THE AUTHORIZED LENNOX LEWIS AUTOBIOGRAPHY

PART ONE

Violet Lewis met Carlton Brooks, the love of her life. She became pregnant with Lennox and had no idea he was married, he never told her. There is still much sadness that exists for Violet. Life was very hard for her, being a single mother, working extra shifts in order to pay the bills. As a result her friends at the hospital advised her to have an abortion. She said no.

‘…As I had Lennox in my arms I knew I had made the right decision. As I cuddled him to me I knew I would never regret it, because he was so precious. And he is still precious to me thirty-four years later.

Lennox Claudius Lewis weighed in at 10 lb. 10 oz. When he arrived in the world by Caesarean section at the same hospital where Dennis Lewis, his older brother, was born, Queen Mary’s, Stratford, on 2 September 1965.

‘Lennox" means ‘chieftain’.

Claudius was the Roman emperor who in 43 A.C.E. conquered Britain.

‘Lewis’ means ‘loud battle’.

From day one Lennox was a strong, vigorous child. ‘If you went into the hospital nursery all the other babies would be lying still and quiet, wrapped up in their shawls. But Lennox I swear it, would be lifting his head to look at you. He’s always been very big and full of energy.’

‘Lennox was very mischievous. He liked to fight all the time. If he was playing with other kids he would end up pushing them and wrestling them, and they’d come running to me saying Lennox did this, or Lennox did that, or Lennox was hitting them. When he took up boxing I can’t imagine anyone had to teach him how to punch - he’s been punching fine since he was a toddler.’ ‘I was always full of energy,’ says Lennox. ‘Always into something, and fighting would be a reaction. I was never interested in it as a sport - not for a long time. For years all I wanted to be was a fireman (This is also Evander Holyfield’s aspiration).

Lennox’s first visit to Canada would only last six months, before being sent back to London to begin a five-year separation from Violet.

‘On that first trip to Canada my first impressions were how wide-open and vast it was,’ says Lennox. ‘When we got off the plane there was snow everywhere. I couldn’t believe it. I noticed that people spoke differently, and I liked it because somehow the people seemed to be nicer there.’

‘When I was very young I found I enjoyed the thrill of competition. I think I’ve always been a competitor, and winning would give me a glow of satisfaction and a good feeling about myself. Even as a little boy I wanted to be first. There was always a bad feeling if I lost, and I didn’t like that.

TO BE CONTINUED...PLEASE CHECK BACK SOON!