Jack Sharkey the title against Ingemar Johansson, having lost it to the Swede in their first fight. Oliver McCall then became the third such Heavyweight champion when beating Lennox Lewis for the WBC title in 1994, before losing it to Lewis' countryman, Frank Bruno the following year. In recent years, with the proliferation of European Heavyweight champions, fighters such as Chris Byrd and Hasim Rahman have also won and lost their championships against European opposition. Sharkey's distinction is noteworthy, however, as Schmeling and Carnera were, respectively, only the third and fourth Europeans to win the World Heavyweight championship. Later in life, Sharkey
Lennox Lewis vs. Ray Mercer Lennox Lewis vs. Ray Mercer Lennox Lewis vs. Ray Mercer was a professional boxing match contested on May 10, 1996. Following victories over heavyweight contenders Lionel Butler and Tommy Morrison, Lennox Lewis was now regarded as the number one contender for the WBC Heavyweight Title, which was then held by Frank Bruno. However, the WBC chose to bypass Lewis and instead sanctioned a championship bout between Bruno and Mike Tyson, who had returned to boxing the previous year after serving over three years in prison. Lewis brought the matter to court, claiming that he, not Tyson, deserved to face Bruno