Playboy Interview: Lennox Lewis

a candid conversation with the gentleman champ about fighting mike tyson, the before-and-after sex debate, getting knocked out and keeping his cool in a corrupt sport

The heavyweight champion is tall, buff and handsome. He is smart and often funny. (What other boxer accuses a foe of having a bad hair day?) He may be one of the best fighters ever. So why isn't Lennox Lewis the most famous jock on earth?

Maybe it's the accent. We expect the heavy-weight champ to be a badass--a hard case with cruel intentions and lousy grammar, vowing to ''destruct and destroy'' the other guy. But Lewis isn't like that. The first British heavyweight champ in a century is a chess-playing, Bentley-driving gent who says he '''opes he acquits 'imself well.'' But Lewis' claim to greatness is legit. At 6'5" and 242 pounds he is bigger and stronger than his idol Muhammad Ali ever was. After earning a gold medal at the 1988 Olympics, Lewis has won 40 of 43 pro fights, with one controversial draw and 31 knockouts. He has ruled the heavyweight division off and on--mostly on--for four years, and if the showdown with Mike Tyson happens, Lewis might finally be seen as one of his sport's greatest champions.

Dempsey, Louis, Marciano, Ali--the names of his predecessors echo down the ages. Even their thug of a successor, the squeaky-voiced convicted rapist Mike Tyson, seems larger than life. Yet Lewis has never quite scored with the public. This is a champ who can walk down the street leaving puzzled looks in his wake: Who is that big dude with the dreads?

Now comes the night of his life--the last chance for the 36-year-old Lewis to join Ali and other immortals. Of course, that night got off to a shaky start when Tyson charged Lennox at their January press conference. While it put the future of the fight in doubt, it only heightened fan interest and under-scored the differences between Lewis, the gentleman giant, and Tyson, who has said he wants to eat Lewis' children and put a bullet in Lewis' brain.

''He sounds a bit unhinged,'' says Lewis, who has no kids and no plans to let Tyson get near his head. The champ has a couple of surprises for Tyson: a long-limbed defense to keep the smaller challenger at bay, and a nuclear right hand that makes Lewis the most dangerous nice guy on earth.

''This is my destiny,'' he says about fighting Tyson.

Lewis' collision course with Tyson traces back to London's rough-and-tumble East End. His Jamaican-born mother, Violet, worked in a factory. His father took off when Lennox was little, and soon Violet took her boy to Canada, where she found work making Styrofoam. But money was tight, and Lennox was shipped back to London to live with relatives. He was 10. Two long years later, reunited with his mother, the fast-growing Lewis turned his energies to sports. He was a high school football and basketball star, but boxing was his specialty. At 18, representing Canada, he lost an Olympic bout to Tyrell Biggs of the U.S. Four years later, Lewis won gold at the Seoul Olympics. As a young pro he made his name with a 1992 knockout of Razor Ruddock, then gained a world title without throwing a punch: World Boxing Council champ Riddick Bowe, wanting no part of Lewis, threw his championship belt into a trash can. Bowe's WBC crown fell to Lewis, who became the first British heavyweight champ since 1897.

He defended his title three times. Then, before a hometown crowd at London's Wembley Stadium in 1994, Lewis walked into Oliver McCall's fist. He was quickly counted out, suffering his first pro defeat. It would be three years before he regained his title, stopping McCall in a bizarre bout in which McCall broke down in tears and quit fighting. Since then, Lewis' reign has been interrupted twice. In 1999 he beat Evander Holyfield but judges jobbed him, ruling the fight a draw. Muhammad Ali called it ''the biggest fix in history.'' All three boxing organizations ordered a rematch. That fall, in Lewis--Holyfield II, Lewis won a unanimous decision and about $15 million. Then, after several successful defenses, he walked into a Hasim Rahman punch last year and lost his crown. He flattened Rahman in their rematch, setting up Lewis versus Tyson, the ultimate heavyweight bout.

For all his skill and punching power, Lewis is often called a boring boxer, too cautious to electrify fight fans. Some say he's too cerebral. There have been rumors that he is gay.

Boring and gay--those are words nobody uses to describe Tyson. Yet it's Lewis, not Tyson, who holds the titles Tyson wants. We sent sports pundit Kevin Cook to clinch with the heavyweight champ. Cook reports:

''The first thing you note about Lewis is his calmness. He is big--6'5" and sculpted, with fists that could level small cities--but there's no menace to the man. He moves smoothly, observing his surroundings. He has a slow, easy smile and a soft voice, English-accented with a touch of Jamaica. He is a good listener. It was only when he jumped up to demonstrate a jab or uppercut that I remembered who and what he was: a man who could kill me with one punch.

''We spent hours talking at his training camp in the Poconos, and latter at a hotel in Los Angeles. At one point, toward the end of our talks, he startled the hell out of me. While he took a bathroom break I stood at the window, looking outside. So I didn't see Lewis as he slipped up behind me, staying low and sneaking like a ninja. Feeling a tap on my elbow I turned--and saw a playful punch coming right at my eye.

'' 'Gotcha!' said the heavyweight champ, grinning like a kid.''

[Q] Playboy: What happened in your first fight with Hasim Rahman?

[A] Lewis: He got lucky. I was beating him, but then I made a mistake, and I paid for it. I didn't pay enough attention. He hit me hard, and down I went.

[Q] Playboy: Your critics say you have a glass jaw. Did Rahman prove they were right?

[A] Lewis: That's hype! If he hit you that hard, you'd have a glass jaw, too. That was a hard punch. But it was a lucky punch, as I proved in the rematch. You saw him fall, didn't you?

[Q] Playboy: You decked Rahman--and won back your championship belt--with a ferocious right hand. Was that the hardest punch you've landed?

[A] Lewis: It was one of the hardest. It was my mouth-shutter punch. I aimed for his mouth and shut it. You see, I was very motivated to shut him up. Rahman had been mouthing off. He never showed me the proper respect. I was determined to shut him up, to make him the Buster Douglas of the 21st century.

[Q] Playboy: Tell us about your rumble with Rahman on ESPN. We might call that bout Lewis--Rahman One-and-a-Half. You made a prefight appearance with Rahman and ESPN's Gary Miller, and suddenly you and Rahman were showing, punching and rolling on the floor. Was that staged?

[A] Lewis: No. I was not planning to tussle with him while I was wearing a suit. But Rahman instigated it.

[Q] Playboy: He called you gay.

[A] Lewis: I ripped the chain off his neck and showed it to him, and challenged him to come get it, but he wouldn't. And off we went to the floor--

[Q] Playboy: Are you still pissed at Rahman?

[A] Lewis: Upset, I'd say. Yes, I am. There is a code of conduct. I was the champion. The champion deserves more respect than he showed.

[Q] Playboy: Now you're the champ again, and he's a footnote.

[A] Lewis: Exactly.

[Q] Playboy: What do you expect from Mike Tyson?

[A] Lewis: I expect a knockout. The fight will last as long as I allow it to last, and then I will knock him out.

[Q] Playboy: What round?

[A] Lewis: [Grinning] The last round.

[Q] Playboy: Do you have any surprises in store for Tyson?

[A] Lewis: I have a secret. Something new. I can't tell you right now, but the world will know that night--I'll have a surprise for Mike Tyson.

[Q] Playboy: As we speak, it's still winter. The contracts aren't signed yet. Do you want to fight Tyson?

[A] Lewis: It's my destiny. I am training, working, planning for a fight on April 6.

[Q] Playboy: You and Prince Naseem Hamed, the featherweight champ, train at a Pennsylvania honeymoon resort where some of the rooms have bathtubs shaped like champagne glasses--

[A] Lewis: Prince Naseem got one, but not me. I can't take a bath in no champagne glass.

[Q] Playboy: Come clean about your place in history. Are you better than Muhammad Ali?

[A] Lewis: I have too much respect for the brother to put myself up against him. My mom and I used to watch Ali on TV and I wanted to emulate him. That's what got me going in boxing.

[Q] Playboy: You have watched him. Surely you wonder how you would have matched up with him.

[A] Lewis: The sport has evolved. Back then, heavyweights were 6'1", 6'2", 210 or 215 pounds. I'm bigger. I am a 6'5" ultimate fighting machine. Ali was a great boxer of his era. This is a different era, the time of Mike Tyson, Evander Holyfield and Lennox Lewis. I reign supreme in this era. I make my own footsteps.

[Q] Playboy: Tyson's camp once paid you $4 million in step-aside money--he did not want to fight you. Do you think he's ready now?

[A] Lewis: While he and his people were afraid of me I was learning my craft, and now I am better than him in every way. I don't think he's up to the task of boxing me.

[Q] Playboy: You're quite a bit taller than Tyson is. Could that be a problem for you? Boxing people talk about a height disadvantage.

[A] Lewis: There's something to that, because it's harder to punch down than to punch up. Tyson punches with both hands, and he can get more force from his legs, punching up. But, then, I've been fighting short guys all my life.

[Q] Playboy: What if he jumps up and bites you?

[A] Lewis: I do worry about his antics. This is the biggest purse ever, the fight everyone wants to see. I will feel bad if he does something stupid and it ends in a disqualification.

[Q] Playboy: Maybe you should wear headgear, like amateurs do.

[A] Lewis: Then he'd probably pull my hair.

[Q] Playboy: Is Tyson nuts, or is it an act? Does he rant like a crazy man because it sells?

[A] Lewis: Tyson is a train wreck waiting to happen.

[Q] Playboy: He says there will be no need for a second Tyson--Lewis fight, because you'll be dead.

[A] Lewis: He has no couth. I think he's a bit unhinged, and he has taken the coward's way out--

[Q] Playboy: You mean biting and ending up disqualified when he was losing to Holyfield.

[A] Lewis: Then he says he wants to eat my kids. But I don't answer, because it's like arguing with a madman.

[Q] Playboy: You knew him when you were both teenagers, didn't you?

[A] Lewis: He was actually smart when we were amateurs. Back then I didn't see the evil side. We talked a bit and I thought he was cool.

[Q] Playboy: You have said the Tyson fight is your destiny. Would you fight him alone--for nothing, if necessary--to prove you can beat him?

[A] Lewis: No, because I will need a referee. If Tyson is biting me and pulling my hair and trying to break my arms, who knows what could happen. But this is what you need to hear: I will beat Tyson in a fair fight.

[Q] Playboy: People also want to hear about the rumors that you're gay.

[A] Lewis: Unbelievable!

[Q] Playboy: Do the rumors annoy you?

[A] Lewis: I used to get upset. I mean, look at Ricky Martin. There's a rumor that he's gay, but he won't say one way or the other. Maybe he thinks people wouldn't buy his records. I say if you're not gay, say so! It's not that I'm against homosexuals. We all have to live on this planet together. It's just being truthful.

[Q] Playboy: Many boxers abstain from sex before they fight.

[A] Lewis: I am one of them. I abstain as long as I'm in training camp. Seven weeks. I can't even imagine my girlfriend being there. Camp is serious, a place of discipline. There's no fooling around once I'm in camp.

[Q] Playboy: Does the no-sex rule make you stronger or just angrier?

[A] Lewis: It gives you a little more quickness, better reflexes. More of an edge. You don't want to give up your energies before you go to war.

[Q] Playboy: This is according to the London Daily Telegraph: ''Lewis sometimes stands in front of a mirror and gazes at his naked body.''

[A] Lewis: Well, I don't just stand and stare. Not for long.

[Q] Playboy: Here's a ''tale of the tape'' question: When you're naked in front of the mirror, are we talking championship proportions?

[A] Lewis: [Laughing] Oh, we are, definitely. Absolutely!

[Q] Playboy: After a fight, do you hurry to have sex?

[A] Lewis: No. I don't let it control me. I control it. It's a natural act; you should let it happen naturally. Take it slowly or you'll get weak and end up with a cold.

[Q] Playboy: So how do you celebrate?

[A] Lewis: After a fight I go out with friends, and I can't wait to get my hands on a glass of champagne. I used to be a Cristal man, but now my brand is Taittinger. It's cheaper. Why pay $600 for Cristal, a status symbol, when Taittinger tastes better and costs $300? They really turned me off when they upped the price of Cristal last New Year's Eve. I went into a store in Miami and suddenly it was $800 a bottle.

[Q] Playboy: That was shortly after you beat David Tua. How much did you earn that night?

[A] Lewis: Seven million. But this is ethics. I won't pay an unfair price. It's funny how you can make $7 million, $20 million, $30 million, but you don't get to keep it all, and you always worry about money.

[Q] Playboy: What else do you find funny about boxing?

[A] Lewis: The championship belts. You win a world championship and they give you a belt covered with diamonds, rubies and crystals. But they're all fake. It's like the Olympic gold medal--I took my gold medal home and scratched it and the gold came off. It's just gold-plated.

[Q] Playboy: Your WBC and IBF championship belts--how much are they actually worth?

[A] Lewis: Maybe $60. I'm thinking, This is what we dream about, fellas! This is what we pay $400,000 in sanctioning fees to fight for.

[Q] Playboy: One funny ritual is the prefight press conference. You're supposed to act fierce, like you might attack the other guy right then and there.

[A] Lewis: That can be humorous. Some guys you can play with--like Michael Grant. He was at a mental disadvantage at our press conference. I had watched his other press conferences--

[Q] Playboy: You study your opponents' press conferences?

[A] Lewis: Yeah, and he was different at this one. Upset. Worried. He let the hype affect him. But I'm an old hand at that stuff, so I just looked at him and said, ''My, my, Michael's a little upset today.'' He was upset, and I let him know that I knew it.

[Q] Playboy: What bothers you? Could another fighter get under your skin?

[A] Lewis: Most of them don't even try. They let their managers or promoters talk for them, and that's just rhetoric. I want to hear what the fighter has to say to me. And if he says he's going to knock me out in a minute, I'll look him in the eye, man to man, and say, ''Knock me out in one minute? Please, talk some sense.''

[Q] Playboy: You're thinking of Holyfield, aren't you?

[A] Lewis: Holyfield! He knew I was going to be the toughest opponent of his life, but he said he'd knock me out in three rounds. Preposterous!

[Q] Playboy: But it worked. It made you mad.

[A] Lewis: It did, actually. But I made it work for me. At the start of the fourth round I spoke to him. I said, ''I'm still here.'' In the fifth round I said, ''I'm still here.'' He got the message. Another thing that bothers me about Holyfield--that Christian thing of his. It helps psych him up, because he walks into the ring with God. But is he right? Does God want him to knock me out? It's the same mistake Michael Grant made--I watched Grant in the changing room before our fight, and he had a man in there praying for him: ''Oh please, God, please help Michael to beat Lennox Lewis.'' But what sort of religion is that? These guys who think God is in their corner have it wrong. They're going against the balance of life--and you saw the results when I boxed Grant and Holyfield.

[Q] Playboy: Doesn't your mother pray before your fights?

[A] Lewis: She prays for both fighters.

[Q] Playboy: Is Holyfield a hypocrite?

[A] Lewis: Before our first fight he kept talking about God, but he wasn't living up to his talk. I told him, ''You're not real.''

[Q] Playboy: You pointed out that Holyfield has fathered some children out of wedlock.

[A] Lewis: And he got so upset! I guess the truth hurts.

[Q] Playboy: You clearly won your first fight with Holyfield, but the judges ruled it a draw--the most controversial draw in recent history.

[A] Lewis: The whole world knew I won. Holyfield knew, too, but he didn't accept it. He knows he'll never beat me in the ring.

[Q] Playboy: You beat him in the rematch. Finally you were the undisputed heavy-weight champ, but not for long.

[A] Lewis: No. He went into a courtroom and he begged the judge to take my WBA belt away.

[Q] Playboy: Holyfield demanded a third title fight with you. When you refused, he went to court and won the right to fight John Ruiz for the WBA title. He won that bout--and the WBA belt--but soon lost to Ruiz. You kept the other two major heavy-weight belts, which you lost in Lewis--Rahman I and then won back in Lewis--Rahman II. And today, while everyone considers you the heavyweight champ, Ruiz still holds the WBA title.

[A] Lewis: Don King controls the WBA belt. King's lawyer is president of the WBA, so that's just politics to me. That's why I say I'm the undisputed champion, because you can't win the heavyweight title in a courtroom. You have to win it in the ring. Holyfield knew that, and he still knows he can't beat me in the ring.

[Q] Playboy: You and Holyfield battled for 24 rounds in your title fights. How well do you know a man after all that?

[A] Lewis: I know him well, and he's the biggest cheat I know. He threw an elbow at me. But it was more than that--it was the blatant head butting that really bothered me. Now I see why Tyson bit his ear.

[Q] Playboy: You mean that was OK?

[A] Lewis: No, no. It was the worst thing I've ever seen in boxing. Head butting is one thing--that's been done all through the sport's history. You know you have to watch out for the other guy's head. But to bite off a man's ear? Tyson took boxing down to an animal level.

[Q] Playboy: At least nobody doubts Tyson's killer instinct. Some people say you lack that instinct.

[A] Lewis: I love the sweet science of the sport. It's not me to run out and say, ''I'm gonna kill you!'' At the amateur stage it's not even about knockouts. You're trying to achieve points. It's only when you turn professional that you have to think about knockouts, because that's how you gain popularity and respect. Killer instinct? I have developed it. It comes out when I need it.

[Q] Playboy: Could you kill a man?

[A] Lewis: Yeah, man, I could. I don't think that I will, though. These are pretty good boxers I fight. They're athletes who realize what can happen, who are prepared for that kind of sacrifice but who have worked at the sport for years and have learned to protect themselves. Now, if I hit somebody on the street--which I wouldn't do--that's different. With the power I generate, he could definitely be dead.

[Q] Playboy: What is your advice to a regular guy who wants to throw a powerful punch?

[A] Lewis: Don't let the punch stop at your target. Punch through the target.

[Q] Playboy: Do you get angry in the ring?

[A] Lewis: No, I'm too much of a professional for that. Rage takes energy, and I want to keep my energy focused. If a man hits me, I'll think, Good for you, that's a good shot. That puts you above me. Now it's up to me to hit you twice as hard. It's not rage that drives me, it's competition.

[Q] Playboy: Do you study your opponents on tape?

[A] Lewis: [Nodding] It helps me visualize the fight to come. I get so deep into it I can't see or hear anything else. It's like when I was young--my mother would snap her fingers while I was watching a movie, snap her fingers and say, ''Don't you hear me?'' But I was too focused to hear.

[Q] Playboy: Watching tape before the Frans Botha bout, you spotted something you used against him.

[A] Lewis: I saw he had a rhythm to his fighting. He would dance around--one, two, three--and come back with a combination. Dance around and stop--boom, boom, boom--combination. So when he came to attack me and I saw him go into that rhythm, I knew what was next. I thought, He won't touch me. I'll knock him out quicker than Tyson did. And that's what happened.

[Q] Playboy: You floored Botha with a perfectly timed flurry of punches.

[A] Lewis: Jab, right hand, then a left uppercut. Now I see him react, and I readjust. I wait just an instant while he reacts, while he moves into just the right spot, and then boom! I throw the punch.

[Q] Playboy: You nearly knocked Botha through the ropes into the crowd.

[A] Lewis: [Smiling] That would have been spectacular. When I watch that fight on tape I'm thinking, Oh man, one more punch and he'd fly right out of there. A little more biomechanics behind that last right hand. But it's all right. The people got what they wanted, a knockout.

That was a good night. I love going through a fight where a man doesn't touch you. That takes skill to make all that money and never get touched.

[Q] Playboy: Why did it matter that you beat Botha faster than Tyson did?

[A] Lewis: You can see I'm a perfectionist. I'm a Virgo--it's in my sign. But all boxers make these comparisons. Our egos make us do it. There are other reasons, too. When I boxed David Tua, I knew Tyson might be watching and thinking, If Tua hurts Lennox with body shots, I can, too. So I couldn't let that happen.

[Q] Playboy: Describe your style in the ring.

[A] Lewis: I am a pugilist specialist. A boxer and puncher. I fight everybody differently. With Holyfield, who is technically gifted, I was a technician. With Michael Grant I couldn't say, ''Oh no, he's 6'6'' and he's coming at me with the same advantages I have!'' Grant's not a good mover, so I used movement against him.

[Q] Playboy: Last year some people picked Grant--another huge, athletic boxer--to beat you. He's a couple of inches taller than you are. Never had such big men squared off for the heavyweight crown.

[A] Lewis: But who's Grant? He just came along the other day. I've been in this game awhile--two Olympics, an extensive amateur career. I've boxed Russians, Germans and Cubans. He hasn't been through what I've been through, so I'm stronger mentally.

[Q] Playboy: He's strong physically.

[A] Lewis: Yes, and you have to beware. Before that fight I said to myself, Nobody my size can be better than me. But he could've caught me with a lucky punch. There are miscellaneous things, Murphy's Law things, that can hurt you.

[Q] Playboy: Were you at all surprised when Grant came rushing at you, trying to knock you out right away?

[A] Lewis: He had no choice. His trainer [Don Turner] was feeding him a line: ''Lennox is not that tough. He's got a glass chin.'' Trying to psych him up. He realizes Grant isn't technically gifted like me. He can't outbox me, so what can he do? Go in throwing punches, try to get rid of me fast.

[Q] Playboy: You finished Grant with a savage uppercut--

[A] Lewis: He had his head down, and I put my hand on top of his head. Just to make sure he didn't move. Then I went whoop! The hardest punch I've landed yet, but it could have been harder. I could have made it more dramatic.

[Q] Playboy: They'd have found his head in the third row.

[A] Lewis: I didn't really set myself and dig my knees into the punch. And he got his left hand in the way of the uppercut, so it didn't have full effect. It was less than 90 percent of maximum power--more like 60 percent.

[Q] Playboy: Did you feel sorry for Grant?

[A] Lewis: He's still young. He can come back. I will say that some trainers don't worry about the athlete--they're just out to get their money. Realizing this is the most money Grant is going to make his entire career, why not accept the fight, so the trainers and managers get their money? They think maybe their guy will get lucky. But he didn't.

[Q] Playboy: Beside abstaining from sex, do you have any prefight rituals?

[A] Lewis: I put on my right glove first. Starting with the hand wrappings. I am going to war and these are my bandages of protection. It's always the right hand first--the wraps and then the glove, which goes on when the wrapping tape is still wet, so it won't loosen.

[Q] Playboy: What are you thinking immediately before a fight, while fireworks are going off and you're headed for the ring?

[A] Lewis: Visualizing. This is my last walk, these are the last seconds before I go to war. I'm seeing the fight playing out in my head. With me winning, of course.

[Q] Playboy: Do you hear the crowd?

[A] Lewis: I heard booing during the Tua fight. But when I threw a combination, they cheered. I realized they were booing Tua for not mounting an attack.

[Q] Playboy: Between rounds you have 60 seconds to rest and to think. How long does that minute feel?

[A] Lewis: Long enough. I'll listen to Manny--Emanuel Steward, my trainer. He talks really fast, but I listen fast. I comprehend everything. In the Tua fight I didn't say anything in the corner until after the 11th round. One round to go, and I said, ''It ain't over,'' making sure I stayed focused until the end. Don't let Murphy's Law get loose.

[Q] Playboy: Are you able to rest much in 60 seconds?

[A] Lewis: If you train your body. For me it feels like a long time, because when I train I only rest 30 seconds between rounds.

[Q] Playboy: Other boxers do that, don't they?

[A] Lewis: I don't know. But here I am giving away my guarded secrets. This has to stop.

[Q] Playboy: Some boxers are trash talkers. Do you speak to the other guy while you fight?

[A] Lewis: I don't, and if a man talks to me, it motivates me to shut him up.

[Q] Playboy: Who talks?

[A] Lewis: Ray Mercer spoke in a clinch. He said, ''You don't punch hard. You punch like a baby.'' I came out of the clinch hitting him and saying, ''Oh, yeah? How do you like that?'' He didn't talk for the rest of the fight.

[Q] Playboy: Are there other ways boxers communicate?

[A] Lewis: I'll smile, to let a man know his shots don't hurt me. Sometimes it's an act. If he catches you, you can't let him know you're hurting. So you smile like, ''Shit, that's nothing.''

[Q] Playboy: In 1994 Oliver McCall knocked you out. Until Rahman got you last year, it was your only pro defeat. That one had to hurt.

[A] Lewis: Just like with Rahman, I helped facilitate that punch. He was throwing it just as I was moving forward, and, boy, that made it hit me a lot harder.

[Q] Playboy: How does it feel to take a full-force heavyweight punch?

[A] Lewis: Everything goes in slow motion. Then you hit the canvas and it all wakes up again--lights and sound and a referee in your face, going, ''One two five four!'' You're trying to stand up. Things are getting clearer, but now it's, Hey, what's up with my legs? I know I have legs. The signal from your brain isn't getting to your legs.

[Q] Playboy: After that loss you hired Manny Steward, who had trained McCall. Had Steward figured out how to beat you?

[A] Lewis: It's more like Manny won the lottery that night. I ran into that punch.

[Q] Playboy: People said you cried that night.

[A] Lewis: Not true. I know there are girls who think a true man should be able to cry, but I don't play that. Maybe it's because I cried a lot as a kid.

[Q] Playboy: What made you cry then?

[A] Lewis: Any little thing. I was a crybaby. Then one day it stopped. I was 16, and I fell off my bicycle and broke my arm. I remember looking at the bone. It hurt, but all I thought was, This is weird. I have broken my arm. But I didn't cry, and have not cried since.

[Q] Playboy: McCall can't make that claim. In your bizarre rematch, you were ahead when McCall quit fighting. He'd been treated for drug and alcohol problems; now he wept and ran out of the ring. Do (continued on page 147) Lennox Lewis (continued from page 68) you think he was scared? Was it a chemical imbalance?

[A] Lewis: It was a chemical imbalance. It's called crack.

[Q] Playboy: What did you think, watching McCall tremble and weep?

[A] Lewis: Nothing's amusing in the ring. Even with his antics, I was still at Defcon 5.

[Q] Playboy: Red alert. So, is Defcon 5 the maximum?

[A] Lewis: It's the highest.

[Q] Playboy: After the fight McCall said he had been waiting for a message from above, waiting for God to tell him to knock you out.

[A] Lewis: Really? I missed that. If I'd known it was that dangerous, I would have gone to Defcon 6.

[Q] Playboy: Let's backpedal to your cry-baby youth. You grew up in London and in Kitchener, Ontario, near Toronto, but your heritage is Jamaican.

[A] Lewis: My mother's Jamaican. Both of my parents are, actually, so I've got that vibe. I love the food, the music, the culture, the spirit. My favorite place in the world is Frenchman's Cove. Jamaica is the most beautiful country, but also the most dangerous.

[Q] Playboy: You were raised by your mother, Violet, and you never talk about your father, who left when you were a little boy. Was he an athlete?

[A] Lewis: No, he wasn't.

[Q] Playboy: Were you driven to succeed because he left? Men from Vince McMahon to Shaquille O'Neal have told us they had that motivation--to prove their worth to an absent father.

[A] Lewis: Maybe it forces us to strive. You want to achieve, to claim something. But I was a mama's boy--maybe what you're talking about motivated my mother. She was a mother and father, and she created a prodigy. A lot of mama's boy are successful, you know.

[Q] Playboy: What happened to your father?

[A] Lewis: He's a mechanic in London.

[Q] Playboy: Did he try to contact you after you got famous?

[A] Lewis: Yeah, but too late. I heard from him through an intermediary. He said he didn't want anything, he just wanted to say he was proud of me. He wasn't asking for money. I was curious, but I decided I didn't want to know him. My view was: Anything my mother wants, she gets. But with him, no.

[Q] Playboy: For a mama's boy, you were a rowdy kid--

[A] Lewis: No, I was very loving.

[Q] Playboy: You got expelled from grade school when you were eight.

[A] Lewis: I was not a rogue. But, yes, I was expelled. Some older kids were playing soccer and they wouldn't let me play. So I kidnapped their ball. I kicked it away and ran and kept going, kicking the ball as I ran. This can be very good for your soccer skills. But these boys caught up with me. They wanted their ball. I said, ''You can't have it, but I'll let you have this.''

[Q] Playboy: Your right fist.

[A] Lewis: That was my first big punch. A teacher grabbed me and I was off to the principal's office.

[Q] Playboy: You were just a kid when your mother moved to Canada. She took you with her but soon sent you back to London to live with an aunt.

[A] Lewis: There wasn't room for me. It was a hard adjustment, never knowing when I would see her again. Everyone said it would be a short time, but it wasn't.

[Q] Playboy: It was two years.

[A] Lewis: Finally I got to go to Canada. My mother worked in a Styrofoam factory that made coolers, the kind you take to a football game. At the factory you'd see giant pieces of the stuff. She worked long hours, and we weren't poor. I ate a lot of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches--that was good enough for me. When I started boxing I would travel with the team and get a per diem, a little pocket money. I saved it and gave some to her.

[Q] Playboy: At Cameron Heights High School you played power forward on the basketball team. You were a shot-putter and fullback on the football team.

[A] Lewis: Once we had a big football game the same day I was to go on a boxing trip. The football game was local, but the boxing was for all Canada. I preferred boxing because it's individual. You don't have to depend on a team. So I boxed, and the football coach called me a prima donna. I had to go find out what he meant by that.

[Q] Playboy: Did you look it up?

[A] Lewis: I asked my boxing coach, Arnie Boehm. He knew.

[Q] Playboy: You had some more flattering nicknames in those days. Other kids called you the Scientist, or sometimes the Chemist.

[A] Lewis: Me and my friends all had aliases, our a.k.a.s. My hard-core friends called me Chemist because I was a thinker.

[Q] Playboy: There's a funny story about some guys who messed with your car. You and your friends went after them--

[A] Lewis: I was driving in London, in my Mercedes, when some construction workers ambushed me. I think they were just coming from the pub.

[Q] Playboy: Why were they mad at you?

[A] Lewis: I think because I was a black fella. I'm just driving along minding my own business, and they start throwing stuff at my car. Tools--a drill. Now all the glass in my car is wrecked. I'm vexed. I had to make them realize they weren't dealing with a punk, so I went home and prepared for war.

[Q] Playboy: It's interesting that you didn't just chase them. You're more deliberate than that.

[A] Lewis: You don't fight without being fully prepared. I went home and got my lawyer, my friends, my righteous group. Got my stuff on. Black fatigues.

[Q] Playboy: It's the undisputed ninja in the night--those guys are dead.

[A] Lewis: [Laughing] Those guys left town! We went looking, but they were gone.

[Q] Playboy: They could run, and they could hide.

[A] Lewis: We had to call off the war.

[Q] Playboy: What do you drive now?

[A] Lewis: I have a Bentley and an Aston Martin. I'm not much of a car collector. You can drive only one at a time.

[Q] Playboy: Ever been in a bar fight?

[A] Lewis: Before the 1988 Olympics I was in a country-and-western bar when a man came up behind me and threw a punch. I put my hand up and stopped it--just reflex--but I was furious that he'd tried to sucker punch me. I walked over to him and punched him, boom! He went flying down, and then a brawl broke out in the bar. I got out of there fast, but you should have heard the stories that grew from that punch: Lennox Lewis knocked out four people!

[Q] Playboy: Now you move in different circles. Do you have celebrity friends?

[A] Lewis: A few. Athletes and movie stars like to give each other love. I've met some snobby-nosed celebrities and some cool ones. Woody Harrelson was in London the other day. We played tennis, chess and backgammon. We're pretty even at all three. No basketball this time, but we're even there, too. I am a better player, but he's a great cheater.

Will Smith and I were going to get together, but he wanted to play golf. I prefer paintball. Now, there is a sport I love. I play in Miami all the time. I'll be dressed all in camouflage, and I've got the best gun. It's an automatic-load gun, so I can fire on you fast.

[Q] Playboy: So here's the heavyweight champion with his paint gun, ambushing 15-year-old kids--

[A] Lewis: Hey, I take big men with me. I'm shooting all my friends and lawyers.

[Q] Playboy: Will Smith is a serious golfer. How about you?

[A] Lewis: I have taken up golf. I'm still learning. I don't know how far I hit the ball, but people tell me that it's really quite far.

[Q] Playboy: You're a chess player, too, as sportswriters looking for an angle never fail to mention. Are you a counterpuncher in chess or an attacker?

[A] Lewis: Definitely a counterpuncher. Chess is like war. It's like boxing, or even life. The other man wants to defeat me; I have to protect myself and counter his moves.

[Q] Playboy: We hear you don't always play fair. If you're losing, you might ''accidentally'' turn over the board and send the pieces flying.

[A] Lewis: [Laughing] That's not my fault! I can't always be aware of where the board is, can I?

[Q] Playboy: What do you think of American pop culture?

[A] Lewis: Some things I accept, some I don't. The gangster thing--the idea that an athlete, especially a black athlete, should act like a thug--that's not for me.

[Q] Playboy: When you go out to the clubs with your posse--OK, your righteous group--do you dance?

[A] Lewis: [Standing, waving his elbows chicken style] I don't dance, but I will boogie.

[Q] Playboy: Your idol, Ali, was a great dancer in the ring. Now he has trouble walking.

[A] Lewis: It's sad to see him struggle. The thing about his sickness is that he's still there mentally. It's hard for him to bring things out verbally, but you can see he's still in there. His eyes light up when he sees me. He'll whisper to me, ''You're the greatest, just like me.''

[Q] Playboy: Does seeing Ali make you want to quit boxing?

[A] Lewis: I don't want to stay too long. I worked to become undisputed heavy-weight champion. Now I am, and I'm satisfied with that. But this is a business, too. When someone offers you $8 million to fight a guy, it's hard to say no.

[Q] Playboy: Tell us about your current love life.

[A] Lewis: I have a new girlfriend. This time it's serious. It's still early--only a couple of months--and I won't say her name. She shouldn't have to speak to the press. But I can tell you that she would say good things about me.

[Q] Playboy: What does she do?

[A] Lewis: She's an up-and-coming recording artist.

[Q] Playboy: Exactly like your description of Aisha, your former girlfriend. Some people doubt that your girlfriends exist.

[A] Lewis: Oh, she exists. Please don't say she doesn't--you'll hurt her feelings.

[Q] Playboy: You're pushing 40. Do you want to have kids?

[A] Lewis: Yes. That's something I have consciously sacrificed for my boxing, but when the boxing is over, it can happen. I think I will be a great dad, and I have dreamed of how to bring up my kids. They'll attend private schools in London. They'll go to Jamaica and learn about spices and culture. They'll go to India. They will be prodigies.

[Q] Playboy: What will their dad, the former champ, do?

[A] Lewis: I might get more into movies. I had a good time making Ocean's Eleven, but I played myself. What's next? Perhaps a science fiction show or an action adventure, with me saving the day.

[Q] Playboy: How about your playing James Bond, another Brit who has an Aston Martin?

[A] Lewis: Funny you should say that. I have practiced my Bond line on many occasions. ''My name is Lewis, Lenox Lewis,'' I'll say. ''The black Bond.'' We shall see if the world is ready for that.

[Q] Playboy: Answer an important question: Is boxing crooked?

[A] Lewis: [Nodding] Yes, but it has always been crooked. I remember the first Oliver McCall fight, when I lost. The referee stopped the fight in the second round. Now, that was weird. I was the champion, and you never see that happen. You never stop a champion, and take his title away, because he goes down one time so early in a fight. Mysterious. Of course, Don King was McCall's promoter. And then, a month later, I see that referee and his whole family at the WBC convention, sitting with Don King. That's when a bell goes off in your head. Is boxing crooked or what?

[Q] Playboy: Can you help straighten it out?

[A] Lewis: I dreamed that I did. In a dream I cast my championship belts together and make one.

[Q] Playboy: You once said your mission was to rid the sport of all its misfits.

[A] Lewis: That is still my mission.

[Q] Playboy: Which misfits have you gotten rid of?

[A] Lewis: Have you seen David Tua's hairstyle lately?

[Q] Playboy: Are you still improving as a fighter?

[A] Lewis: Every day.

[Q] Playboy: What are you working on now?

[A] Lewis: [Smiling] The 20-punch combination. I have to perfect that.

[Q] Playboy: Being heavyweight champion of the world must be good for a guy's self-esteem.

[A] Lewis: I like to say ''champion of the universe.''

[Q] Playboy: It's a lonely job.

[A] Lewis: Yeah, you are completely alone. But that doesn't bother me. Watch me at press conferences. I speak for myself. I don't need a guy standing behind me, some windup doll--you pull the string and he starts yelling, ''Tyson's coming! Tyson's gonna get you!'' I am fully confident in myself. And it's the same when I step into the ring. When them guys step in, they can't bring their team with them. That's the difference. They think they can fight in a bunch. I know I can stand up by myself, alone.