WORLD HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPION LENNOX LEWIS TO DEFEND HIS CROWN AGAINST VITALI KLITSCHKO

LOS ANGELES (June 9, 2003) – World Heavyweight Champion Lennox Lewis has agreed to defend his World Boxing Council/International Boxing Organization (WBC/IBO) titles against No. 1-ranked WBC contender, Vitali “Dr. Iron Fist” Klitschko, Saturday, June 21, at the STAPLES Center in Los Angeles. The 6-foot-8-inch Klitschko replaces Kirk Johnson, who withdrew Friday due to an injury.

The 6-foot-5-inch Lewis (40-2-1, 31 KOs) made it official late Sunday night that he was going to fight the physically imposing Klitschko, a knockout artist with a record of 32-1, 31 KOs. The scheduled 12-round title bout will be televised live on HBO’s World Championship Boxing at 10 p.m. ET/7 p.m. PT. Lion Promotions will present the STAPLES Center event. Tickets for the exciting seven-bout card are $950, $700, $450, $350, $250, $150 and $75, and are on sale at the STAPLES Center box office and through all TicketMaster locations.

“The fight will not go the distance,” Lewis said. “I do not get paid for overtime. Klitschko has been calling me out for some time, but he is in big trouble. He should be careful what he wishes for. On June 21, he is going to find out what it is like to be in with an A-class world champion.’’

“Vitali Klitschko is the biggest man Lennox has ever faced as a professional,” said Emanuel Steward, Lewis’ trainer. “I will be looking to bring in one or two seven-foot sparring partners to get Lennox accustomed to the height. But make no mistake, Lennox is in great shape. I think he will knock Klitschko out by the fifth round.”

It has been one year since Lewis solidified his standing as boxing’s premier heavyweight by knocking out Mike Tyson in the eighth round of their Memphis showdown on June 8, 2002. Now, in his first defense since putting the stamp on his legacy, Lewis takes on an intriguing challenge from Klitschko, who earned his “Dr. Iron Fist” nickname by knocking out 94 percent of his opponents.

“This has been a lifelong dream of mine to fight Lennox Lewis,” Klitschko said. “I am very excited about the opportunity to fight him in Los Angeles and on HBO. It is going to be a great fight.’’

Los Angeles last played host to a world heavyweight title fight 44 years ago when Floyd Patterson defended his world crown for the third time with a 13th-round TKO over Roy Harris on Aug. 18, 1958, at the old Wrigley Field. The Lewis-Klitschko world championship also represents the biggest heavyweight bout in the City of Angels since Muhammad Ali regained the North American Boxing Federation (NABF) championship in a rematch against Ken Norton on Sept. 10, 1973, at the Forum in Inglewood, Calif.

“Lennox took it upon himself to fight Vitali Klitschko on short notice, and he should be applauded for that,” said promoter Gary Shaw of Lion Promotions. “Klitschko is a legitimate No. 1 contender and at 6-foot-8-inches, is three inches taller than Lennox which should make it very interesting. It is a tribute to Lennox and his team that he was willing to fight such a dangerous opponent, but Lennox was determined to get back to business and continue to add to his legacy as one of the greatest heavyweight champions ever.’’

“We are delighted to present reigning world heavyweight champion Lennox Lewis against Vitali Klitschko live on HBO,” said Kery Davis, Senior Vice President of Programming, HBO Sports. “This is a giant test for Lennox, literally and figuratively, and we all know the unpredictability of the heavyweight division. There is no question the entire boxing world is going to be focused on Los Angeles on June 21.

Lewis, of London, England, is 14-2-1 in world title fights. He regained the International Boxing Federation (IBF)/World Boxing Council (WBC)/International Boxing Organization (IBO) heavyweight titles on Nov. 17, 2001, by flattening Hasim Rahman in the fourth round of their rematch in Las Vegas. The sensational knockout victory was sweet revenge for Lewis, who had been stopped in the fifth round by Rahman on April 22, 2001, in Brakpak, South Africa. Since defeating Tyson on June 8, 2002, Lewis gave up the IBF belt.

A three-time WBC champion, Lewis won his initial 25 starts. He captured the WBC title the first time with a 12-round decision over Tony Tucker on May 8, 1993, in Las Vegas. Lewis made two successful defenses before Oliver McCall dethroned the champion with a shocking second-round TKO on Sept. 24, 1994, in London. Lewis regained the title by scoring a fifth-round TKO over McCall in their rematch on Feb. 7, 1997, in Las Vegas.

Lewis made four successful defenses before taking on then-World Boxing Association (WBA)/IBF heavyweight champion Evander Holyfield on March 13, 1999, in New York. The majority of those watching felt Lewis had triumphed easily, but the bout ended in a controversial 12-round draw. Undeterred, Lewis rebounded to win a 12-round decision in the rematch the following Nov. 13 in Las Vegas. Lewis then successfully defended the titles three times before splitting the two fights against Rahman in 2001.

Klitschko, of Los Angeles, by way of Kiev, Ukraine, is the WBC and WBA No.1 heavyweight contender. The older brother of former WBO heavyweight champion Wladimir will attempt to gain his sixth consecutive victory. In his last outing, Klitschko became the first boxer to stop Larry Donald when he flattened “The Legend” in the 10th round on Nov. 23, 2002, in Germany. Klitschko became the first heavyweight champion with a Ph.D. to capture a world belt when he won the WBO belt with a second-round knockout over Herbie Hide on June 27, 1999. On Nov. 11, 1999, the Guinness Book of World Records added Klitschko for becoming the fastest heavyweight to win 26 fights by KO in the least amount of rounds (60).

Klitschko made two successful WBO title defenses before suffering his lone defeat on a ninth-round TKO to Chris Byrd on April 1, 2000, in Berlin, Germany. Comfortably ahead by the scores 89-82 and 88-83 twice, Klitschko needed only to endure three more rounds to win an easy decision and retain his crown. However, after tearing the rotator cuff in his left shoulder in the fourth round, Klitschko was not able to come out for the 10th. Since the fluke loss, he has gone 5-0 with four straight knockouts.