
A month later, Lewis vacated the IBF title deciding not to fight Chris Byrd, who was the mandatory challenger and shortly after vacated the WBA title for which the mandatory challenger was John Ruiz.[11]
The fight was named Ring Magazine Knockout of the Year for 2002.
Undercard
Manny Pacquiao KOs 
Jorge Eliecer Julio in the second for the IBF junior featherweight title.
Joel Casamayor KOs 
Juan Jose Arias in the eighth round.
David Starie KOs 
Roni Martinez in the first round.- Malik Scott defeats Dan Ward via unanimous decision.
- Jeff Lacy KOs Kevin Hall in the third round.
Nedal Hussein defeats Ronnie Longakit by unanimous decision.- Rico Hoye KOs George Klinesmith in the second round.
Corinne Van Ryck DeGroot defeats Jo Wyman via unanimous decision.- Cornelius Bundrage defeats Anthony Bowman via unanimous decision.
References
- ^ "Cotton to officiate Lewis-Tyson". BBC Sport. 2002-05-27. Retrieved 2007-04-25.
- ^ Umstead, R. Thomas (2007-05-14). "HBO Rings In A PPV Knockout". Variety Group. Retrieved 2007-04-25.
- ^ "Big fight facing big turn-off". BBC Sport. 2002-06-03. Retrieved 2007-04-25.
- ^ "Muddy marvellous in Memphis". BBC Sport. 2002-06-06. Retrieved 2008-06-21.
- ^ "Tyson brawl sparks $56m lawsuit". BBC Sport. 2002-08-03. Retrieved 2007-04-25.
- ^ Sandomir, Richard (2002-01-24). "Writer Lost His Head Seeing Tyson's Antics". The New York Times. Retrieved 2008-06-16.
- ^ "White like me". Sports Illustrated. 2002-01-30. Retrieved 2008-06-16.
- ^ "NEWS REPORT: Tyson-Lewis fight on press conference". CNN Sports. 2002-01-30. Retrieved 2008-06-16.
- ^ "Round-by-Round Update". Sports Illustrated. 2002-06-08. Retrieved 2007-04-25.
- ^ "Round-by-round: Lewis v Tyson". BBC Sport. 2002-06-08. Retrieved 2007-04-25.
- ^ "Lewis gives up IBF belt". BBC Sport. 2002-09-06. Retrieved 2007-04-25.