Lennox Lewis dramatically lost his WBC and IBF titles in one of heavyweight boxing's biggest shocks in Carnival City last night.
A mighty right hand from America's Hasim Rahman caught him flush on the chin and he crashed on his back to be counted out after two minutes 32 seconds of round five. It was an amazing ending after Lewis had been the better fighter until that crucial flash point which inflicted the second major blow on British boxing in a fortnight. Prince Naseem Hamed's defeat by Marco Antonio Barrera in Las Vegas earlier in the month set a dismal trend which Rahman continued.
Lewis's immediate response was to talk of a rematch, which is in the fight contract. And when a second match comes around, Lewis must be careful not to make the same crucial mistake as this title defence. The ending came after Lewis had grinned when his challenger threw a right hand; for a split-second his defence was open and Rahman moved in like a flash to deliver his bomb. There never seemed any chance of Lewis beating the count, despite rolling over off his back - and once the count got to 10, the Belgian referee Daniel van de Wiele took out the beaten champion's gumshield.
It was so reminiscent of Lewis's previous defeat by Oliver McCall in September 1994 when a big right hand floored and stopped him in his first term as WBC champion.
Filed by Pat Nugent
