Boxing · 2002 · Memphis, USA
Lewis Silences Tyson
After a pre-fight press conference brawl that made global headlines on its own, Lennox Lewis settles the score in the ring, knocking out Mike Tyson to end his championship ambitions for good.
Lewis def. Tyson, KO round 8
Result
The Pyramid, Memphis
Venue
Ended Tyson's title aspirations
Significance
The build-up to Lennox Lewis's fight with Mike Tyson had already become notorious before either man threw a competitive punch: a New York press conference to announce the bout collapsed into a brawl after Tyson bit Lewis on the leg, an incident that dominated coverage of the fight for months and nearly saw it cancelled by Nevada regulators before it was relocated to Memphis.
When the fight itself finally happened on 8 June 2002 at The Pyramid in Memphis, Lewis, taller and with a significant reach advantage, controlled the distance and picked Tyson apart methodically. He dropped Tyson in the eighth round with a right hand that ended the fight and, with it, any realistic path back to a heavyweight title for Tyson.
The win unified Lewis's status as the era's dominant heavyweight and is remembered as much for closing the book on Tyson's championship career as for the fight itself. It remains the last meaningful heavyweight title fight of Tyson's career.
Watch the Moment
