At first I didnยt give a damn to go down in history. I wanted to win. But the more I won, the more I thought about leaving something behind. Yes, it's as important as hell to me. I want to leave something that people will remember me by. Of course, a lot of boxers want to do that. But it's not easy. Take Larry Holmes, he was the big man after Muhammad Ali, he wanted to emulate him, but for some reason the public didnยt take him like they did to Ali. I think people wonยt fully understand what I contributed to the sport for years.
Lennox LewisRecently I donated money to the establishment of the Muhammad Ali Foundation in Louisville. I regard that as a kind of payback. He smoothed the way for us. He wasnยt just a great person who had conviction, but made the sport of boxing great. He was the first superstar, he made our stock rise. Without him we wouldnยt have earned so much. Americans from every walk of life have contributed to the foundation: Bill Clinton, Angelina Jolie, Brad Pitt. Unfortunately I was the only American athlete to make a donation. Thereยs not enough respect in our business.
Lennox Lewis