#nsaleonyoutube #lennoxlewishighlights #lennoxlewisvsdavidtua #tuavslewis
SUBSCRIBE to our KZfaq channel 👇 / @jeffjacksonboxing
** NO COPYRIGHT INFRINGEMENT INTENDED **
November 11th, 2000. "Royal Rampage" was an Undisputed World Heavyweight Championship showdown between “The Pugilist Specialist” Lennox Lewis and the monstrous punching No. 1 World Heavyweight contender David Tua.
Lewis’ IBF, IBO & WBC World Heavyweight Titles were up for grabs.
Prefight records; Lewis 37(29)-1-1, Tua 37(32)-1.
In March 1999, Lennox Lewis dominated Evander Holyfield in a fight for the Undisputed World Heavyweight Championship where the IBF, WBA & WBC titles were on the line. However, Lewis was blatantly robbed of an apparent victory as the official verdict was a highly controversial 3 way draw.
8 months later, a rematch took place and Lewis earned his rightful nod this time; outpointing Holyfield over 12 rounds to become the new Undisputed World Heavyweight Champion.
In April and July 2000, he successfully defended his Undisputed World Heavyweight Titles via 2 easy 2nd round KO wins over top rated Michael Grant and Frans Botha respectively.
His next defense was set to be against the devastating David Tua. It was Lewis’ 3rd consecutive title defense in the same year against a highly rated challenger.
David Tua aka “Tuamanator” was considered to be the 2nd best heavyweight in the world at this time and often compared with a prime Mike Tyson. Although Lewis was a 3-1 betting favorite, many believed Tua’s vaunted left hook would pose a serious threat against him.
Expectations were sky high as the boxing world anticipated the possibility of one of the Greatest World Heavyweight Championship Fights to take place.
Entering the bout, Tua had commendable wins over Darroll Wilson, David Izon, John Ruiz, Oleg Maskaev & Hasim Rahman.
On the other hand, the veteran Lewis had beaten a great number of top oppositions in Gary Mason, Mike Weaver, Tyrell Biggs, Donovan Ruddock, Tony Tucker, Frank Bruno, Phil Jackson, Lionel Butler, Tommy Morrison, Ray Mercer, Oliver McCall, Henry Akinwande, Andrew Golota, Shannon Briggs, Zeljko Mavrovic, Evander Holyfield & Frans Botha.
From the early goings, Lewis set the pace from long range with his jab while Tua applied constant pressure in attempts to cut off the ring and pin Lewis to the ropes.
Tua enjoyed some early success as he connected with a couple of power shots particularly his left hooks but Lewis took the shots well.
However, as the fight progressed into the mid rounds Lewis gained total control of the action with his jabs and long right hands that kept Tua at bay, coupled with an impregnable defense to outclass the discouraged Tua who had no answers to the elite skills of the Big Brit.
Tua was not known to cut or bruise easily but after 12 rounds with Lewis, his face was reduced into a swollen bloody mask.
The outcome was a lopsided UD12 for Lewis who retained his Undisputed World Heavyweight Championship for the 3rd consecutive time against the 3rd top notch opposition in the same year.
Overall, the fight was a highly anti climatic affair and failed to lived up to expectations; the crowd booed throughout the 2nd half due to the lack of continuous action particularly by Tua, who seemed disheartened by his inability to finish Lewis with one punch. Many reportedly walked out of the arena before the fight ended.
“Hundreds of fans are streaming for the exit. They’ve seen enough to know who’s gonna win the fight, and they’ve seen enough to know what the 12th round is likely to look like”.
- Jim Lampley
Some had expected this fight to be stylistic preview of how a Lennox Lewis vs Mike Tyson clash might turn out. Oddly enough, when both fighters finally met in June 2002 it was similarly one sided in favor of LEwis who dominated Iron Mike en route to an easy KO8 win.
However, it should be noted that Tyson was well past his best at that point.
According to CompuBox stats, Lewis landed nearly triple of Tua’s connect rate at 300 to 110. And out of the 300 connected shots, 213 were jabs.
Hope you guys enjoy this highlight of a brilliant performance by one of the Greatest Heavyweights of All Time, and be sure to SUBSCRIBE for more boxing goodness.
Muchas gracias and keep punching!