Lennox Lewis vs. David Tua, billed as Royal Rampage, was a professional boxing match contested on November 11, 2000 for the WBC, IBF, and IBO heavyweight championships.
After becoming the Undisputed Heavyweight Champion in 1999, Lennox Lewis successfully defended his crown twice in easy second round knockout victories over Michael Grant and Francois Botha. Following his victory over Botha, Lewis quickly set his sights on mandatory challenger David Tua, who was ranked number one by both the WBC and IBF. Though Lewis had hoped to have the bout in his boyhood home of Toronto, Canada, it was ultimately switched to the Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino in Paradise, Nevada.[1][2] Tua came into the fight sporting an impressive 37–1 record, with victories over future Heavyweight champions John Ruiz, Oleg Maskaev and Hasim Rahman and his only loss coming against undefeated prospect Ike Ibeabuchi by unanimous decision. Though he came into the fight as a 3–1 underdog, Tua was confident he could defeat Lewis, calling him a "lazy fighter" while also stating "He tends to get tired after two or three rounds. "He gets vulnerable. His chin is very suspect. The only way to win is to knock Lennox Lewis out"[3]
The fight
Unlike Lewis' previous two fights which did not make it past the second round, this fight went the full 12 rounds. Though Lewis landed a right hook early in the first round, cracking one of Tua's ribs, Lewis was unable to gain a knockdown over Tua. Nevertheless, Lewis was able to control almost the entire fight, outpunching Tua 674 to 413, while outlanding him 300 to 110 en route to a lopsided unanimous decision. All three judges ruled in favor of Lewis with scores of 119–109, 118–110 and 117–111.[4]
Aftermath
The bout would prove to be the only major championship fight of Tua's career. Following his loss to Lewis, Tua took part in a four-man, three fight tournament to determine the IBF's number one contender. Tua defeated Danell Nicholson to advance to the final where he would meet Chris Byrd, who ultimately defeated Tua by unanimous decision to earn a match for the IBF Heavyweight title. Lewis, meanwhile, followed his victory over Tua with a match against little-known Hasim Rahman. Despite being a 20–1 underdog, Rahman stunned the boxing world by knocking out Lewis in the fifth round to become the new heavyweight champion.
References
^Fight Over Purse Could Delay Bout, N.Y. Times article, 2000-08–04, Retrieved on 2013-07-01
^Lewis to Face Tua, N.Y. Times article, 2000-08–31, Retrieved on 2013-07-01
^Tua Says He Sees Lewis's Weaknesses, N.Y. Times article, 2000-11–03, Retrieved on 2013-07-01
^Bad Hair Day, Sports Illustrated article, 2000-11–20, Retrieved on 2013-07-01
February 21, 2023
lennox, lewis, david, billed, royal, rampage, professional, boxing, match, contested, november, 2000, heavyweight, championships, royal, rampagedatenovember, 2000venuemandalay, paradise, nevada, ustitle, linewbc, heavyweight, titlestale, tapeboxerlennox, lewis. Lennox Lewis vs David Tua billed as Royal Rampage was a professional boxing match contested on November 11 2000 for the WBC IBF and IBO heavyweight championships Royal RampageDateNovember 11 2000VenueMandalay Bay Paradise Nevada USTitle s on the lineWBC IBF and IBO heavyweight titlesTale of the tapeBoxerLennox LewisDavid TuaNicknameThe LionTuamanHometownLondon EnglandSouth Auckland New ZealandPre fight record37 1 137 1Height6 ft 5 in 196 cm 5 ft 10 in 178 cm Weight249 lb 113 kg 245 lb 111 kg StyleOrthodoxOrthodoxRecognitionWBC IBF and IBO heavyweight championResultLewis wins via 12 round unanimous decision 117 111 119 109 118 110 Contents 1 Background 2 The fight 3 Aftermath 4 ReferencesBackground EditAfter becoming the Undisputed Heavyweight Champion in 1999 Lennox Lewis successfully defended his crown twice in easy second round knockout victories over Michael Grant and Francois Botha Following his victory over Botha Lewis quickly set his sights on mandatory challenger David Tua who was ranked number one by both the WBC and IBF Though Lewis had hoped to have the bout in his boyhood home of Toronto Canada it was ultimately switched to the Mandalay Bay Resort amp Casino in Paradise Nevada 1 2 Tua came into the fight sporting an impressive 37 1 record with victories over future Heavyweight champions John Ruiz Oleg Maskaev and Hasim Rahman and his only loss coming against undefeated prospect Ike Ibeabuchi by unanimous decision Though he came into the fight as a 3 1 underdog Tua was confident he could defeat Lewis calling him a lazy fighter while also stating He tends to get tired after two or three rounds He gets vulnerable His chin is very suspect The only way to win is to knock Lennox Lewis out 3 The fight EditUnlike Lewis previous two fights which did not make it past the second round this fight went the full 12 rounds Though Lewis landed a right hook early in the first round cracking one of Tua s ribs Lewis was unable to gain a knockdown over Tua Nevertheless Lewis was able to control almost the entire fight outpunching Tua 674 to 413 while outlanding him 300 to 110 en route to a lopsided unanimous decision All three judges ruled in favor of Lewis with scores of 119 109 118 110 and 117 111 4 Aftermath EditThe bout would prove to be the only major championship fight of Tua s career Following his loss to Lewis Tua took part in a four man three fight tournament to determine the IBF s number one contender Tua defeated Danell Nicholson to advance to the final where he would meet Chris Byrd who ultimately defeated Tua by unanimous decision to earn a match for the IBF Heavyweight title Lewis meanwhile followed his victory over Tua with a match against little known Hasim Rahman Despite being a 20 1 underdog Rahman stunned the boxing world by knocking out Lewis in the fifth round to become the new heavyweight champion References Edit Fight Over Purse Could Delay Bout N Y Times article 2000 08 04 Retrieved on 2013 07 01 Lewis to Face Tua N Y Times article 2000 08 31 Retrieved on 2013 07 01 Tua Says He Sees Lewis s Weaknesses N Y Times article 2000 11 03 Retrieved on 2013 07 01 Bad Hair Day Sports Illustrated article 2000 11 20 Retrieved on 2013 07 01 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Lennox Lewis vs David Tua amp oldid 1111475586, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
