Lennox Lewis 39–2–1 (30 KO) vs. Mike Tyson 49–3 (2) (43 KO), billed as Lewis–Tyson: Is On, was a heavyweight professional boxing match that took place on June 8, 2002, at the Pyramid Arena in Memphis, Tennessee. The defending unified WBC, IBF, IBO, and The Ring champion Lennox Lewis defeated former undisputed heavyweight champion Mike Tyson by knockout in the eighth round.
Prior to the event, Lewis was awarded The Ring magazine heavyweight title, which had been vacant since the late 1980s and was last held by Tyson.

Following his 1997 disqualification loss to Evander Holyfield in the rematch of their first bout, Tyson had been fined and had his license revoked by the Nevada State Athletic Commission for having twice-bitten Holyfield during the fight. Tyson made his initial return to boxing in 1999 before being sentenced to a second prison term later that year.

Following several more bouts after his release, Tyson signed to face former WBO title-holder Ray Mercer in January 2001. However, Lewis and his camp feared a future fight with Tyson could be jeopardized should the former champion lose and thus filed a legal injunction to prevent the match with Mercer from happening and forcing Tyson to cancel the bout and instead face the reigning WBC/IBF champion.

The fight was originally scheduled for April 6, 2002 in Las Vegas. However, Nevada refused to grant Tyson a license after a press conference brawl between Lewis and Tyson (see below). Several other states refused Tyson a license before Memphis finally bid US$12 million in order to host the fight.

Lewis weighed in at 249.25 lb (113 kg) and Tyson at 234 lb (106 kg) (the second highest of his career).

The fight was promoted by Main Events and was a pay-per-view shown as a joint collaboration between HBO and Showtime in the United States and on Sky Box Office in the United Kingdom. The joint promotion was a rarity as at the time HBO and Showtime were arch-rivals in American boxing broadcasting, though it would later be repeated in 2015 with the Floyd Mayweather Jr. vs. Manny Pacquiao match. HBO’s Jim Lampley called the fight alongside Showtime’s Bobby Czyz, and in addition each fighter was introduced by a ring announcer allied with a specific network: Lewis had HBO’s Michael Buffer introduce him, while Jimmy Lennon Jr. of Showtime did the same for Tyson. It was the highest-grossing event in pay-per-view history, generating US$106.9 million from 1.95 million buys in the U.S., until it was surpassed by De La Hoya vs. Mayweather in 2007. In 2013, Mayweather vs. Álvarez surpassed the gross revenue generated from pay-per-view buys.

However, the ticket sales were slow because they were priced as high as US$2,400, but a crowd of 15,327 turned up to see the fight. Lewis entered the bout as 2/1 favorite.

On January 22, 2002, at a press conference held in New York to publicize the bout, a brawl involving the two boxers and their entourages occurred.

Tyson went on stage at the Hudson Theatre and stared in the direction of where Lewis was to appear. As soon as Lewis appeared, Tyson quickly walked toward him and appeared to be about to assault Lewis. One of Lewis’s bodyguards attempted to block Tyson’s access to Lewis before Tyson threw a left hook in the bodyguard’s direction.

The two boxers rolled on the floor with personnel from both camps getting involved.

During the fracas, WBC president José Sulaimán claimed to be knocked out when he hit his head on the table. He later filed a US$56 million lawsuit against Lewis and Tyson for injuries caused in the scuffle. Sulaiman claims he was spat on and Tyson threatened to kill him, when he got up after being knocked out.

Tyson was accused of- and later admitted to having bitten Lewis’ leg amidst the melee, resulting in the champion being required to receive a tetanus shot.

Following the brawl Tyson came to the edge of the podium, grabbed his crotch and started shouting expletives at someone in the crowd who was later guessed to be either Lewis’s mother or a female photographer. Then he overheard freelance journalist Mark Malinowski suggesting that he should be in a straitjacket, which prompted him to issue another profanity-laden tirade, this time directed at Malinowski. He repeatedly referred to the reporter as a “punk white boy” and a “faggot”, and punctuated his oration by vowing to “fuck [Malinowski] ’till you love me”. The brawl at the press conference for this fight was named The Ring magazine Event of the Year for 2002.

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Michael Bentt 11–1 (6 KO) vs. Herbie Hide 25–0 (24 KO) was a professional boxing match contested on 19 March 1994, for the WBO heavyweight title.

Bentt, in only his 12th professional fight and virtually unknown, scored an upset first-round knockout victory over the heavily favored Tommy Morrison, making him the new WBO heavyweight champion in the process. Bentt’s first defence was announced to take place in London. Bentt who had been born in London but raised in New York City championed his British heritage exclaiming to be as British as “Bruno, Lewis or Thatcher.” Bentt and his team narrowed his potential opponents to British fighters Lennox Lewis and Herbie Hide, with Bentt also receiving a big money offer to face George Foreman. While Bentt stated he preferred Foreman or Lewis, he was unable to reach an agreement with either fighter and Hide was ultimately picked as his opponent.

A memorable altercation occurred two months before the fight. On 10 January 1994, Bentt and Hide were at a press conference at the Sheraton Park Tower Hotel in London to promote the fight. Hide, who had taken exception to Bentt calling himself British, caused an uproar when he knocked a baseball cap off Bentt’s head, leading to Bentt to retaliate by throwing a punch that sent Hide down. Hide and Bentt then wrestled each other in a puddle before they were broken up. Hide complained to the media afterward “It goes to show what hooligans we have in boxing. He’s a nut. He can’t take criticism. He hit me for no reason at all.” Said Bentt about the incident “He compromised my manhood. No man is going to lay his hands on me. I don’t regret it. I’m a man first and a boxer second. Nobody attempts to belittle me.” Two days later, Bentt had a change of heart and apologized for his role in the brawl stating “I want to apologize this morning to all the people of Britain. I let boxing down. I let myself down. I let my faith down because of my behaviour with Herbie Hide. “All I remember is him coming at me. He pulled my Millwall cap off, but I thought he was about to attack me. That’s why I hit out. There was no malice, there was nothing personal about it at all.” Because of the brawl, both Bentt and Hide were fined $14,800 by the British Boxing Board of Control.

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Tyson Fury 32–0–1 (23 KOs) vs. Derek Chisora33–12 (23 KOs) III was a professional boxing match contested between WBC …

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🗣️”My HARDEST Fight‼️”: Ricky Hatton

The late, great Ricky Hatton sat down with Johnny Nelson & Adam Smith in 2015 to explain why Luis Collazo – not Mayweather or Pacquiao – was the hardest fight he had in his career.

🎥 Credit: Sky Sports Boxing

#RickyHatton #Boxing #Story

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🗣️”I can beat Usain Bolt in the 100M‼️”

🎥 When David Haye & Tyson Fury appeared Sky Sports’ Ringside show following the opening presser for their huge showdown in 2013.

❌ Following two seperate injuries to the ‘Hayemaker’ the bout never came to fruition and, even though they shared just the one day of build-up & hype, it is a contest that is still debated to this day.

🗣️ The ‘Gypsy King’ was unequivocal in his belief about what had occured saying “I’m absolutely furious but in all honesty this is exactly what I expected.
Everyone knows I was very suspicious when he pulled out the first time and this confirms to me that he’s always been afraid of me and never wanted this fight.”

Was Fury right in his assesment?🤔

#HayeFury #WardleyDubois #Boxing #Throwback

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