Alvin Lewis (boxer) facts for kids

Alvin Lewis, also known as Al Lewis, (November 12, 1942 – January 31, 2018) was an American professional boxer who fought in the heavyweight division under the alias "Al "Blue" Lewis".

Lewis was a long-term sparring partner of Muhammad Ali and is mentioned in Ali's autobiography. He was well-known as a powerful gym adversary. He also sparred with, among others, George Foreman before the champion's match with Ken Norton.

Professional career

Lewis was born in Detroit and, after a troubled youth background, turned professional in June 1966 in Canton, Ohio. In his debut Lewis faced "Clown Prince" Art Miller. Lewis won this fight with a 1st round knockout.

Other matches

He accrued 15 wins from his debut. In his sixteenth bout, Bob Stallings stopped him in seven in 1967. Lewis won their rematch a year later by a 2nd round knock out. Lewis also fought Leotis Martin twice a while later, losing the first by KO in 9 and the direct rematch by decision. Lewis outpointed fringe contender Dick Wipperman in 1967.

He fought an ageing Cleveland Williams whom he stopped in four in 1970, Oscar Bonavena against whom he lost by disqualification after decking Oscar several times in 1971 and Jack O'Halloran, against whom he lost on points in 1973.

The Ali fight

He is best remembered for a non-title fight with Muhammad Ali which took place at Croke Park in Dublin, Ireland on July 19, 1972, which he lost by an 11th-round TKO. Lewis was outclassed. Down in the 5th it looked like the end. But he rallied onwards. He then surprised many by launching offensives just when it wasn't expected, typically after an Ali burst. The Lewis-Ali event is described in the documentary film, When Ali Came to Ireland.

He last fought in November 1973. His retirement was sudden and unexpected. A Ring Magazine article said he had been helping a priest with a broken-down car when the battery sparked, spitting acid from the engine-bay into one of his eyes. This injury caused his licence to be revoked.

Lewis's final record was 30W(19Ko's)-6L-0D.

One fight struck from his record when the Licensing Authority in Illinois determined that the opponent was not licensed to fight in Illinois and had been a last minute substitution.

Retirement

He last fought in November 1973. His retirement was sudden and unexpected. A Ring Magazine article said he had been helping a priest with a broken-down car when the battery sparked, spitting acid from the engine-bay into one of his eyes. This injury caused his boxing license to be revoked.

Death

Lewis died in Flint, Michigan, on 21 January 2018, at the age of 75. His death was not significantly publicized.

Professional boxing record

31 Wins (20 knockouts, 11 decisions), 5 Losses (2 knockouts, 2 decisions, 1 DQ)
Result	Record	Opponent	Type	Round	Date	Location	Notes
Win	4-15	JD McCauley	KO	2	November 14, 1973	Dayton, Ohio
Win	18-5	Jimmy Cross	KO	6	September 4, 1973	Oklahoma City
Win	29-2	Humphrey McBride	TKO	3	July 19, 1973	Halifax, Nova Scotia	Referee stopped the bout at 1:45 of the third round.
Loss	29-15-2	Jack O'Halloran	PTS	10	March 1, 1973	Detroit, Michigan
Win	7-7-1	Charlie Reno	PTS	10	January 22, 1973	Detroit Olympia, Detroit, Michigan
Loss	37-1	Muhammad Ali	TKO	11	July 19, 1972	Croke Park, Dublin	Referee stopped the bout at 1:15 of the 11th round.
Loss	46-7-1	Oscar Bonavena	DQ	7	October 4, 1971	Estadio Luna Park, Buenos Aires
Win	7-3-2	Bob Mashburn	TKO	5	May 7, 1971	Michigan State Fair, Detroit, Michigan
Win	74-10-1	Cleveland Williams	TKO	4	October 21, 1970	Cobo Arena, Detroit, Michigan
Win	10-6-3	Billy Joiner	UD	10	July 15, 1970	Madison Square Garden, New York City
Win	4-5-2	Edmund Stewart	TKO	7	June 29, 1970	Detroit, Michigan
Win	8-4-1	Charles "Hercules" Williams	TKO	6	February 27, 1970	Michigan State Fair, Detroit, Michigan
Win	25-21-2	Bill McMurray	PTS	10	November 19, 1969	Cleveland Arena, Cleveland, Ohio	50-37, 49-40, 48-41.
Win	10-4-1	Willie McMillan	PTS	10	April 14, 1969	Palisades Rink, McKeesport, Pennsylvania
Loss	27-5	Leotis Martin	SD	10	February 26, 1969	Detroit Olympia, Detroit, Michigan
Loss	26-5	Leotis Martin	TKO	9	November 26, 1968	Detroit, Michigan	Referee stopped the bout at 1:33 of the ninth round.
Win	13-17	Bob Stallings	TKO	2	September 21, 1968	Detroit, Michigan
Win	25-2-5	Hector Eduardo Corletti	KO	2	July 24, 1968	Detroit Olympia, Detroit, Michigan
Win	27-10-1	Johnny Featherman	KO	2	May 29, 1968	Indiana State Fairgrounds Coliseum, Indianapolis, Indiana
Win	13-15	Bob Stallings	UD	10	May 8, 1968	Palisades Rink, McKeesport, Pennsylvania	48-43, 50-43, 49-42.
Win	8-17-3	Dave Russell	TKO	7	April 3, 1968	Palisades Rink, McKeesport, Pennsylvania
Win	12-11	Bob Stallings	TKO	7	December 12, 1967	Buffalo Memorial Auditorium, Buffalo, New York
Win	32-10-1	Dick Wipperman	UD	10	October 17, 1967	Buffalo Memorial Auditorium, Buffalo, New York	8-2, 8-1, 6-3.
Win	11-6-1	Toro Smith	KO	3	September 25, 1967	Cobo Arena, Detroit, Michigan
Win	9-1	Willie McMillan	PTS	8	August 24, 1967	Detroit, Michigan
Win	11-1-1	Aaron Eastling	KO	5	June 5, 1967	Milwaukee Auditorium, Milwaukee, Wisconsin	Eastling knocked out at 1:16 of the fifth round.
Win	4-3	Earl Averette	PTS	6	May 12, 1967	Detroit, Michigan
Win	5-6	Buddy Moore	PTS	6	January 25, 1967	Palisades Rink, McKeesport, Pennsylvania
Win	7-7	Mert Brownfield	PTS	6	December 14, 1966	Palisades Rink, McKeesport, Pennsylvania
Win	7-6	Mert Brownfield	PTS	4	November 14, 1966	Akron, Ohio
Win	8-3	Mac Harrison	KO	3	October 26, 1966	Akron Armory, Akron, Ohio
Win	6-13-2	Larry McGee	KO	2	September 13, 1966	Cobo Arena, Detroit, Michigan
Win	4-5	Vic Brown	TKO	1	August 29, 1966	Cobo Arena, Detroit, Michigan
Win	0-2	John Hall	TKO	1	August 5, 1966	Cobo Arena, Detroit, Michigan
Win	0-7	Gene Hunt	TKO	2	July 11, 1966	Cobo Hall, Detroit, Michigan
Win	7-10-1	Art Miller	KO	1	June 21, 1966	Canton, Ohio

Exhibition boxing record

No.	Result	Record	Opponent	Type	Round, time	Date	Location	Notes
1	N/A	0–0 (1)	Muhammad Ali	N/A	3	Jun 15, 1967	Detroit, Michigan, U.S.	Non-scored bout