Hedgemon Lewis

Hedgemon Lewis (February 25, 1946 – March 31, 2020) was an American professional boxer and trainer. He held the NYSAC welterweight world title in 1972 and challenged for welterweight world championships on three occasions; the unified WBA, and WBC titles twice in 1971 and 1974; and the WBC title in 1976. As an amateur, he won the National Golden Gloves lightweight title in 1964 and the welterweight title in 1966.[1]

Hedgemon Lewis
Statistics
Weight(s)
NationalityAmerican
Born(1946-02-25)February 25, 1946
Greensboro, Alabama, U.S.
DiedMarch 31, 2020(2020-03-31) (aged 74)
Detroit, Michigan, U.S.
StanceOrthodox
Boxing record
Total fights63
Wins53
Losses7
Draws2
No contests1

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 such as Ryan O’Neal, Bill Cosby and Robert Goulet.

Racing through the early part of his career, Lewis was victorious in his first 22 fights. He fought 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 five fights, 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 doubleheader against former world champion Billy Backus.

Lewis traveled 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 trained fighters until his death. Outside of boxing, he also achieved success in the Los Angeles real estate market.[5] He died on March 31, 2020 at the age of 74.[6]

Professional boxing record
53 Wins (26 knockouts, 27 decisions), 7 Losses (4 knockouts, 3 decisions), 2 Draws[7]
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
  1. Lindy Lindell, "Metro Detroit Boxing"
  2. Boxrec, "Professional boxing record for Hedgemon Lewis", "http://boxrec.com/list_bouts.php?human_id=012562&cat=boxer Archived November 2, 2012, at the Wayback Machine"
  3. Harry Mullan, "Great Book of Boxing"
  4. Peter Arnold, "The illustrated encyclopedia of world boxing"
  5. Harry Mullan, "Great Book of Boxing"
  7. "Hedgemon Lewis professional boxing record". BoxRec.com. Archived from the original on November 2, 2012. Retrieved February 2, 2011.
Titles in pretence
Vacant World Welterweight Champion
NYSAC Recognition
June 16, 1972 – August 3, 1974		 Lost bid for undiputed title
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