[1] 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.
His management company consisted of actors and entertainment stars such as Ryan O'Neal, Bill Cosby and Robert Goulet.
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.
Lewis bounced back to win his next five fights, including defeating highly rated contender Oscar "Shotgun" Albarado over ten rounds.
In a closely fought and exciting contest, Lewis picked up the decision, flooring his opponent in round 4.
In December 1971, Lewis took on Cuban fighter Jose Napoles for the WBC and WBA World Welterweight titles.
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.