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Home » Lennox Lewis dismissed as undisputed again in ‘four-belt era’ SPOTY rant

Lennox Lewis dismissed as undisputed again in ‘four-belt era’ SPOTY rant

In another dismissal of great heavyweight Lennox Lewis, Josh Taylor repeated his claim to be the first undisputed champion from the UK.

The Scot, who became undisputed at super-lightweight this year, is the second boxer from Briton to win the all-conquering crown.

Lewis did it when beating Evander Holyfield in 1999 to claim all the marbles in the top division. ‘The Pugilist Specialist’ even labeled a documentary about him ‘Undisputed’ to match his feat.

This time when making his statement in a rant on not getting nominated for the BBC Sports Personality of the Year Award, Taylor added a distinct ‘four-belt era’ full stop to his dibs.

“May 22nd, 2021. The first person in the UK to become an undisputed world boxing champion in the four-belt era and hold all the championship belts. History Maker.

“[You can] shove yer SPOTY right up your a—,” added Taylor.

But what ‘The Tartan Tornado’ failed to consider is the fact Lewis won the ‘four major titles’ on offer against Holyfield.

Here’s why.

During the 1990s, the International Boxing Organization strap was considered more prestigious than the World Boxing Organization.

Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao, among other legends, fought and won that title happily. It wasn’t until a few years later that the WBO surpassed the IBO as the fourth primary sanctioning body.

Lennox Lewis Undisputed heavyweight champion
FUBU

LENNOX LEWIS UNDISPUTED

Therefore, Lewis won four heavyweight belts at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas. The Londoner certainly was the first undisputed boxer to come from the UK.

It’s unknown why Taylor continues to dismiss Lewis as undisputed despite the British boxing legend considering himself just that.

Taylor has the honor of being the second in history, a title that doesn’t take anything away from him whatsoever. But giving Lewis his props for being undisputed does take the shine off his achievements and shouldn’t be done lightly.

Lewis was the first undisputed titleholder from the UK. That’s just a fact.

The views expressed in this article are opinions of Phil Jay.

Phil Jay – Editor of World Boxing News since 2010 with over one billion views. Follow WBN on Twitter @WorldBoxingNews.