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
Ruben Castillo (boxer) months later, knocking Miguel Hernandez out in three rounds at Los Angeles. He won five fights in 1984, including a tenth round knockout victory over Andres Felix and a ten round decision win against Oscar Bejines. On April 19, 1985, Castillo received his fourth world title try, when he challenged Julio César Chávez for Chávez's WBC world Jr. Lightweight title, as part of a boxing program that also featured Juan Meza's WBC world Super-Bantamweight title defense against Mike Ayala. Castillo once again lost, when Chávez beat him by a sixth round knockout. His next fight took place in Brazil: trying