30 years ago today, Halloween Night in 1992, Lennox Lewis scored a truly impressive, indeed chilling knockout win. Facing the feared Donovan “Razor” Ruddock in a fight dubbed “The Fight For The Right,” Lewis was stepping up to face the NO1 ranked heavyweight in the world. Ruddock, known across the world for his smashing power and his granite chin, was coming off two losses to former champ Mike Tyson but he had pushed Tyson hard in both fights.
Against his fellow Canadian (Lewis, born in London, later moved to Canada, with Lennox representing Canada in two Olympic Games), Razor was looked at by many to be too dangerous, too strong, too good. Instead, the heavyweight division was about to receive one huge shock; one incredible arrival.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gnYaGtNjmf8
Fighting at Earl’s Court, Lewis and Ruddock were fighters with two totally different mental states during the mid-ring introductions. Lewis was cool as ice, barely even blinking, his intimidating stare so intense. Razor was a jumpy, he couldn’t keep still bag of nerves. Ruddock, had the fight gone long, may have been in trouble from a stamina standpoint, as he was burning up so much energy during those agonising minutes before the sound of the opening bell.
Lewis would soon put Ruddock out of his misery.
Boxing smartly, with full calmness and thought, Lewis kept the advancing Ruddock at bay. Lewis was as sharp as he was focused and, just before the end of the round, he struck with a crisp right hand to the head that decked Razor. The huge crowd went nuts. Then the bell rang.
Lewis, polished and professional, finished the job in round 2. Lennox dropped Ruddock for a second time, this with a combination. Ruddock, almost out of it, got back up and tried to fight back on sheer instinct. Lewis then blasted Ruddock to the canvas for a third time, with Ruddock this time left flat on his face. It was over and a great heavyweight career had begun.
Ruddock fought on but he was never the same force again. Lewis would suffer the odd bump in the road but, when hooking up with Emanuel Steward, Lennox became the complete fighter he appeared to be when he scared the living daylights out of the heavyweight division (one star being so efficiently frightened he opted to place one of his world titles in the bin rather than face Lewis) on Halloween Night all those years ago.
