Lennox Lewis made his next title defense on September 24, 1994 against contender Oliver McCall at Wembley Arena in London. What was supposed to be a routine night turned disastrous, when McCall landed a right hand in the second round that put the champion on his back. Lennox arose on wobbly legs, causing the referee to halt the action. I for one was shocked, and quite frankly thought McCall had gotten lucky, closed his eyes and landed a one in a million shot.
The critics jumped all over Lewis, calling him overrated and a fraud, and I had to read that crap for months in the boxing magazines. I for one couldn’t wait for Lennox to return and prove the pundits wrong.
I vividly recall watching his comeback fight on May 13, 1995 against Justin Fortune in Sacramento, California on HBO. It was thoroughly enjoyable watching Lewis take Fortune apart, and stopping him in the fifth. It marked the first time Emmanuel Steward was in his corner as his trainer, and I knew it would help him tremendously on his return to the ring.
Lennox had his next fight on July 2, 1995 against Justin Fortune in Dublin, Ireland on CBS television. He easily stopped the overmatched Fortune, ending his night in the fourth round.
I thought Lewis had looked as could as could be expected in his two comeback bouts, and the talks were of him fighting Tommy Morrison in the fall. Morrison had just come off of a knockout of Razor Ruddock in June, setting up a fight with Lennox. The two were supposed to have fought two years earlier, but Michael Bentt ended those hopes when he knocked Tommy out in one round.
I didn’t give Morrison any chance at all if he fought Lewis, but in the fall the whole boxing world would find out.
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