Shortly after, Lewis lost his WBC heavyweight title to Oliver McCall, putting a Holyfield–Lewis unification bout on hold for several years.

Mike Tyson then defeated Frank Bruno to capture the WBC heavyweight title.

Next for Holyfield was a victory against Moorer in a rematch unified the WBA and IBF heavyweight titles.

After Holyfield and Lewis made their mandatory defenses against Vaughn Bean and Željko Mavrović respectively, the two men met for the undisputed heavyweight championship.

[2] Despite Holyfield's claims, it was Lewis who dominated the early portion of the fight, easily winning the first two rounds on the judges' scorecards.

Lewis got into trouble in round six after he dropped his hands to his side, allowing Holyfield to connect with a right–left combination.

The decision was met with loud boos from the crowd, while Lewis and his corner were left standing in disbelief.

British judge Larry O'Connell, who scored the fight a draw, also received a fair amount of criticism.

[5] The rematch took place eight months later on November 13, 1999 in Las Vegas, this time with the lightly regarded IBO Heavyweight title (which was awarded to Lewis prior to the bout) also on the line.

The fight again went the full 12 rounds, this time with Lewis being awarded the victory via unanimous decision, becoming the first undisputed heavyweight champion since Riddick Bowe in 1992.

The ruling came down in favor of Ruiz, as a clause in the contract signed for the rematch confirmed King’s claim.

He would defend the titles twice more before 2000 ended, recording another two round knockout against Francois Botha and a decision against David Tua.

Lewis would go on to lose the title when he was knocked out by Hasim Rahman in 2001, but returned the favor in a rematch later that year to become a three-time champion.