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“Who Cloned Holyfield?”- Former Rival Lennox Lewis Looks at Evander Holyfield’s Loss

Published 09/13/2021, 4:58 AM EDT

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Lennox Lewis was one of the many individuals who was left stunned by Evander Holyfield’s shocking defeat against Vitor Belfort in Triller’s latest boxing event. Having faced ‘The Real Deal’ twice in his prime, Lewis is aware of his American counterpart’s abilities. So, seeing Holyfield lose to a former UFC champion in pugilistic fashion was hard to digest for ‘Lion’.

After a decade-long hiatus, 58-year-old Evander Holyfield had no reason to return to action, if not for the hefty pay-check. That said, many people have already labeled it as a bad decision. Despite having just one fight exercise as a pro boxer, Belfort had an easy fight against the former two-division champion.

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‘The Phenom’ poleaxed Holyfield throughout, before stopping him in the maiden round. Hence, it urged Lennox Lewis to shed his views on social media. The former unified heavyweight champion took to Twitter and wrote, “Who cloned Holyfield?”.

Although Holyfield’s veteran age can justify his bleak performance, Lewis doesn’t seem ready to admit that it was ‘The Real Deal’ who stepped up in the ring. In recent times, several legendary boxers have come back to action, including the likes of Mike Tyson and Roy Jones Jr.

It has evoked many to demand a comeback from Lewis too. But the recent outcome of Holyfield vs Belfort can urge several legends to relinquish their ideas of coming back, including ‘Lion’ Lewis. If that happens, then the fights from the past will remain the sole blueprints of modern-era fighters colliding against each other.

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Hence, if anyone would have envisioned Lewis vs Holyfield 3 as an exhibition contest, the same may never happen. Here’s a look back at their real fights.

Lennox Lewis vs Evander Holyfield- Heavyweight slugfest of 1999

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The all-time legends- Evander Holyfield and Lennox Lewis have squared off twice, both times in 1999. The matchup had the entire fight world split into two halves. So, it also lived up to the hype. The first scrap in March ended in a controversial draw as both men went to war inside the ring.

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However, Lewis outclassed his opponent via UD in November for all four heavyweight titles. Several analysts had predicted a trilogy that never came to fruition. So that’s all the boxing fans have to relish, unless the retired boxers continue to lock horns in exhibitions.

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Written by:

Raj Sarkar

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A senior boxing writer at EssentiallySports, Raj Sarkar is a mass media graduate who is currently pursuing his master’s degree in broadcast journalism. In addition to his current role, he has worked with the MMA team at EssentiallySports and has interviewed prominent fighters such as Ritu Phogat and 'The Red King' Rory MacDonald. He combined his bachelor's degree with his adoration for combat sports and has a combined 2000 plus bylines in MMA and boxing over the last two years.
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