Lennox Lewis

Lennox Lewis was a British-Canadian heavyweight who became a three-time world champion and undisputed heavyweight champion, retiring undefeated in his final bout.

Lennox Claudius Lewis was born on 2 September 1965 in West Ham, London, England, to Jamaican parents, and spent a difficult early childhood in England before moving to Kitchener, Ontario, Canada, at 12 to join his mother. He excelled at multiple sports in Canadian high school before settling on boxing, representing Canada at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics before winning super heavyweight gold at the 1988 Seoul Games, stopping American Riddick Bowe in the final. Lewis turned professional in 1989, choosing to represent Britain, the country of his birth, and developed into one of the most technically complete heavyweights of his generation, renowned for his powerful jab and considerable 84-inch reach. He became the first British boxer to hold the undisputed heavyweight championship since the 19th century. Lewis suffered surprising knockout losses to Oliver McCall in 1994 and Hasim Rahman in 2001, but avenged both defeats emphatically, and delivered the signature victory of his career in June 2002, dominating and knocking out Mike Tyson in Memphis in one of the highest-grossing pay-per-view events in boxing history at the time. Lewis retired in 2003 with a professional record of 41 wins, two losses, and one draw, and was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 2009. He has since built a career as a boxing commentator and analyst, widely regarded as one of the finest heavyweight champions of the modern era.

Technical boxer-puncher with excellent jab and ring IQ

Last undisputed heavyweight champion of the 20th century

• International Boxing Hall of Fame 2009
• BBC Sports Personality of the Year 1999