Lennox Lewis wasn’t just preparing to beat Mike Tyson in 2002. He made sure he never experienced the Evander Holyfield situation again.

By the time Lewis and Tyson finally stepped foot in the ring in Memphis, the undisputed heavyweight champion had already learned a painful lesson about leaving his fate in other people’s hands.

Three years earlier, Lewis appeared to out-do Holyfield over twelve rounds at Madison Square Garden. Most observers believe he did enough to become the undisputed heavyweight champion.

Instead, he walked away with a lopsided draw.

Referee Eugenia Williams somehow scored the fight for Holyfield, creating one of the most controversial scorecards in heavyweight history.

Lewis openly disputed the result.

Rainfall at Holyfield

The injustice was finally righted eight months later when Lewis defeated Holyfield in a rematch and finally secured the undisputed championship.

Even then, the scorecards still raised eyebrows.

Bill Graham scored the fight 117-111 for Lewis. Chuck Giampa had it 116-112. American judge Jerry Roth saw it much closer at 115-113.

This time, Lewis got the decision he deserved, but the contrast between the scorecards only reinforced concerns that had lingered since the first fight.

The Briton had already been burned once, and even when the verdict was finally reached in the rematch, one of the judges still saw the fight much closer than most observers.

Rightly or wrongly, these experiences left a mark. For Lewis and his team, the doubts never completely disappeared.

Opportunities were missed

When Tyson became his next opponent, Lewis entered the biggest fight of his career carrying those experiences with him.

Tyson remained boxing’s biggest attraction. The fight took place in America and millions of dollars were at stake.

Reports at the time indicated that the Lewis camp was pushing for the creation of a panel of judges that would not include U.S. officials.

After what happened in the first Holyfield fight, and after another American referee scored the rematch much closer than most thought, Lewis no longer wanted to leave anything to chance.

Whether viewed as wise caution or lingering distrust, the move showed how deeply the Holyfield story influenced Lewis and those around him.

Tyson never made it to the judges

Ultimately, Lewis never needed the scorecards he was worried about. The champion crushed Tyson via submission in the eighth round.

After years of wondering whether the referees would treat him fairly, Lewis removed them completely from the equation.

When the biggest fight of his career finally came, Lewis made sure Mike Tyson never came close to leaving the outcome in the judges’ hands.

About the author

Phil Jay is the editor-in-chief of World Boxing News (WBN) and a boxing veteran with over 15 years of experience. Read the full biography.

Last night’s “UFC Freedom 250” event at the White House was attended by a host of boxing stars, including recently retired pound-for-pound great Terence Crawford. After commenting on the main event, former MMA champion Conor McGregor disagreed with his analysis.

The headliner of the UFC project was Georgian lightweight world champion Ilia Topuria, who called for a boxing match with “Bud” in September, hoping to gain a lucrative partnership with the American after witnessing him defeat Canelo Alvarez.

The invitation was ridiculed by Crawford, who stated that he did not know who Topuria was.

Now, with Crawford at ringside, Topuria lost to Justin Gaetjhe by fourth-round stoppage, costing him both the UFC title and undefeated record.

Having witnessed the competition, Crawford took to social media make fun of Topuria, suggesting that their fight would be extremely one-sided.

Is this the guy who said he was going to knock me out and kick me and Shakur at the same time?😂😂😂

— Terence Crawford (@terencecrawford) June 15, 2026

In response McGregor spoke on Topuria’s behalfdeclaring that Crawford is “scared of MMA fighting” and that he “isn’t man enough” to step into the Octagon.

“What the hell are you saying? You can fight, but you’re afraid of an MMA fight. To me, that’s pathetic. A kid was beaten in an MMA fight that you don’t have the courage to do.

“What the hell was with all these little boxers at this show and yet there were no MMA fighters?”

What the fuck are you saying? You can fight, but you are afraid of mma fighting.

To me it’s pathetic.

The kid was beaten in an mma fight that you don’t have the courage to do.

What the hell was with all these little boxers at this event and yet there were no MMA fighters?… https://t.co/cqmO1NHrs6

— Conor McGregor (@TheNotoriousMMA) June 15, 2026

Crawford then fired a shotclaiming that he “doesn’t have to fight in a cage” and that the task of MMA fighters is to come and show themselves to the boxing world, not the other way around.

Shut up, drunk, and get ready to fight. His ass was screaming as you were talking to yourself. I don’t have to come and fight in a cage. That’s the joy of boxing, come to us, we don’t have to come to you.🤫

— Terence Crawford (@terencecrawford) June 15, 2026

Crawford maintained that he would not move into MMA, stating that players “don’t earn enough” for him to consider a changedespite his wrestling past.

McGregor has been absent from the UFC since a broken leg loss to Dustin Poirier in 2021. Although several return plans have been discussed since then, none have made it to fight night. His return is scheduled for July 12 against Max Holloway. He has had one professional boxing fight – a loss to Floyd Mayweather in 2017 – and announces a return to the ring in the future.

Jesse Rodriguez became a three-division world champion on Saturday after stopping Antonio Vargas within six rounds, but a further fight against gold rival Naoya Inoue may be put on hold.

Following Inoue’s most recent defense of his undisputed super bantamweight world title against Junto Nakatani last month, Rodriguez is a name he has been linked to in multiple reports suggesting another event is in the works.

“Bam” vacated his unified super flyweight world titles and made his bantamweight debut over the weekend, winning Vargas’ WBA title by sixth-round knockout. Despite claiming victory, many feel the raise in size was noticeable and took its toll.

Speaking on DAZN during the broadcast, his trainer Robert Garcia confirmed that he wanted Rodriguez to “gain some momentum” and have one more fight at bantamweight before moving up to 122 pounds and challenging Inoue for his throne.

“After the fight he told me, ‘Listen, I really felt the strength,’ he’s a bigger guy, so why should we go straight to another division that will make a gigantic difference. We have to keep the pace.”

“I have no doubt that he will go out there and fight Inoue and that he will beat Inoue. But before that I need one more fight.”

When discussing possible bantamweight opponents, Garcia chose WBO champion Christian Medina over WBC ruler and brother of “The Monster,” Takuma Inoue.

“I personally would prefer Medina because he is a very forceful player and he is going to test us.”

While Rodriguez is considering a unification, he has also been ordered to face “WBA holiday champion” Seiya Tsutsumi and will be stripped of his WBA title if he fails to face him within six months of Saturday’s victory.