Lennox Lewis Retires

World Heavyweight Boxing Champion, Lennox Lewis, announced his retirement today. With a record of 41-2-1, he is the first heavyweight to retire as champ since Rocky Marciano in 1956 to get out while on top.

Most people could probably care less. After all, boxing doesn't exactly enjoy any great reverence from the masses in today's world of political correctness. But there is something about the "sweet science" that is alluring none the less. Perhaps it is the pure man versus man aspect that no other sport can really lay claim to that people, especially men, find appealing.

Lennox Lewis was never really embraced by the mainstream boxing world. First, he was not American and therefore, the media magnified any fault they could find. He never had a great flamboyant style. He tried to put on some bravado in some of his interviews but I always had trouble believing he really believed in himself. His comments almost sounded scripted or like he was just trying to say what he thought everyone wanted to hear. Lewis, however, beat just about every major heavyweight in boxing over the last decade. It isn't his fault that the division wasn't in a "glory era".

Canadians ought to be proud of him. He earned an Olympic silver and gold medal for Canada. Many felt betrayed when he went to Britain when he turned pro but it was the best thing for his career. Examining the career of George Chuvalo shows the limitations that remaining in Canada can have on a boxing career. In Chuvalo's prime, he only got one title shot. He was deserving of more and he was never given a sniff for the commonwealth title. Lewis avoided that fate. Britain allowed him to fight for the European title and by winning that was able to put the weight of Europe behind him.

In a sport of brutality, Lewis was regarded by many insiders as a gentleman. His quiet, calmness was often interpreted as aloofness. But that calmness was probably what made him so special and different. Some of the stories I have read claim that some of Lewis' biggest victories were won before the fight as his opponents just didn't handle the big stage as well as Lewis was able to. I'm not sure I buy that. Lewis has to be regarded as one of the smartest boxers of all time. He never lost a rematch as a pro. That tells me he learned from his mistakes and didn't repeat them.

The nay-sayers claim he is ducking his next opponent. But that's just a foolish argument. When you are champion, there is always a next opponent. As I have already stated, Lewis is smart. Going out on top is something boxers are all too often not able to do. They tend to want to come back or have just one too many fights. By going out on top, Lewis puts the exclamation point on a solid boxing career.