Lennox Lewis vs. Henry Akinwande
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Lennox Lewis vs.
Henry Akinwande Henry Adetokunboh Akinwande (born 12 October 1965) is a British former professional boxer who competed from 1989 to 2008. He held the WBO heavyweight title from 1996 to 1997, as well as the Commonwealth heavyweight title in 1993, and the Euro ...
was a professional boxing match contested on July 12, 1997, for the WBC Heavyweight Championship.


Background

On February 7, 1997, Lennox Lewis and Oliver McCall had a rematch to determine who would become the next WBC Heavyweight Champion, as the title had been vacated by previous champion Mike Tyson after Tyson chose not to face Lewis, who was the mandatory challenger. In one of the strangest fights in boxing history, McCall refused to fight in rounds 4 and 5, causing referee
Mills Lane Mills Bee Lane III (November 12, 1937 – December 6, 2022) was an American boxing referee and professional boxer, a two-term Washoe County, Nevada district court judge, and television personality. Lane was best known for having officiated se ...
to stop the fight and award Lewis the victory by technical knockout. For his first defense of his second reign as champion, Lewis was matched up against fellow British fighter Henry Akinwande, who was undefeated in his professional career. At the time the fight was made, Akinwande also held the then lightly regarded WBO Heavyweight title, but he was forced to vacate the title in order to proceed with his championship match with Lewis. Initially, the fight was going to be held in Atlantic City, but the fight was moved to Stateline, Nevada, due to Akinwande's promoter
Don King Donald King (born August 20, 1931) is an American boxing promoter, known for his involvement in several historic boxing matchups. He has been a controversial figure, partly due to a manslaughter conviction and civil cases against him, as well a ...
being banned from Atlantic City because of legal troubles. This was only the second time that two British boxers had fought each other for a world heavyweight title, the first being when Lewis fought
Frank Bruno Franklin Roy Bruno, (born 16 November 1961) is a British former professional boxer who competed from 1982 to 1996. He had a highly publicised and eventful career, both in and out of the ring. The pinnacle of Bruno's boxing career was winning ...
in 1993.


The fight

Akinwande did not offer much offense throughout the fight, instead constantly clinching Lewis whenever Lewis appeared to be getting the better of the fight. Referee Mills Lane warned Akinwande several times and even deducted a point from him in the second round due to his excessive holding, but Akinwande nevertheless continued to use the illegal tactic through the course of the bout. Finally, after a 19-second hold that Akinwande refused to relinquish, Lane stopped the fight with 26 seconds to go in the fifth round and disqualified Akinwande, giving Lewis the victory in the process. For Lane it was his second consecutive heavyweight championship fight that ended in disqualification, as less than 3 weeks prior, he was forced to disqualify Mike Tyson after he twice bit Evander Holyfield on the ears during the very famous Holyfield–Tyson II match.


Aftermath

Because of his poor performance, the
Nevada Athletic Commission The Nevada State Athletic Commission (also known as the Nevada Athletic Commission or NSAC) regulates all contests and exhibitions of unarmed combat within the state of Nevada, including licensure and supervision of promoters, boxers, kickboxer ...
withheld Akinwande's $1 million purse, and due to a law that was passed after the controversial Holyfield–Tyson rematch, could now take the entire amount of his purse rather than just 10 percent of it. Ultimately, the commission decided that he had been punished enough by his DQ loss and allowed Akinwande to keep the full amount of his purse. Akinwande then closed 1997 with a defeat of Orlin Norris and landed a WBA title shot against Holyfield the following year. However, before Akinwande could get his shot at redemption, he was diagnosed with
hepatitis B Hepatitis B is an infectious disease caused by the '' Hepatitis B virus'' (HBV) that affects the liver; it is a type of viral hepatitis. It can cause both acute and chronic infection. Many people have no symptoms during an initial infection. ...
and the match was called off. After a year-long absence, Akinwande returned in 1999 and proceeded to climb the heavyweight rankings by winning his next seven fights. However, his comeback came to an abrupt halt after a knockout loss to Oliver McCall in 2001.


Undercard

Confirmed bouts: *
Justin Juuko Justin "The Destroyer" Juuko (born 26 December 1972 in Masaka) is a Ugandan amateur light flyweight and professional boxer who was active between the 1990s and the 2010s. In 1990, he won a gold medal at the Commonwealth Games in Auckland, New ...
vs. Jorge Luis Lopez * Brian Nielsen vs. Marcos Gonzalez *
Fernando Vargas Fernando Javier Vargas (born December 7, 1977) is an American former professional boxer who competed from 1997 to 2007. He was a two-time light middleweight world champion, having held the IBF title from 1998 to 2000, and the WBA title from 200 ...
vs. Eugene Lopez *
Joel Casamayor Joel Casamayor Johnson (born July 12, 1971) is a Cuban American former professional boxer who competed from 1996 to 2011. He held world championships in two weight classes, including the WBA super featherweight title from 2000 to 2002; and the ...
vs. Salvador Montes * Richard Davis vs. Glenn Liechti


Broadcasting


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lewis, Akinwande 1997 in boxing 1997 in sports in Nevada July 1997 sports events in the United States Boxing matches in Nevada Stateline, Nevada Akinwande World Boxing Council heavyweight championship matches Boxing on HBO Boxing on Sky Sports