Happy Birthday: Lennox Lewis, Alexandre Pato, Joey Barton

Sport360 staff 13:29 02/09/2015
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  • [L-R] Pato, Lewis, Barton.

    Regarded as one of the greatest heavyweight boxers of all time, Lennox Lewis, who turns 50 today, is the last undisputed world heavyweight champion.

    Holder of both the British and Canadian citizenship, Lewis won Olympic gold representing Canada in the 1988 Olympics in the superheavyweight division.

    He turned pro the following year and was undefeated in his first 22 bouts, a streak capped by a KO victory over Donovan Ruddock in 1992 to take over the number one position in the WBC rankings.

    He was declared WBC heavyweight champion at the end of the year after Riddick Bowe was stripped of the title and he went on to become Great Britain’s first undisputed heavyweight world champion since Bob Fitzsimmons held the title in 1899.

    Lewis racked up notable wins over Evander Holyfield, Mike Tyson and Vitali Klitschko.

    1971: Tom Steels, retired Belgian cyclist, specialised in the sprint, won nine career stages at the Tour de France (44).

    1982: Joey Barton, English ex-Man City midfielder, currently plays for Championship side Burnley (33).

    1989: Alexandre Pato, ex-AC Milan forward, now at Sao Paulo FC. Earned 27 caps with Brazil between 2008-2013 (26).

    1990: Marcus Ericsson, Swedish Formula One driver, currently drives for Sauber in his second F1 season (25).

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