Just a minute
HEAVYWEIGHT champion Lennox Lewis returned to Britain and sidestepped questions on whether he plans to retire.
Lewis stopped Mike Tyson with a crashing right hand in the eighth round last Saturday in Memphis, Tennessee, to retain his WBC and IBF titles. With little left to prove, speculation has swirled that Lewis might retire.
"I don't see anybody out there that can beat me," Lewis said shortly after his arrival at Heathrow Airport. "There's nobody out there that can really give me a challenge."
Lewis, left after knocking out Tyson, ducked several questions on possible retirement, saying he wanted more time to savor the victory. "I'm trying to bask in my glory for a little bit, enjoy it for a minute," he said. "There was always something to prove. Now that you've proven everything, you can relax."
Lewis appeared to rule out a fight with mandatory IBF challenger Chris Byrd, saying, "There's nothing in it for me to fight Chris Byrd." Lewis' business manager, Adrian Ogun, said the champion would make a definitive announcement about his future "in a few weeks' time. Lennox really wants to enjoy this victory", he said. "There's plenty of time for Lennox to come back to you to outline his plans."
Lewis has fought in 13 straight title fights, losing on a knockout by Hasim Rahman and fighting Evander Holyfield to a disputed draw. He has come back to beat the only two men who beat him.
But the win over Tyson was the defining moment of his career. "From my start in boxing, I said Lennox Lewis was on a mission," he said. "Mission completed. It's not been an easy road getting to the top. There were a lot of disbelievers, a lot of doubters. But now I proved it to them." Asked about comparisons with Mohamed Ali, Lewis said: "That's a great compliment. That's a different era. I consider myself the greatest in this era. We both achieved greatness."
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