Hedgemon Lewis

Hedgemon Lewis (born February 25, 1946) is an American former professional boxer and trainer. Lewis began boxing at the age of 12, out of the Northern Recreation Center in Detroit. As a young, aspiring fighter he boxed as part of the same camp as renowned coach Emmanuel Steward. During a distinguished amateur career, Lewis picked up the National Golden Gloves Lightweight title in 1964 and the Welterweight title in 1966. He turned professional in May 1966.^[1]

Professional career

Lewis was initially taken under the wing of Detroit-based coach Luther Burgess, who presided over his formative boxing years and was later trained by Eddie Futch. Due to Lewis’s exciting style, he soon attracted the attention of Hollywood. His management company consisted of actors and entertainment stars in Ryan O’Neil, Bill Cosby and Robert Goulet.

Racing through the early part of his career, Lewis was victorious in his first 22 fights. Fighting out of Detroit initially, before basing himself in Los Angeles. Establishing himself as one of boxing’s top prospects, Lewis was poised to take on his biggest fight to date, against Ernie ‘Indian Red’ Lopez. In the first 4 rounds, Lewis outclassed his opponent, before Lopez came from behind to win.

Lewis bounced back to win his next 5 fights back to back, including defeating highly rated contender Oscar “Shotgun” Albarado over ten rounds. This set the stage for a rematch against former foe Ernie Lopez. In a closely fought and exciting contest, Lewis picked up the decision, flooring his opponent in round 4.^[2]

Fighting for the world title

Embarking on a succession of impressive wins, Lewis improved his record to 40-3. In December 1971, Lewis took on Cuban fighter Jose Napoles for the WBC and WBA World Welterweight titles. The bout was tightly contested, with Lewis pushing the world champion for the full 15 rounds. The decision went to Napoles, but all 3 judges scorecards registered a very close fight. Still at a relatively young age of 25, Lewis returned to winning ways, racking up 11 straight wins on the bounce. This included a double header against former world champion Billy Backus.

Lewis travelled to Syracuse, New York, the home town of Backus, for the first bout in June 1972. In what turned out to be one of the fights of the year, Lewis dropped his rival in round 4 on his way to a decision victory. In the rematch later on that year, Lewis would once again claim victory.^[3] In defeating Backus, Lewis picked up the New York version of the World Welterweight title. He also gained the admiration of the New York boxing scene. Continuing on with varying degrees of success, Lewis would fight twice more for the world title, including a rematch against Jose Napoles, without success.^[4] Hedgemon Lewis retired in 1976 at the age of 30. His final career record read 53-7-2. Lewis was inducted into the California Boxing Hall of Fame in 2006.

Post professional boxing career

Not yet finished with the sport, Lewis became a noted coach and cornerman in the world of boxing. He worked the corners with legendary figures such as Eddie Futch, Thell Torrence and Freddy Roach. He would play a key role as part of Futch’s camp in the epic ‘Thriller in Manila’ fight. Lewis still trains fighters to this day. Outside of boxing, he also achieved success in the Los Angeles real estate market.^[5]

Professional boxing record

53 Wins (26 knockouts, 27 decisions), 7 Losses (4 knockouts, 3 decisions), 2 Draws[6]
Res.	Record	Opponent	Type	Rd., Time	Date	Location	Notes
Loss	53-7-2	John H. Stracey	TKO	10 (15)	1976-03-20	Empire Pool, London, England	For WBC Welterweight Title
Draw	53-6-2	Harold Weston	PTS	10	1975-12-12	Madison Square Garden, New York City, New York
Draw	53-6-1 (1)	Carlos Palomino	MD	10	1975-11-22	Olympic Auditorium, Los Angeles, California
Win	53-6 (1)	Rafael Rodriguez	SD	10	1975-05-07	Auditorium, Minneapolis, Minnesota
Win	52-6 (1)	Rafael Rodriguez	UD	10	1975-03-19	Auditorium, Minneapolis, Minnesota
Loss	51-6 (1)	Armando Muniz	UD	10	1974-12-03	Forum, Inglewood, California
Loss	51-5 (1)	Jose Napoles	TKO	9 (15)	1974-08-03	Palacio de Deporte, Mexico City, Distrito Federal, Mexico	For WBA World and WBC Welterweight Title
Win	51-4 (1)	Felipe Vaca	KO	4 (10)	1974-04-28	Mexicali, Baja California, Mexico
Win	50-4 (1)	Jose Miranda	UD	10	1974-03-01	Coliseum, San Diego, California
Win	49-4 (1)	Johnny Gant	UD	10	1973-12-10	Felt Forum, New York City, New York
Win	48-4 (1)	Rudy Barro	KO	3 (10)	1973-11-07	Sacramento, California
Win	47-4 (1)	Chucho Garcia	UD	10	1973-10-13	Forum, Inglewood, California
Win	46-4 (1)	Ruben Vazquez Zamora	TKO	6 (10)	1973-03-31	Sports Arena, San Diego, California
Win	45-4 (1)	Billy Backus	UD	15	1972-12-08	War Memorial Auditorium, Syracuse, New York	Defended NYSAC World Welterweight Title
Win	44-4 (1)	Jose Luis Baltazar	UD	10	1972-10-13	Coliseum, San Diego, California
Win	43-4 (1)	Mario Marquez	KO	2 (10)	1972-07-21	San Diego, California
Win	42-4 (1)	Billy Backus	UD	15	1972-06-16	War Memorial Auditorium, Syracuse, New York	Won vacant NYSAC World Welterweight Title
Win	41-4 (1)	Ruben Vazquez Zamora	UD	10	1972-05-08	Forum, Inglewood, California
Loss	40-4 (1)	Jose Napoles	UD	15	1971-12-14	Forum, Inglewood, California	For WBA World and WBC Welterweight Titles
Win	40-3 (1)	Jose Gabino	KO	6 (10)	1971-09-24	Convention Center, Anaheim, California
Win	39-3 (1)	Cassius Greene	TKO	6 (10)	1971-07-31	Civic Auditorium, Santa Monica, California
Win	38-3 (1)	Arturo Lomeli	KO	6 (10)	1971-06-28	Tijuana, Baja California, Mexico
Win	37-3 (1)	Percy Pugh	TKO	8 (10)	1971-05-17	New Orleans, Louisiana
NC	36-3 (1)	Leroy Romero	NC	3 (10)	1971-05-07	Minidome, Pocatello, Idaho
Loss	36-3	Adolph Pruitt	UD	10	1971-01-12	Honolulu International Center, Honolulu, Hawaii
Win	36-2	Manuel Avitia	TKO	8 (10)	1970-10-31	Valley Music Theatre, Woodland Hills, California
Win	35-2	Raul Soriano	UD	10	1970-10-08	Olympic Auditorium, Los Angeles, California
Win	34-2	Chucho Almazan	KO	8 (10)	1970-08-13	Olympic Auditorium, Los Angeles, California
Win	33-2	Raul Rodriguez	TD	2 (10)	1970-07-07	Tijuana, Baja California, Mexico
Win	32-2	Severo Balboa	KO	3 (10)	1970-06-19	Valley Music Theatre, Woodland Hills, California
Win	31-2	Ricky Ortiz	TKO	3 (10)	1970-05-26	Valley Music Theatre, Woodland Hills, California
Win	30-2	Gustavo Garcia	KO	5 (10)	1970-05-13	Tijuana, Baja California, Mexico
Win	29-2	Don Cobbs	UD	10	1969-12-18	Olympia Stadium, Detroit, Michigan
Loss	28-2	Ernie Lopez	TKO	10 (10)	1969-10-04	Sports Arena, Los Angeles, California
Win	28-1	Ernie Lopez	UD	10	1969-07-10	Olympic Auditorium, Los Angeles, California
Win	27-1	Oscar Albarado	UD	10	1969-04-10	Olympic Auditorium, Los Angeles, California
Win	26-1	Miguel Hernandez	KO	1 (10)	1969-03-20	Olympic Auditorium, Los Angeles, California
Win	25-1	Celso Olivas	KO	1 (10)	1968-10-31	Olympic Auditorium, Los Angeles, California
Win	24-1	Miguel Aguilar	UD	10	1968-09-19	Olympic Auditorium, Los Angeles, California
Win	23-1	Shelly Lyons	PTS	10	1968-09-03	Circle Arts Theater, San Diego, California
Loss	22-1	Ernie Lopez	TKO	9 (10)	1968-07-18	Olympic Auditorium, Los Angeles, California
Win	22-0	Doug McLeod	TKO	2 (10)	1968-06-13	Olympic Auditorium, Los Angeles, California
Win	21-0	Bob Murray	UD	10	1968-05-16	Olympic Auditorium, Los Angeles, California
Win	20-0	Jose Valenzuela	TKO	5 (10)	1968-04-25	Olympic Auditorium, Los Angeles, California
Win	19-0	Ruben Rivera	KO	2 (10)	1968-04-04	Olympic Auditorium, Los Angeles, California
Win	18-0	Miguel Aguilar	UD	10	1967-10-19	Olympic Auditorium, Los Angeles, California
Win	17-0	Carl Jordan	PTS	8	1967-09-18	Detroit, Michigan
Win	16-0	Colin Fraser	PTS	8	1967-06-26	Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Win	15-0	Gary Broughton	PTS	8	1967-06-15	Detroit, Michigan
Win	14-0	Primus Williams	UD	8	1967-05-12	Detroit, Michigan
Win	13-0	Mel Fields	KO	3 (5)	1967-04-13	Olympic Auditorium, Los Angeles, California
Win	12-0	Charley Lewis	PTS	6	1967-03-23	Convention Center, Louisville, Kentucky
Win	11-0	Sam Ivory	TKO	5 (10)	1967-03-18	Armory, Newark, Ohio
Win	10-0	Primus Williams	PTS	6	1967-01-29	Newark, Ohio
Win	9-0	Phil Garcia	KO	3 (6)	1966-12-01	Olympic Auditorium, Los Angeles, California
Win	8-0	Dawson Smith	PTS	6	1966-11-21	Cobo Arena, Detroit, Michigan
Win	7-0	Charley Lewis	PTS	6	1966-11-01	Grand Rapids, Michigan
Win	6-0	Calves DeJarenente	KO	1	1966-10-26	Armory, Akron, Ohio
Win	5-0	Arnold Bushman	KO	3	1966-09-13	Cobo Arena, Detroit, Michigan
Win	4-0	Mike Belski	TKO	1 (6)	1966-08-29	Cobo Arena, Detroit, Michigan
Win	3-0	Larry Youngblood	TKO	2 (4)	1966-08-05	Cobo Arena, Detroit, Michigan
Win	2-0	Larry Youngblood	UD	4	1966-07-11	Cobo Hall, Detroit, Michigan
Win	1-0	Arnold Bushman	KO	3	1966-05-13	Music Hall Arena, Cincinnati, Ohio	Lewis' professional debut

References

External links

• Professional boxing record of Hedgemon Lewis from Boxrec