That was brutal?. The only thing that happened there was Emannuel Steward(Rest in Peace) completely roasting Byrd.
Byrd was Lewis' mandatory.. he had recently defeated Holyfield, Vitali & Tua so was a legit opponent but was too slick for an ageing lummox so he dropped the belt
I remember at that time Steward was always bashing Byrd and Ruiz and deservedly so. Both were boring though I do remember Byrd’s Joe Frazier impression when he fought Oquendo he tried to pressure and bully Fres and won. More Don King chicanery I had Oquendo winning comfortably. Man that era seems like forever ago now. King had all 4 belts at one point and didn’t try to make a single unification fight it was ridiculous. He kept recycling Byrd, Ruiz, Rahman, etc against Holyfield, McCline, Golota and and marginal fighters like Kali Meehan. Don never met a rematch he didn’t want to make after a mediocre fight.
Lewis later said he had no interest in Byrd as he "posed no challenge" but he was interested in fighting RJJ. Which makes me laugh every time I think about that excuse.
