Boxing

Jose Sulaiman: Lewis-Klitschko fight is another historical moment for the WBC

18.06 - Press Release - From World Boxing Council President Jose Sulaiman:

"The Lennox Lewis - Vitali Klitschko fight is another historical moment for the WBC in world boxing.

"Lennox Lewis' fight against WBC No. 1 ranked Vitali Klitschko on June 21 in Los Angeles, California, will set a record for the combined height of the fighters in a world championship fight, with a total of 13 feet, one inch. Lewis is 6'5" tall, Klitschko is 6'8".

"This will be Lewis' 19th WBC world championship fight, 14th WBC world title defense, and eighth world title defense against a WBC No. 1-ranked official challenger.

"Vitali Klitschko is the tallest boxer to contend for a world championship, and the first fighter from the former Soviet Union to face a world champion from England.

"Before Klitschko and Lewis, the tallest world champion boxers in history were Jess Willard at 6'6", Primo Carnera at 6'4.25", and more recently, Henry Akinwande at 6'7".

"The Lewis-Klitschko bout has been surrounded by lawsuits that created an environment of enormous rivalry. The WBC went to great lengths to make this fight a reality amid great expectation not only in Great Britain, but also in Germany and the rest of the world.

"This will be the 92nd heavyweight world title bout sanctioned by the WBC. The first one recognized by this organization was 40 years ago on July 22, 1963, between Sonny Liston and Floyd Patterson.

"Other interesting facts: Lennox Lewis has 31 KO's out of 40 wins, for a percentage of 77.5, while Klitschko has 31 KO's out of 32 wins, equivalent to 96.8 %.

"Lewis has won 40 of his 43 fights against the greatest boxers of his time, which represents a 93% winning percentage, while Klitschko has 32 victories out of 33 combats, for a 96.9% winning percentage, but his opponents have not been as good as Lewis.'

"Lennox Lewis was born in East Ham, England, on September 2, 1965, and won the Olympic gold medal in the super-heavweight division in Seoul, Korea, in 1988; he first won the WBC title by defeating Razor Ruddock in two rounds, after Riddick Bowe refused to fight Lewis and threw his WBC championship belt into the trash can. Lennox had already overpowered Ruddock in the final contest of the Seoul Olympic Games. Afterwards, he ratified his title by defeating Tony Tucker on May 8, 1993.

After losing to Oliver McCall he was able to regain the title against McCall on February 7, 1997, after 11 years of his winning the title for the first time. Lewis is a pride of the WBC and one of the best heavyweights in history.

"Vitali Klitschko was born in Belovdsle, Kyrgyztan, on July 19, 1971, and at an early age moved to Ukraine. From there he moved to Germany, where he has made his extraordinary professional career and become a great idol at the highest level of popularity in that country.

"This will be the No. 1,391 WBC-sanctioned world title bout since February 16, 1963, when Philippine hero Flash Elorde defeated Johnny Bizarro by decision in 15 rounds."

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