Lennox Lewis

Lennox Claudius Lewis was born on 2 September 1965 in West Ham, east London, to Jamaican immigrant parents. His mother emigrated to Canada in search of work, and at around the age of twelve he joined her in Kitchener, Ontario, where he learned to box. He holds both British and Canadian citizenship.

Lewis represented Canada as an amateur, losing in the quarter-finals at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics to the eventual champion Tyrell Biggs. He stayed amateur for four more years to try again, and at the 1988 Seoul Olympics won the super-heavyweight gold medal, stopping Riddick Bowe in the second round of the final. It was Canada's first Olympic boxing gold in 56 years, and Lewis carried the flag at the closing ceremony.

He turned professional in 1989, under a British licence, and won the European heavyweight title in 1990. In December 1992 the WBC declared him its champion after Bowe refused to fight him, making Lewis the first British world heavyweight title-holder of the twentieth century. He was formally crowned in January 1993.

In 1999, after a controversial draw with Evander Holyfield, he won the rematch in Las Vegas on 13 November to become undisputed heavyweight champion of the world, unifying the WBC, WBA, IBF and IBO titles. On 8 June 2002 he defeated Mike Tyson by knockout in the eighth round in Memphis, and on 21 June 2003 beat Vitali Klitschko in his last fight.

Lewis retired in February 2004 still holding the WBC title, with 41 wins, two defeats and one draw, with 32 knockouts. He was one of only three boxers, with Muhammad Ali and Evander Holyfield, to win the heavyweight title three times, and he was the last undisputed heavyweight champion for almost 25 years. He is a member of the Ontario Sports Hall of Fame and works as a boxing commentator.