LONDON, Sept. 6 (UPI) -- Lennox Lewis, who won his first heavyweight title after former champion Riddick Bowe threw a
belt in the garbage, has relinquished his IBF crown.
Lewis, 40-2-1, 31 KOs, also the WBC champion, elected to give up the belt rather than face mandatory challenger Chris Byrd.
The 6-5 Lewis, who turned 37 on Monday, solidified his standing as the best heavyweight in the world on June 8, when he pounded former champion Mike Tyson on the way to an eighth-round technical knockout. But after such a convincing victory, Lewis was left without an immediate opponent that would generate as much fan interest.
After the Tyson fight, he spoke about retirement and did not seem interested in a bout with WBO champion Wladimir Klitschko.
IBF President Marian Muhammad is in Portland for Saturday's bout between light-heavyweight champion Roy Jones Jr. and Clinton Woods, but a spokesperson at the commissioner's office said they were aware that Lewis relinquished his title.
Lewis first won the WBC belt with a second-round knockout of Razor Ruddock in October 1992 after Bowe, the undisputed champion at the time, gave up that belt. He lost the title to Oliver McCall in September 1994, but regained it in a rematch three years later.
Lewis became undisputed heavyweight champion in 1999, when he beat Evander Holyfield in a rematch after their first bout was ruled a draw.
Lewis' only other loss came against Hasim Rahman in April 2001. After the two brawled at a prefight press conference, Lewis avenged that defeat last November.
