Lennox comes under fire

The man who helped to establish Lennox Lewis as a professional boxer today condemned the world champion's decision to relinquish one of his heavyweight titles.

Thirteen years ago, acting on advice from leading British boxing photographer Lawrence Lustig, American lawyer John Hornewer steered newly-crowned Olympic champion Lewis in the direction of British boxing manager Frank Maloney.

The partnership with Maloney was highly successful and it climaxed in 1999 when London-born Lewis became the first British fighter in over a century to unify the heavyweight division.

He did it by beating Evander Holyfield in a rematch of a controversial draw to claim the belts belonging to the World Boxing Council, the World Boxing Association and the International Boxing Federation.

Boxing politics subsequently saw Lewis stripped of the WBA title. And only three months after a career-defining victory over Mike Tyson, he has decided to give up the IBF crown rather than defend it against Chris Byrd, an American southpaw he regards as offering "no competitive challenge".

Byrd, coincidentally, is now represented by Hornewer, who is disgusted by Lewis's behaviour. He said: "It just goes to show that when you beat The Man (Tyson), you do not necessarily become The Man.