Ismael Rahman and Emdad Rahman
In the run up to the Olympic Games, Lennox Lewis, the last boxer to be the undisputed heavyweight champion of the world has spoken of his proudest career moment. “It has to be when I won the Olympics, I would say that. Yes, winning the Olympic gold medal was the greatest moment of my career, because I wanted to win the Olympics for so long. I had to actually go to two Olympics to win one Olympic Gold.”
Lewis beat Evander Holyfield in 1999 to join the likes of Muhammad Ali as undisputed world heavyweight boxing champions. He is in London and will be a key feature at SENI 2016 – The Strength And Combat Show, hosted by Bellator MMA and Fighters Inc. “I’m excited about it. There are a lot of exciting fighters out there who people don’t know about. They will take notice after this. They should come. If they haven’t watched MMA before, then they should definitely come to The O2 to experience this event.
“I’m a fighter and I love to watch fighting and MMA kind of gives me what I need so I’m going to be there. I’m going to enjoy talking to my fans and taking pictures with them. I’m looking forward to it.”
The 50 year old boxing legend is happy that David Haye has stepped back into the ring. “His speed is phenomenal and he is a showman – that’s some combination. You can’t write the Hayemaker off. I think the fact that he’s fighting Shannon Briggs is a good fight because Shannon Briggs needs to be fought. He’s talked himself into a fight and I think that’s a good fight for David Haye.
“Obviously after that one he needs to step it up a little bit. Everybody wants to see him against Anthony Joshua. Everybody wants to see him against Tyson Fury. These guys don’t really have to go far. They don’t have to go over the water to challenge each other. Everybody lives in England, so hopefully we’ll see some great fights in the future.”
Lewis reiterated his views on Tyson Fury. “He has technique, he is fast. His movement reminds me of Muhammad Ali – ‘he floats like a butterfly and stings like a bee’. That’s great boxing for you.”
Lewis was the last boxer to hold the WBC, IBF and WBA titles at the same time and retired as the undisputed heavyweight champion of the world. He feels that there is a worthy candidate to take over his mantle. “Anthony Joshua looks real good. He is winning comfortably and is in a great position to create boxing history. Seventeen fights with 17 KOs makes it possible for him.”
With the added bonus of the interview taking place at the “I am Ali” exhibition at the O2, all that remained was to ask Lewis about his thoughts on the passing of the greatest boxer ever to have stepped into a ring. He said: “It was a privilege and an honour to lay ‘The Greatest’ to rest and you know for me, I was sad we lost a great man who did so much, not just in the boxing world, but in life. Muhammad Ali was the father of boxing and he will always be remembered and revered. There will always be one Muhammad Ali and his extraordinary legacy will live on for generations.”
•SENI – The Combat & Strength show is the original and still the largest fighting arts event in the world and is set across the entire O2 venue on 15th and 16th July 2016. The event will take place in all of the venue official spaces such as The Piazza, indigo at The O2, Building 6, Brooklyn Bowl and Water Margin. Saturday 16th July 2016 – 10am to 7pm (last entry 6pm) Sunday 17th July 2016 – 10am to 5pm (last entry 4pm)
•Event Info Ticket Options Saturday Day Pass AM (10am – 2.30pm) Saturday Day Pass PM (2.30pm – 7pm) Sunday Day Pass AM (10am – 1.30pm) Sunday Day Pass PM (1.30pm – 5pm) Customers will be required to exchange their ticket for a wristband on arrival at the venue. www.combatandstrength.com #TheCombatAndStrengthShow
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