Lennox Lewis bowed out on his own terms, shortly after defeating Vitali Klitschko, but he nonetheless found it immensely difficult to hang up the gloves.
Prior to retiring, Lewis had firmly cemented himself as an all-time heavyweight great, especially after outpointing Evander Holyfield for the undisputed crown in 1999.
‘The Lion’ would then lose to Hasim Rahman in a shock upset in 2001, before avenging his defeat with a fourth-round finish that same year.
At which point, he had defeated every man in the opposite corner, and only continued this pattern by securing an eighth-round finish over Mike Tyson in 2002.
Rather than sailing off into the sunset, though, Lewis was convinced by his legendary trainer, Emanuel Steward, to face Klitschko in 2003.
Speaking with Sky Sports, Lewis said it was simply an opportunity to further cement his legacy against a previous, and potentially future, heavyweight champion. He admitted the performance wasn’t pretty, but said he got the job done.
“My trainer Emanuel said, ‘Listen, you can beat the present and the future with this fight’, and I said, ‘Well, I’ll take it’. It wasn’t a pretty fight, but I still won.”
Indeed, it was a torrid battle between Lewis and Klitschko, who was ultimately stopped in round six after sustaining considerable facial damage.
Soon after, though, Klitschko claimed the vacant WBC belt and remained unbeaten – making 11 title defences – before retiring from the sport in 2012.
Lewis, meanwhile, was tempted to make a comeback on several occasions, but remained acutely aware of the focus and discipline he needed to compete at the highest level.
“Many times I felt like jumping back in the ring. But focus [and] discipline kept me out.
“Let me tell you, it was hard. I wanted to retire and say I’m not coming back and it was hard to stay out of the ring. HBO gave me a job as a commentator and I was there in front of boxing again and I was trying to get away from boxing.
“I said I’ve done everything already, I don’t need to prove anything anymore. So I stayed out of boxing.”
Since retiring, Lewis has become a widely-respected pundit, analyst and commentator, largely due to his deep understanding of the sport.
