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This Day in Black History: Sept. 2, 1965

Boxing champion Lennox Lewis was born on Sept. 2, 1965.

Undisputed world heavyweight champion Lennox Lewis was born on Sept. 2, 1965, in London, England.

Lewis moved to Canada at 12 years old. As a teenager, he learned to box and at 18 years old, he represented Canada in the super heavyweight division of the Summer Olympics of 1984.

Lewis became a pro-boxer and went on to win the World Boxing Council belt after knocking out Canadian Donovan "Razor" Ruddock in two rounds in 1992.

In March 1999, Lewis squared up against World Boxing Association and International Boxing Federation champion Evander Holyfield. After the match was declared a tie, the pair fought again, and Lewis was victorious. 

He then successfully defended his title against Mike Tyson in a fight that was billed as a historic matchup on June 8, 2002.

Upon retiring in 2003, Lewis became one of three world heavyweight champions to have retired with no unavenged defeats. In 2008, Lewis was inducted into Canada's Sports Hall of Fame.

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(Photo: John Gichigi /Allsport)

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