Lennox Lewis: 'In my career, only one boxer surprised me so much'

Living legend Lennox Lewis has named the single fighter who surprised him the most during his illustrious boxing career

Lennox Lewis is widely considered to be one of the greatest boxers of all time. During his career, he held the WBC, WBA, IBF, and IBO heavyweight titles, and is the last heavyweight to hold all four major world heavyweight titles at once.

Lewis faced some of the toughest fighters of his era, including Mike Tyson, Evander Holyfield, and Vitali Klitschko. But there was one fighter who surprised him more than any other.

Lennox Lewis gives his verdict on Hasim Rahman

In 2001, Lewis lost his WBC and IBF heavyweight titles to Hasim Rahman in a stunning upset. Rahman was a relative unknown at the time, but he knocked Lewis out in the fifth round.

Lewis was shocked by the defeat, and he admitted that Rahman surprised him more than any other fighter he had ever faced.

“Rahman surprised me the most,” Lewis said. “I didn’t think he was that good. I thought he was just a big guy with a big punch, but he was a lot better than I thought he was.”

Lewis eventually avenged his loss to Rahman in a rematch later that year. But he never forgot the surprise that Rahman gave him.

Rahman was a skilled boxer with a powerful punch. He was also very confident in his abilities. These factors all contributed to his upset victory over Lewis.

Lewis’s defeat to Rahman is a reminder that anything can happen in boxing. Even the greatest fighters can be beaten on any given night.