Editing Lennox Lewis (section)

===First reign as WBC heavyweight champion===
{{Main|Lennox Lewis vs. Tony Tucker|Lennox Lewis vs. Frank Bruno|Lennox Lewis vs. Phil Jackson}}
The win over Ruddock made Lewis the [[mandatory challenger]] for [[Riddick Bowe]]'s heavyweight championship. Bowe held a press conference during which he threw his WBC title belt in a rubbish bin, relinquishing it to avoid a mandatory defence against Lewis.<ref>{{cite news|title=BOXING; Bowe Trashes His W.B.C. Title Belt|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1992/12/15/sports/boxing-bowe-trashes-his-wbc-title-belt.html|newspaper=The New York Times|date=15 December 1992|access-date=3 May 2017}}</ref> On 14 December 1992, the WBC declared Lewis its champion, making him the first world heavyweight titleholder from Britain in the 20th century.

Lewis defended the belt three times, defeating [[Tony Tucker]], whom he knocked down for the first time in Tucker's career, and [[Frank Bruno]] and [[Phil Jackson (boxer)|Phil Jackson]] by knockout. The [[Lennox Lewis vs. Frank Bruno]] fight was the first time two British-born boxers fought for a version of the world heavyweight title in the modern era.<ref>[https://www.nytimes.com/1993/08/10/sports/boxing-bruno-vs-lewis-a-personal-battle-of-britain.html Bruno vs. Lewis: A Personal Battle of Britain]. Nytimes.com (10 August 1993). Retrieved on 25 November 2011.</ref>

====Lewis vs. McCall====
{{Main|Lennox Lewis vs. Oliver McCall}}
Lewis lost his WBC title to [[Oliver McCall]] on 24 September 1994 in a huge upset at the [[Wembley Arena]] in London. In the second round, McCall landed a powerful right [[Cross (boxing)|cross]], putting Lewis on his back. Lewis returned to his feet at the count of six, but stumbled forward into the referee in a daze. Referee Jose Guadalupe Garcia felt Lewis was unable to continue and ended the fight, giving McCall the title by technical knockout. Lewis and others argued the stoppage was premature and that a champion should be given the benefit of the doubt.<ref name="Las Vegas Review-Journal 2000-11-08">{{cite news | first=Royce | last=Feour| title=Heavyweights' lone losses | date=8 November 2000 | publisher=Stephens Media, LLC | url =http://www.reviewjournal.com/lvrj_home/2000/Nov-08-Wed-2000/sports/14777088.html | work =Las Vegas Review-Journal | access-date = 21 December 2023 | archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20030128153151/http://www.reviewjournal.com/lvrj_home/2000/Nov-08-Wed-2000/sports/14777088.html | archivedate=28 January 2003}}</ref> In spite of the Lewis camp protests, ''[[Boxing Monthly]]'' editor Glynn Leach pointed out that Lewis "only seemed to recover his senses once the fight was waved off", and that "in the opinions of everyone I spoke to at ringside, the decision was correct."

After the fight, Lewis decided he needed a new trainer to replace [[Pepe Correa]], who had become increasingly difficult to work with. Correa denounced Lewis in public after being fired. Renowned trainer [[Emanuel Steward]], who had been McCall's trainer during their fight, was Lewis's choice. Even before the fight with McCall, Steward had seen much potential in Lewis and immediately expressed a desire to work with him. He corrected several of Lewis's technical flaws, which included maintaining a more balanced [[orthodox stance|stance]], less reliance on his cross, and a focus on using a strong, authoritative [[jab]]; the latter of which would become a hallmark of Lewis's style throughout the rest of his career. Their partnership lasted until Lewis's retirement.<ref name=mama>Evans, Gavin (19 September 2005). ''Mama's Boy: Lennox Lewis and the Heavyweight Crown''. Highdown Publishing. {{ISBN|9781905156092}}.</ref>