Lennox Lewis vs. Željko Mavrović
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| Date | 26 September 1998 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Venue | Mohegan Sun, Uncasville, Connecticut, US | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Title(s) on the line | WBC/Lineal Heavyweight Championships | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Tale of the tape | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Result | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Lewis defeated Mavrović via Unanimous Decision | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Lennox Lewis vs. Željko Mavrović, billed as "Battle of the Giants", was a professional boxing match contested on September 26, 1998 for the WBC and Lineal Heavyweight Championships.[1]
Background
Since recapturing the WBC Heavyweight title in 1997, Lennox Lewis had made three successful defenses. After picking up a disqualification victory over
The fight
Though Lewis was able to control most of the fight, he was unable to score a knockdown over Mavrović. Lewis was able to land several power punches through the fight, but the punches had seemingly little effect on Mavrović who stood his ground and let Lewis tire himself out by throwing a large amount of punches. However, Mavrović did not generate nearly as much offense as Lewis did, throwing 298 punches, over 200 fewer than Lewis' 507 punches thrown. Ultimately, Lewis was able to pick up the victory by unanimous decision with lopsided scores of 119–109, 117–112, and 117–111.[3] HBO's Harold Lederman had the bout scored 118-110 for Lewis, while the AP scored it 117-111.
Aftermath
Lewis' victory over Mavrović coupled with Holyfield's win over Vaughn Bean a week before lead to speculation that the long awaited unification bout between the two would be next. A month after their respective victories, a deal was in place that would see the fight happen early in 1999, but Lewis was reluctant to sign the contract and it was not until November 24 that the match was officially agreed to.[4][5]
Undercard
Confirmed bouts:[6]
Broadcasting
| Country | Broadcaster |
|---|---|
 United Kingdom |
Sky Sports |
 United States |
HBO |
References
- ^ "Lennox Lewis vs. Zeljko Mavrovic". boxrec.com. BoxRec. Retrieved 13 February 2024.
- ^ Steward not impressed with Lewis' next opponent, Sports Illustrated article, 1998-07–27, Retrieved on 2013-06-12
- ^ Time Now Running Out On Holyfield and Lewis, N.Y. Times article, 1998-09–28, Retrieved on 2013-06-12
- ^ Holyfield and Lewis Ponder Signing Up for Title Bout, N.Y. Times article, 1998-10–17, Retrieved on 2013-06-12
- ^ Holyfield and Lewis End Talks and Put Up Fists, N.Y. Times article, 1998-11–25, Retrieved on 2013-06-12
- ^ "BoxRec: Event".