(Sports Network) - Former heavyweight champion Lennox Lewis headlines the 2009 class for the International Boxing Hall of Fame.

Lewis, who retired in 2003 with a record of 41-2-1, including 32 knockouts, enters the hall in his first year of eligibility in the modern era category.

The 43-year-old is joined in the modern era category with American bantamweight champion Orlando Canizales and South African junior lightweight champion Brian Mitchell.

In the Non-Participant Category are publicist/promoter Bob Goodman and Akihiko Honda while journalist Hugh McIlvanney and broadcaster Larry Merchant were named in the Observer Category.

Posthumous honorees include middleweight champion William "Gorilla" Jones, welterweight champion "Mysterious" Billy Smith and middleweight champion Billy Soose in the Old-Timer Category. Manager Billy Gibson and commissioner Abe J. Greene made the Non-Participant Category while journalist Paul Gallico was included in the Observer Category. Nineteenth-century American heavyweight champion Tom Hyer was named under the Pioneer Category.

Lewis was born in England, but moved to Kitchener, Ontario with his family when he was 12. In 1983, he won the junior world super heavyweight championship then represented Canada in the Olympics in 1984 and 1988, taking home the gold medal in '88 after beating Riddick Bowe in the finals.

After turning pro in 1989, Lewis won the European, British and Commonwealth heavyweight titles and then defeated Donovan "Razor" Ruddock for the vacant World Boxing Council title in 1992 with a TKO in the second round.

Lewis lost the title to Oliver McCall in 1994, but got it back from McCall in 1997 with a TKO in the fifth-round. His only other loss as a pro was to Hasim Rahman in 2001. Lewis regained the WBC crown for the third time by knocking out Rahman in the fourth round later that year.

Lewis' most historic fights were with Evander Holyfield. The duo fought to a controversial draw in March, 1999 at Madison Square Garden. Lewis then took a unanimous decision over Holyfield later in the year to win the WBA/IBF belts and unify the heavyweight championship.

Canizales, a Laredo, Texas native, successfully defended the IBF championship a division-record 16 times over six years after first winning the crown with a 15th-round TKO against Kelvin Seabrooks in 1988.

He gave up his tile in 1994 to fight as a super bantamweight and lost a 12- round split decision to WBA champion Wilfredo Benitez in January 1995.

Canizales retired from boxing in 1999 with a record of 50-5-1 with 37 knockouts.

Mitchell won the WBA junior lightweight title in September 1986 with a 10th- round TKO of Alfredo Layne and successfully defended his crown 12 straight times before he was stripped of the title in 1991. He won the IBF championship later in 1991 with a 12-round defeat of Tony "The Tiger" Lopez.

Mitchell, the first South African to be inducted, finished his career 45-1-3 with 21 knockouts.

The class will be inducted into the Hall of Fame on June 14.





Copyright 2008 The Sports Network
All rights reserved

 Email To Friend           Digg It!