Lennox Lewis out American contender Lionel Butler. However, at the behest of promoter Don King, the WBC bypassed him and gave Mike Tyson the first chance at the title recently won by Briton Frank Bruno from Oliver McCall. Bruno had previously lost to both Lewis and Tyson. Lewis had the number 1 contender's slot in the WBC rankings when he knocked out Australian Justin Fortune, then defeated former WBO Champion Tommy Morrison in October 1995, followed by Olympic gold medalist and former WBO champion Ray Mercer in a close majority decision in May 1996. Lewis successfully sued to force Tyson to make
Lennox Lewis vs. Frank Bruno time that two British-born boxers had fought for the world heavyweight title, although Bruno had questioned how British Lewis really was, as he had won a gold medal for Canada at the 1988 Olympic Games as an amateur. Bruno described Lewis as "...not British", but said "It's about boxing. I'm sick and tired of his pretenses. He calls himself champion. He acts like he's a Sugar Ray Leonard or a Willie Pep or a Joe Louis", and that "Nobody cares about Lennox Lewis in Britain." To counter the Bruno claim that he was "not British", Lewis said, "What was I