Alvin Lewis, also known as Al Lewis, (November 12, 1942 – January 31, 2018) was an American professional boxer who fought in the

heavyweight Heavyweight is a weight class in combat sports and professional wrestling. Boxing Professional Boxers who weigh over are considered heavyweights by 3 of the 4 major professional boxing organizations: the International Boxing Federation, the Wo ...

division under the alias ''"Al "Blue" Lewis"''. Lewis was a long-term sparring partner of

Muhammad Ali Muhammad Ali (; born Cassius Marcellus Clay Jr.; January 17, 1942 – June 3, 2016) was an American professional boxer and activist. Nicknamed "The Greatest", he is regarded as one of the most significant sports figures of the 20th century, a ...

and is mentioned in Ali's autobiography. He was well known as a powerful gym adversary. He also sparred with, among others,

George Foreman George Edward Foreman (born January 10, 1949) is an American former professional boxer, entrepreneur, minister and author. In boxing, he was nicknamed "Big George" and competed between 1967 and 1997. He is a two-time world heavyweight champio ...

before the champion's match with

Ken Norton Kenneth Howard Norton Sr. (August 9, 1943 – September 18, 2013) was an American professional boxer who competed from 1967 to 1981, and held the WBC world heavyweight championship in 1978. He is best known for his fights with Muhammad Ali, i ...

Professional career

Lewis was born in

Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at th ...

and, after a troubled youth background, turned professional in June 1966 in

Canton, Ohio Canton () is a city in and the county seat of Stark County, Ohio. It is located approximately south of Cleveland and south of Akron in Northeast Ohio. The city lies on the edge of Ohio's extensive Amish country, particularly in Holmes and ...

. In his debut Lewis faced ''"Clown Prince"'' Art Miller. Lewis won this fight with a 1st round

knockout A knockout (abbreviated to KO or K.O.) is a fight-ending, winning criterion in several full-contact combat sports, such as boxing, kickboxing, muay thai, mixed martial arts, karate, some forms of taekwondo and other sports involving striking, a ...

Other matches

He accrued 15 wins from his debut. In his sixteenth bout, Bob Stallings stopped him in seven in 1967. Lewis won their rematch a year later by a 2nd round knock out. Lewis also fought Leotis Martin twice a while later, losing the first by KO in 9 and the direct rematch by decision. Lewis outpointed fringe contender Dick Wipperman in 1967. He fought an ageing

Cleveland Williams Cleveland "Big Cat" Williams (June 30, 1933 – September 10, 1999) was an American professional boxer. A poll in '' The Ring'' magazine rated him as one of the finest boxers never to win a title. Early life Born in Griffin, Georgia, Williams sta ...

whom he stopped in four in 1970,

Oscar Bonavena Oscar Natalio "Ringo" Bonavena (September 25, 1942 – May 22, 1976) was an Argentine heavyweight professional boxer with a career record of 58 wins, 9 losses and 1 draw. A rugged, wild-swinging puncher, he was nicknamed "Ringo" because of his Bea ...

against whom he lost by disqualification after decking Oscar several times in 1971 and

Jack O'Halloran Jack O'Halloran (born April 8, 1943) is an American actor and former boxer. O'Halloran fought in 57 professional boxing matches (including fights with future heavyweight champions George Foreman and Ken Norton), but he is best known for acting ...

, against whom he lost on points in 1973.

The Ali fight

He is best remembered for a non-title fight with

which took place at

Croke Park Croke Park ( ga, Páirc an Chrócaigh, ) is a Gaelic games stadium in Dublin, Ireland. Named after Archbishop Thomas Croke, it is referred to as Croker by GAA fans and locals. It serves as both the principal national stadium of Ireland and he ...

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

on July 19, 1972, which he lost by an 11th-round TKO. Lewis was outclassed. Down in the 5th it looked like the end. But he rallied onwards. He then surprised many by launching offensives just when it wasn't expected, typically after an Ali burst. The Lewis-Ali event is described in the documentary film, ''

When Ali Came to Ireland ''When Ali Came to Ireland'' is a 2012 Irish documentary film directed by Ross Whitaker. It tells the story of how Killorglin-born circus Strongman (strength athlete), strongman and publican, Michael "Butty" Sugrue, put up £300,000 and persuad ...

''. He last fought in November 1973. His retirement was sudden and unexpected. A ''Ring'' Magazine article said he had been helping a priest with a broken-down car when the battery sparked, spitting acid from the engine-bay into one of his eyes. This injury caused his licence to be revoked. Lewis's final record was 30W(19Ko's)-6L-0D. One fight struck from his record when the Licensing Authority in Illinois determined that the opponent was not licensed to fight in Illinois and had been a last minute substitution.

Retirement

He last fought in November 1973. His retirement was sudden and unexpected. A ''Ring'' Magazine article said he had been helping a priest with a broken-down car when the battery sparked, spitting acid from the engine-bay into one of his eyes. This injury caused his boxing license to be revoked.

Death

Lewis died in

Flint, Michigan Flint is the largest city and seat of Genesee County, Michigan, United States. Located along the Flint River, northwest of Detroit, it is a principal city within the region known as Mid Michigan. At the 2020 census, Flint had a population of 8 ...

, on 21 January 2018, at the age of 75. His death was not significantly publicized.

Professional boxing record

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Oklahoma City Oklahoma City (), officially the City of Oklahoma City, and often shortened to OKC, is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The county seat of Oklahoma County, it ranks 20th among United States cities in population, a ...

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Halifax, Nova Scotia Halifax is the capital and largest municipality of the Canadian province of Nova Scotia, and the largest municipality in Atlantic Canada. As of the 2021 Census, the municipal population was 439,819, with 348,634 people in its urban area. The ...

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Detroit Olympia Detroit Olympia, also known as Olympia Stadium, was a multi-purpose arena in Detroit. Nicknamed "The Old Red Barn", it was best known as the home of the Detroit Red Wings of the National Hockey League (NHL) from its opening in 1927 to 1979. Histo ...

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Cobo Arena Huntington Place (formerly known as Cobo Hall, Cobo Center, and briefly as TCF Center) is a convention center in Downtown Detroit, owned by the Detroit Regional Convention Facility Authority (DRCFA) and operated by ASM Global. Located at 1 Washi ...

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Billy Joiner Billy Joiner (10 May 1938 - 2019), was an American professional boxer from Cincinnati, U.S. Early life Joiner was born in Cincinnati, Ohio, on 10 May 1938. His father was a former professional boxer, as was his uncle who had once knocked out Fre ...

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Madison Square Garden Madison Square Garden, colloquially known as The Garden or by its initials MSG, is a multi-purpose indoor arena in New York City. It is located in Midtown Manhattan between Seventh and Eighth avenues from 31st to 33rd Street, above Pennsylva ...

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

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Bill McMurray Billy 'Buff' McMurray (born 9 March 1943) was a Scottish footballer who played for Albion Rovers and Dumbarton Dumbarton (; also sco, Dumbairton; ) is a town in West Dunbartonshire, Scotland, on the north bank of the River Clyde where th ...

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Cleveland Arena Cleveland Arena was an arena in Cleveland, Ohio. It was built and privately financed by local businessman Albert C. Sutphin during the height of the Great Depression in 1937 as a playing site for Sutphin's AHL team, the Cleveland Barons. The aren ...

Cleveland, Ohio Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U.S. ...

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McKeesport, Pennsylvania McKeesport is a city in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is situated at the confluence of the Monongahela and Youghiogheny rivers and within the Pittsburgh metropolitan area. The population was 17,727 as of the 2020 census. It ...

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Indiana State Fairgrounds Coliseum The Indiana Farmers Coliseum (originally Indiana State Fairgrounds Coliseum and formerly Pepsi Coliseum and Fairgrounds Coliseum) is a 6,500-seat indoor multi-use arena, located on the Indiana State Fairgrounds in Indianapolis. The Indiana Farm ...

Indianapolis, Indiana Indianapolis (), colloquially known as Indy, is the state capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the seat of Marion County. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the consolidated population of Indianapolis and Mari ...

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Buffalo Memorial Auditorium Buffalo Memorial Auditorium, colloquially known as The Aud, was a multipurpose indoor arena in downtown Buffalo, New York. Opened on October 14, 1940, it was home to the Canisius Golden Griffins (NCAA), the Buffalo Bisons ( AHL), the Buffalo Biso ...

Buffalo, New York Buffalo is the second-largest city in the U.S. state of New York (behind only New York City) and the seat of Erie County. It is at the eastern end of Lake Erie, at the head of the Niagara River, and is across the Canadian border from South ...

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Milwaukee Auditorium Miller High Life Theatre (previously Milwaukee Theatre and originally Milwaukee Auditorium) is a theatre located in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The building was extensively renovated between 2001 and 2003, at which point its name changed to the Milwauk ...

Milwaukee, Wisconsin Milwaukee ( ), officially the City of Milwaukee, is both the most populous and most densely populated city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Milwaukee County, Wisconsin, Milwaukee County. With a population of 577,222 at th ...

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, align=left, , - , Win , , align=left, Buddy Moore , PTS , 6 , January 25, 1967 , align=left, Palisades Rink,

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Akron, Ohio Akron () is the fifth-largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and is the county seat of Summit County, Ohio, Summit County. It is located on the western edge of the Glaciated Allegheny Plateau, about south of downtown Cleveland. As of the 2020 C ...

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, align=left, , - , Win , , align=left, Larry McGee , KO , 2 , September 13, 1966 , align=left,

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, align=left, , - , Win , , align=left, John Hall , TKO , 1 , August 5, 1966 , align=left,

, align=left, , - , Win , , align=left, Gene Hunt , TKO , 2 , July 11, 1966 , align=left,

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Exhibition boxing record

References

External links

*
Brief biography

* *
Round by round newspaper account of Lewis vs Ali
fro

''Fighting Irishmen, A Celebration of the Celtic Warrior''
The Week Ali Charmed Ireland
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lewis, Alvin 1943 births African-American boxers Boxers from Detroit Heavyweight boxers American male boxers 2018 deaths 20th-century African-American sportspeople 21st-century African-American people