Lennox Lewis ran the gauntlet of top heavyweight boxers in the 1990s and early 2000s.
The Brit famously became the division’s last undisputed world champion – a feat Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk are looking to match on February 17.
Lewis beat Evander Holyfield in their 1999 rematch – having widely been adjudged to have been robbed in the first one, which ended in a draw – to unify all the belts at the time and defended his crown with a KO of Mike Tyson in 2002.
And the champion confirmed that, of all the opponents he fought in his career, Holyfield was the most skilful.
“Evander was very talented,” Lewis told Ring Magazine in a 2015 interview. “Although I was disappointed that he used his head as a punch in those fights.
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“The word was that he was the greatest heavyweight of our era but nobody could say that until he fought Lennox Lewis.
“In the first fight he was over confident, singing during his ring walk, so I went after him and he was shocked to get that draw.
“Second time around he knew what to expect so it was a tougher fight but I still won comfortably.”
However, when asked to name the hardest hitter he fought, Lewis did not name Tyson like many may have expected considering the power that saw him initially blitz through boxing’s glamour division. In the end, he had one more fight before realising he no longer had the hunger to step into the ring.
Instead, Shannon Briggs was his answer.
Lewis boxed Briggs in a firefight 1998 for the WBC title, which saw him staggered and hurt.
He ultimately weathered the storm and emerged victorious by knockout in round five, but has clearly not forgotten how hard his rival’s punches felt.
Lewis admitted: “He lacked endurance but Briggs certainly knew how to put his bodyweight behind a punch.
“Unfortunately for him you need the full package when you face me so power isn’t enough.”
Lewis lost just twice in his career, but explained why they aren’t the hardest hitters. “Fans may expect me to say Oliver McCall or Hasim Rahman for punching power but I basically set myself up against both of them.”
Asked to name the strongest heavyweight he faced, Lewis added: “Rahman was very strong in the first fight and then he landed a lucky punch.
“People say that there’s no such thing as a lucky punch but it’s a punch thrown ‘one time.’
“In the rematch he couldn’t get near me so I don’t know how strong he was that night.”
He lost twice but exacted revenge on both defeats and retired in 2003 after being Vitali Klitschko.
His title as the last undisputed heavyweight champion is something he rightly proud of given it was a goal of his as a fighter and has called on the current stars to join him in the elite club.
A new member will inducted very soon.
