Plenty of great fighters have been given the documentary treatment. We have been treated to plenty of fine pieces of work over the years as a result – with excellent films exploring the fascinating lives of giants such as Muhammad Ali, Jack Johnson, George Foreman, Mike Tyson, and Roberto Duran; with films that look deep into the story of lesser-known fighters, such as Luis Resto, also proving irresistible viewing.
There is, as we have found over the decades, far more to a fighter than just the fighting he or she does inside the squared circle. This brings us to the new Lennox Lewis documentary: “Lennox Lewis: The Untold Story.” This film, to be premiered in Canada on Monday, has had not one bad word said about it, with the pre-release viewers and reviewers declaring the film is a superb piece of work. Narrated by Dr. Dre and directed by Rick Lazes and Seth Koch, the 96-minute documentary is, according to Lennox himself, “not the usual story.”
So what can we look forward to seeing in the film? For one, there is footage of the amateur tussle Lewis had with a 15-year-old Mike Tyson in the early 1980s. Also, Lewis has teased how the film will shed plenty of light on just why Riddick Bowe did not – and did not want to – fight him in the pro ranks. Lewis’ career, which saw him compete in two Olympics before going pro, where he became undisputed heavyweight king, is presented in chronological order. Lewis looks back on his many highs, as well as his two lowest points – these being the losses to Oliver McCall and Hasim Rahman.
“Everything happens for a reason,” Lewis said to The Canadian press when looking back on defeat. “I think the McCall fight helped me because it showed me not to put so much into every punch. You can’t know everyone out.”
There is plenty of classic HBO footage in the documentary, while the run of trainers Lewis went through during his career is also touched on. Lewis, of course, went out on top, on his own terms – this after stopping Vitali Klitschko in a somewhat controversial and bloody fashion. Lewis did it all, everything he set out to do. And his career was, he says, the result of “really making a plan and sticking by it.”
And “Putting your head down and going out there and doing it.”
Lewis, 41-2-1(32), achieved plenty, and today, some experts have him ranked as high as in the Top-5 greatest heavyweights ever. All of this greatness is somehow condensed into those 96-minutes. “The Untold Story” promises to be a heavyweight documentary fit for a king.