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Lennox Lewis - Won Unified Titles

Lewis fought Holyfield again in November 1999, and this time, he won the fight to become the undisputed heavyweight champion. Lewis won by decision over twelve rounds, and while many believed that he out-fought Holyfield, there was some division among ringside observers. Lewis used his tactical abilities to win, instead of fighting, and was criticized for not knocking Holyfield out. As Hoffer wrote in Sports Illustrated, "Lewis seems to be a guy who, above all, doesn't want to get knocked out. He's not a coward, or else he wouldn't have achieved what he has, and he has fought bravely when he has had to. He's just too particular, too fastidious to give into any unnecessary abandon."

Lewis defended his unified title a number of times, defeating Michael Grant, Francois Botha, and David Tua in 2000. Defeating Grant was a significant victory. It was the first time Lewis beat someone taller than himself, with Grant at 6'7". Lewis beat him by knockout in second round, after dropping him in three times in first round. The fight showed Lewis's greatness and ability to dominate, and improved his reputation as a boxer. Though over thirty-four, he had finally found his way.

Related Biography: Trainer Arnie Boehm

Arnie Boehm was Lennox Lewis's trainer during the whole of his amateur career. Boehm guided Lewis from childhood to his Olympic gold medal to the end of his amateur career, acting as a father figure to the young boxer. Boehm himself had been a boxer and trained with Jerome "Hook" McComb, a police officer who founded the Waterloo Regional Boxing Academy in Kitchener, Ontario, Canada. Boehm also learned how to train boxers from McComb, and later ran the Waterloo Academy himself after 1981. In addition to guiding his boxers in the ring, he also encouraged them to lead productive lives. Lewis was arguably the best fighter trained by Boehm, though he did train three other Olympians and twenty-four national champions. He died of a heart attack at his gym in October 2002.

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