An aspiring heavyweight might go to Lennox Lewis, the former heavyweight champion of the world, for any number of things.
They might, for instance, want to know how to throw the left jab and follow it with a booming right cross. They might want to know how to effortlessly move on their feet and be dangerous on the retreat. They might want to know how to overcome the psychological damage of a defeat and then exact revenge in the most satisfying way possible.
Each of those reasons to consult Lewis would be valid, of course, yet if a heavyweight is to seek his advice about anything, it perhaps should be this: timing. The timing of punches is one thing – Lewis can certainly help there – but it’s the timing of a fighter’s exit that Lewis nailed better than pretty much any other boxer in recent memory. If you want to know when to get out, get in touch with Lewis. He knows.
In his case, that moment was June 21, 2003. That night, in Los Angeles, Lewis fought a bloody and bruising battle with Vitali Klitschko, a late replacement, in defence of his world heavyweight titles and came away with a victory only after Klitschko was withdrawn due to cuts between rounds six and seven. It wasn’t pretty, neither Klitschko’s face nor Lewis’ performance, but a win is a win, as they say. In this instance, too, a win in that manner meant more to Lewis, in terms of insight, than a win of any other kind. He knew, having won in the fashion he had, and by struggling the way he had, that Father Time was in the arena that evening, circling, waiting to tap him on the shoulder. He knew then, at 38, his time was up.
Once his decision was made, the next task was to stay retired, which, to his immense credit, Lewis did. There were fleeting rumours of a comeback, but never were these rumours taken seriously. Nor did Lewis himself ever express a desire to return. Instead, he created enough distance between himself and the sport to resist temptation and he watched the next generation flourish in his absence.
One of that next generation is Oleksandr Usyk, arguably the best heavyweight the sport has seen since Lewis. Usyk, at 24-0 (14 KOs), is the current undisputed heavyweight champion of the world and a fighter so good the only threat to his dominance is time – going on too long, underestimating it, taking it for granted. Now 38, many expect Usyk to start deteriorating in the next year or so and many more hope that he will be conscious of this and retire before it is too late.
Lewis, a man who knows all about timing, is one of these people.
“When a guy retires, it’s really down to him,” he told Sky Sports. “He’s got to feel that push that he wants to retire. But he [Usyk] can teach a lot of young boxers a lot of different things – dedication, hard work, sacrifice – because he’s been through that. I would say to him, ‘Retire at your own time, but retire on top, like I did.’”
Although Lewis indeed retired on top, and retired on a win, the “push” to retire in the aftermath of that Klitschko victory in 2003 can be found in the details, rather than the win itself. Which is to say, while some wins help to delude and prolong a career coming to its natural conclusion, there are other wins, like Lewis’ over Klitschko, which feel more like harsh reminders and two hands on your back.
