Some say this is the worst robbery of all time, and honestly, I can't disagree.
I've seen some outrageous outcomes to fights in which I stood dumbfounded at what the judges were watching, but on this fateful Saturday in 1999, boxing truly became corrupt.
The intention of the judges watching this fight were not to award a young, hungry, and deserving champion in Lennox Lewis, it was in fact to disparage his name with a disgraceful decision within a fight he evidently won. Lennox Lewis not only landed his right hand at will on Evander throughout the fight, he hurt the older fighter (who was 35 at the time) in every single round and had him on the backfoot seeking exits with slow counter punches.
Lennox outlanded Evander by nearly 250 punches and was blatantly pressuring and hurting his man without taking serious damage himself. Evander fought well with the jab and showed immense heart as a 35 year old champion seeking to retain his belt... but he lost this fight, and the eventual draw being announced was a surprise to the Real Deal himself.
Lennox's look along with his corner's as the decision was called is one the majority of the world had. He deserved that heavyweight strap, but he was robbed of certain victory due to corruption and the need for a rematch and an American heavyweight champion.
There was no shame in either man's performance that night, but this was a serious milestone for boxing in which the public realized that a fight is never over until the judges say it is. A man can surely win a fight and take no damage throughout yet still lose because a third party was paid to make him lose! This was an embarrassing decision, if you watched boxing in the 90s, this was a spectacle that had many in shock for years.
Lennox redeemed himself in the rematch, and still remains one of the best of all time with two fluky KO losses he had eventually redeemed.
Did you witness this debacle? Did Evander win any rounds?
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