 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Date | March 13, 1999 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Venue | Madison Square Garden, New York City, New York, US | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Title(s) on the line | WBA, WBC and IBF undisputed heavyweight championship | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Tale of the tape | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Result | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 12–round split draw (115-113, 115-115, 113-116) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Evander Holyfield vs. Lennox Lewis , billed as Undisputed, was a professional boxing match contested on March 13, 1999 for the WBA, WBC, and IBF heavyweight championships. [1]
After Riddick Bowe defeated Evander Holyfield to become the undisputed heavyweight champion, the WBC ordered Bowe to face its top contender, the undefeated Lennox Lewis. Bowe, however, refused to meet Lewis' financial demands and vacated the title. The WBC therefore named Lewis its heavyweight champion. Holyfield regained the WBA, IBF and lineal heavyweight titles in a rematch with Bowe, but then lost the titles in his first defense against southpaw Michael Moorer. Shortly after, Lewis lost his WBC heavyweight title to Oliver McCall, putting a Holyfield–Lewis unification bout on hold for several years. By 1996, the three major heavyweight titles were separated, partly due to the IBF and WBA stripping George Foreman of their heavyweight titles, though he continued to be recognized as the lineal heavyweight champion. Meanwhile, Bruce Seldon defeated Tony Tucker to win the vacant WBA title, while Moorer regained the vacant IBF Heavyweight title he had lost to Foreman by defeating Axel Schulz. Mike Tyson then defeated Frank Bruno to capture the WBC heavyweight title. Tyson then challenged and defeated Seldon to win the WBA heavyweight title (the WBC title was not at stake in that fight), setting the stages for a Tyson–Holyfield match in which Holyfield won the WBA title. Next for Holyfield was a victory against Moorer in a rematch unified the WBA and IBF heavyweight titles. Tyson chose to vacate the WBC heavyweight title rather than face Lewis, preferring to face Holyfield as it was a more lucrative fight. Lewis recaptured the vacant WBC title by defeating McCall and then defeated lineal champion Shannon Briggs. After Holyfield and Lewis made their mandatory defenses against Vaughn Bean and Željko Mavrović respectively, the two men met for the undisputed heavyweight championship. Lewis had hired Holyfield's former trainer Emanuel Steward following his shock defeat to McCall (who Steward had also trained). Meanwhile, the normally mild-mannered Holyfield uncharacteristically predicted that he would dominate the first two rounds before knocking out Lewis in the third. [2]
Despite Holyfield's claims, it was Lewis who dominated the early portion of the fight, easily winning the first two rounds on the judges' scorecards. In the second round, Lewis landed 42 of his 87 punches, while Holyfield only landed eight of his 24 punches. Despite Lewis' early dominance, an unfazed Holyfield told his corner that "this is the round he go out", referring to his third round knockout prediction. Holyfield began round three aggressively, hitting Lewis with several combinations in the first two minutes. With 1:23 left in the round, Holyfield threw a powerful haymaker that Lewis dodged.
Though Holyfield won round three, he fell short of his knockout prediction. Lewis came back to win round four, giving him a 3-rounds-to-1 lead. Lewis expanded his lead by dominating round five, landing 75% of his 57 punches while limiting Holyfield to just 11 landed punches.
Lewis got into trouble in round six after he dropped his hands to his side, allowing Holyfield to connect with a right–left combination. Two of the judges scored the round in favor of Holyfield. Lewis won round seven, stunning Holyfield with a left jab in the first minute and later having Holyfield against the ropes. In the second minute of the round, Lewis hit Holyfield with right uppercut–left hand–right hand combination.
Holyfield only landed eight punches to Lewis' 33 in the round. Holyfield fought back by winning rounds 8 through 11 on two of the three judges' scorecards, with judge Larry O'Connell scoring round 10 a draw. Lewis finished the fight strongly, winning round 12 on all three of the judges' scorecards.
With the decision now up to the judges, television commentators expected Lewis to become the first undisputed heavyweight champion since 1992. However, in one of the most controversial decisions in boxing history, the fight was ruled a split draw. Judge Stanley Christodoulou named Lewis the winner by the score of 116–113, Eugenia Williams scored the fight in favor of Holyfield 115–113 and Larry O'Connell called the fight a draw at 115–115. HBO's Harold Lederman had the bout scored 117-111 for Lewis as did the AP.
The referee officiating the fight was Arthur Mercante Jr.
| Title: Undisputed | Referee: Arthur Mercante Jr | Supervisor: | ||||||||||||||
| Date: 13 March 1999 | Venue: Madison Square Garden | Promoter: Don King | ||||||||||||||
| Lewis | vs. | Holyfield | Lewis | vs. | Holyfield | Lewis | vs. | Holyfield | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| RS | TS | Rd | TS | RS | RS | TS | Rd | TS | RS | RS | TS | Rd | TS | RS | ||
| 10 | 1 | 9 | 10 | 1 | 9 | 10 | 1 | 9 | ||||||||
| 10 | 20 | 2 | 18 | 9 | 10 | 20 | 2 | 18 | 9 | 10 | 20 | 2 | 18 | 9 | ||
| 9 | 29 | 3 | 28 | 10 | 9 | 29 | 3 | 28 | 10 | 9 | 29 | 3 | 28 | 10 | ||
| 10 | 39 | 4 | 37 | 9 | 9 | 38 | 4 | 38 | 10 | 10 | 39 | 4 | 37 | 9 | ||
| 10 | 49 | 5 | 46 | 9 | 9 | 47 | 5 | 48 | 10 | 10 | 49 | 5 | 46 | 9 | ||
| 10 | 59 | 6 | 55 | 9 | 10 | 57 | 6 | 57 | 9 | 9 | 58 | 6 | 56 | 10 | ||
| 10 | 69 | 7 | 64 | 9 | 10 | 67 | 7 | 66 | 9 | 10 | 68 | 7 | 66 | 10 | ||
| 9 | 78 | 8 | 74 | 10 | 9 | 76 | 8 | 76 | 10 | 9 | 77 | 8 | 76 | 10 | ||
| 9 | 87 | 9 | 84 | 10 | 9 | 85 | 9 | 86 | 10 | 9 | 86 | 9 | 86 | 10 | ||
| 9 | 96 | 10 | 94 | 10 | 9 | 94 | 10 | 96 | 10 | 10 | 96 | 10 | 96 | 10 | ||
| 10 | 106 | 11 | 104 | 10 | 9 | 103 | 11 | 106 | 10 | 9 | 105 | 11 | 106 | 10 | ||
| 10 | 116 | 12 | 113 | 9 | 10 | 113 | 12 | 115 | 9 | 10 | 115 | 12 | 115 | 9 | ||
| FINAL SCORE | 116 | – | 113 | FINAL SCORE | FINAL SCORE | 113 | – | 115 | FINAL SCORE | FINAL SCORE | 115 | – | 115 | FINAL SCORE | ||
| Won | Lost | Lost | Won | Draw | Draw | |||||||||||
| Judge: Stanley Christodoulou | Judge: Eugenia Williams | Judge: Larry O'Connell | ||||||||||||||
| Suspensions: None | Point deductions: None | Decision: Split Draw | ||||||||||||||
The decision was met with loud boos from the crowd, while Lewis and his corner were left standing in disbelief. Immediately after the decision was announced, HBO announcers Jim Lampley and George Foreman called the decision "a travesty" and "a shame". Showtime analyst Steve Farhood stated "I've been covering boxing twenty years. I would put this in the top five for the worst decisions I've seen." Roy Jones Jr. said that the decision was the type of thing that made him not want to stay in boxing. Even New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani weighed in, also calling the decision "a travesty".
Most of the blame was heaped upon Eugenia Williams, who had declared Evander Holyfield the winner. [3] Though she initially denied any wrongdoing, after reviewing a replay of the fight, she stated she would have called the fight a draw. British judge Larry O'Connell, who scored the fight a draw, also received a fair amount of criticism. He said he had made a mistake, stating "I feel sorry for myself. I've taken so much stick. But I feel even more sorry for Lennox." [4]
Almost immediately after the fight, the sanctioning bodies ordered a rematch. [5] The rematch took place eight months later on November 13, 1999 in Las Vegas, this time with the lightly regarded IBO Heavyweight title (which was awarded to Lewis prior to the bout) also on the line. The fight again went the full 12 rounds, this time with Lewis being awarded the victory via unanimous decision, becoming the first undisputed heavyweight champion since Riddick Bowe in 1992.
Lewis was not the undisputed champion for long. The WBA ordered Lewis to face their number one contender John Ruiz. Lewis instead wanted to face Michael Grant in his first defense. The WBA agreed to allow Lewis to face Grant if he would fight Ruiz after, to which Lewis agreed. Don King, who also promoted Ruiz, went to court to protest the ruling claiming that the winner between Holyfield and Lewis would be required to make his first defense of the titles against Ruiz. The ruling came down in favor of Ruiz, as a clause in the contract signed for the rematch confirmed King’s claim. Lewis continued to pursue the fight against Grant, and thus the WBA stripped him of its title. Soon afterwards the WBA created its "Super World Champion" title, in which a unified champion who also holds a WBA belt is given more time in between mandatory title defenses.
The fight between Lewis and Grant for Lewis’ remaining titles was not very competitive as Lewis recorded a second round knockout over the previously undefeated Grant. He would defend the titles twice more before 2000 ended, recording another two round knockout against Francois Botha and a decision against David Tua. Lewis would go on to lose the title when he was knocked out by Hasim Rahman in 2001, but returned the favor in a rematch later that year to become a three-time champion.
Holyfield, meanwhile, was given another chance to become champion as he was paired against Ruiz for the vacant WBA championship in August 2000. Holyfield won a disputed unanimous decision to take the championship and become the first four-time heavyweight champion in boxing history, but in a rematch ordered by the WBA he lost a unanimous decision to Ruiz in 2001. A third fight between the two ended in a draw in December 2001.
Confirmed bouts: [6]
| Country | Broadcaster |
|---|---|
 United Kingdom | Sky Sports |
 United States | HBO |
Lennox Claudius Lewis is a boxing commentator and former professional boxer who competed from 1989 to 2003. He is a three-time world heavyweight champion, a two-time lineal champion, and the last heavyweight to hold the undisputed championship. Holding dual British and Canadian citizenship, Lewis represented Canada as an amateur at the 1984 and 1988 Olympics; in the latter, he won a gold medal in the super-heavyweight division.
Evander Holyfield is an American former professional boxer who competed between 1984 and 2011. He reigned as the undisputed champion at cruiserweight in the late 1980s and at heavyweight in the early 1990s, and is the only boxer in history to win the undisputed championship in two weight classes in the three belt era. Nicknamed "the Real Deal", Holyfield is the only four-time world heavyweight champion, having held the unified WBA, WBC, and IBF titles from 1990 to 1992, the WBA and IBF titles again from 1993 to 1994, the WBA title a third time from 1996 to 1999; the IBF title a third time from 1997 to 1999 and the WBA title for a fourth time from 2000 to 2001.
Riddick Lamont Bowe is an American former professional boxer who competed between 1989 and 2008. He held the undisputed world heavyweight championship in 1992, and won the super heavyweight silver medal at the 1988 Summer Olympics.
As in the 1980s, the 1990s in boxing's popularity focused on all divisions. When 1980s legends Sugar Ray Leonard, Thomas Hearns, as well as others retired, newer superstars filled the void: Pernell Whitaker, Julio César Chávez, in the early 1990s, Oscar De La Hoya, Félix Trinidad, Roy Jones Jr. and Floyd Mayweather Jr. in the mid to late 1990s.
Mike Tyson vs. Evander Holyfield, billed as Finally, was a professional boxing match fought between Evander Holyfield and Mike Tyson for the WBA heavyweight championship on November 9, 1996, at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Paradise, Nevada. The bout was Tyson's first defense of the WBA title that he had won from Bruce Seldon on September 7 of that year.
Buster Douglas vs. Evander Holyfield, billed as "The Moment of Truth", was a professional boxing match contested on October 25, 1990, for the WBA, WBC, and IBF heavyweight championships. The bout took place at the Mirage in Paradise, Nevada, USA and saw Douglas making the first defense of the titles he won from Mike Tyson in February 1990.
Evander Holyfield vs. Riddick Bowe was a professional boxing match that took place on November 13, 1992 in Las Vegas, Nevada. The fight was contested for the undisputed world heavyweight championship, which consisted of the WBA, WBC, and IBF championships.
Riddick Bowe vs. Evander Holyfield II, billed as Repeat or Revenge, was a professional boxing match that took place on November 6, 1993, for the WBA and IBF heavyweight championships.
Riddick Bowe vs. Evander Holyfield III, billed as "The Final Chapter", was a professional boxing match contested on November 4, 1995. The non-title match marked the third and final fight in the Bowe–Holyfield trilogy.
Evander Holyfield vs. Michael Moorer was a professional boxing match contested on April 22, 1994, for the WBA and IBF heavyweight championships.
Evander Holyfield vs. Michael Moorer II was a professional boxing match contested November 8, 1997 for the WBA and IBF heavyweight championships.
Evander Holyfield vs. Lennox Lewis II, was a professional boxing match contested on November 13, 1999 for the WBA, WBC, IBF, and vacant IBO undisputed heavyweight championship.
Mike Tyson vs. Donovan Ruddock II, billed as The Rematch, was a professional boxing match contested on June 28, 1991. It was the second time the two fighters fought that year, as their first bout in March was mired in controversy.
Evander Holyfield vs. Larry Holmes, billed as "Class of Champions", was a professional boxing match contested on June 19, 1992, for the WBA, WBC, and IBF heavyweight championships.
Lennox Lewis vs. Tony Tucker, billed as Star Spangled Glory, was a heavyweight professional boxing match contested between WBC champion Lennox Lewis and the WBC's number one ranked contender Tony Tucker. The bout took place on May 8, 1993 at the Thomas & Mack Center in Paradise, Nevada, U.S. Lewis retained his WBC title via unanimous decision.
Chris Byrd vs. Evander Holyfield was a professional boxing match contested on December 14, 2002 for the vacant IBF heavyweight championship.
Evander Holyfield vs. John Ruiz, billed as Justice, was a professional boxing match contested on August 12, 2000 for the vacant WBA heavyweight championship.
The heavyweight unification series, also known as the Heavyweight World Series, was a sequence of professional boxing matches held in 1986 and 1987 to crown an undisputed champion of the heavyweight class. The series was produced by HBO Sports and promoted by Don King. It ended with Mike Tyson as undisputed champion, holding the championship belts of the International Boxing Federation (IBF), World Boxing Association (WBA), and World Boxing Council (WBC).
Evander Holyfield vs. Hasim Rahman, billed as "The Royal Comeback", was a professional boxing match contested on June 1, 2002.