12/21/24
October 11, 2002
Lennox Lewis' Next Opponent: WWE Champ Brock Lesnar?:
A british tabloid is reporting that Lewis has had a secret meeting with wrestling impresario Vince McMahon and will face off against Lesnar, the current WWE champ, at an event next February. The price tag? $5 million. Lewis' camp is not commenting.
Stranger things have happened. Muhammed Ali and Japanese wrestling star Antonio Inoki met in the ring in 1978. Lawrence Taylor stepped in the ring with Bam Bam Bigelow at Wrestlemania XI. And Mike Tyson spent some time promoting Wrestlemania XIV in 1998 and appeared as a "guest enforcer", but did not wrestle.
posted by Conquistador to boxing at 05:19 PM - 3 comments
There's no chance this would be a real competition. If this match actually transpires, it will transpire as a WWE match because the WWE would be putting up the money to get Lewis to appear.
posted by Conquistador at 10:54 AM on October 12, 2002
It would take at least 20 million, and a great opponent to get Lennox back in the ring. Maybe another shot for Tyson, but chances of that are slim after he was pummeled. He said after his last fight that he wants to retire while he can still speak coherently.
posted by PJ at 06:22 PM on October 14, 2002
In the unlikely event that a) this happens and b) it's set up as a real competition rather than being scripted, it's perhaps worth noting that Lesnar was the NCAA heavyweight wrestling champion in 2000. His chances are fairly good, since mixed martial arts competition has demonstrated the advantage a wrestler has vs. a striker. Although this may not be of general interest, I'll note that Japanese pro wrestling federations have been using this kind of gimmick extensively of late. There are a couple of legitimate mixed martial arts promotions in Japan, and pro wrestlers who have success in those promotions find their drawing power greatly enhanced. Those who lose, on the other hand, drop in popularity. One reason why I don't believe this rumor is because Vince would be taking an awfully big risk with one of his star attractions.