Former world heavyweight champion, 55-year-old Lennox Lewis, shocked boxing fans this week as he revealed he’d be open to fight Mike Tyson in a rematch of their famous 2002 encounter in Tennessee.
19 years ago, London-born Lewis KOed Tyson in the eighth round, a knockout that won Ring Magazine Knockout of the Year in 2002.
This brought an end to a drama that extended well beyond the ring as the two camps famously engaged in a huge press conference brawl six months before the fight.
It is no surprise then that fans are keen to see the two back in action. Speaking to TMZ, Lewis admitted: “People would love to see that fight but I don’t know”
He continued: “If the public wanted it then we would probably talk.”
The comments come following Tyson’s recent return to the ring in November 2020 when he faced off against fellow veteran Roy Jones Jr. in an exhibition match in Los Angeles which generated over $80 million in pay-per-view revenue.
A comeback for Lewis would certainly be lucrative, especially given the calibre of the previous bout between the two, but unlike Tyson, Lewis does not have recent experience under his belt.
In fact, Lewis’ last fight came in 2003 as he retired after beating future heavyweight champion Vitali Klitschko in 2003.
Unlike Tyson who has staged a series of exhibition matches following his last professional fight in 2005, Lewis has had no fighting experience since the bout and a comeback from him would be sensational.
Mike Tyson is certainly keen on these matches at the moment too; yesterday on the Legends Only League he teased a second rematch with Evander Holyfield who he lost to twice earlier in his career.
Lewis is no stranger to being linked with a return to the ring though and in November of last year he admitted he had ‘unfinished business’ his old heavyweight rival Riddick Bowe.
