LENNOX Lewis’s handlers had agreed a bout with Glenn McCrory, the former world cruiserweight champion, two months before the Weaver fight. It was originally expected to take place at the G-Mex Centre in Manchester but was shifted to the Royal Albert Hall, scene of many of Lewis’s early victories.

The fight, a British and European title defence for Lewis, took place nine days after super-middleweight contender Michael Watson had suffered near-fatal injuries in his world title bout with Chris Eubank in London. Many in the boxing community expressed reservations about its timing, with the stricken Watson still fighting for his life in hospital.

The bout went ahead but it was a mismatch. McCrory, although tough and proud, was simply too small to mix it with Lewis. McCrory had campaigned unsuccessfully as a heavyweight in his early career before dropping back down to cruiserweight, where he outpointed the Kenyan Patrick Lumumba to win the IBF title in front of his home crowd at Stanley, County Durham in June 1989.

His reign lasted less than a year. Severely weakened by weight-making, McCrory was knocked out in the third round by the American Jeff Lampkin in his second defence and moved straight back up to heavyweight.

Despite previously sparring nearly 100 rounds with a peak Mike Tyson, McCrory was never in the fight with Lewis. In a horribly one-sided bout, Lewis battered McCrory from pillar to post in the first round before dropping the challenger twice and knocking him out in the second.

After the fight, Lewis told Gary Newbon of ITV Sport: ‘I had a lot of confidence going into the fight and I wanted to be taken really seriously. I didn’t think Glenn McCrory took me that seriously so I wanted to prove to him that this is what the heavyweight class is all about.’

In 2012, McCrory recalled his often chaotic preparation for fights, including the Lewis bout, in an interview with Mike Jones of Livefight. com. ‘Lennox Lewis was the best heavyweight of the generation and there was me leaving a pub to fight him!’ McCrory joked. ‘I had a pub to run and was still the same; no gym, no trainer etc. It’s hardly a winning formula, is it? I had a go [against Lewis] but obviously he was far too strong for me.’