,After his destruction of Michael Grant on April 29, Lennox Lewis traveled back to England to make a title defense in his hometown on July 15, 2000.
The bout at the London Arena would be against the 9th ranked heavyweight, Francois Botha of South Africa. Botha had been competitive in his fight with Mike Tyson in January of 1999, and also fought Shannon Briggs to a draw that August. He talked of knocking Lewis out in the pre-fight banter, but I knew he was all talk.
I sat down on my recliner to watch the action on HBO, and wasn’t surprised at what took place. Lennox hurt Botha badly in the opening round, and knocked him halfway through the ropes and out, with a four punch combination in the second round.
There was no doubt with this scintillating performance that Lewis was the best heavyweight on the planet, despite the fact that Evander Holyfield captured the WBA belt that was stripped from Lennox a month later. Evander had barely squeaked by the mediocre John Ruiz in a totally inept display, and was awarded a decision many could dispute.
As I look back on the history of heavyweight champions, Lennox Lewis looks better and better as time goes by. Other than his two knockout losses, both which he avenged with dominating performances, Lennox may be the best big man to ever lace up the gloves. Tall and powerful, and a great boxer as well, it’s very difficult to convince me that anyone was ever better.
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