[1] After Lennox Lewis successfully defended his WBC title in a dominating first round knockout victory over Andrew Golota, the WBC organized an elimination match between Lineal champion George Foreman and Shannon Briggs to determine who would become Lewis' next opponent.

[3][4] Lewis was able to control most of the first round by effectively using his strong left jab to keep Briggs off balance while occasionally landing some power punches as well.

Briggs then began a furious 20-second rally that saw him land several power punches in an attempt to gain the knockout victory.

Lewis began the fourth round aggressively and landed a combination that sent Briggs into the ropes.

[5] Lewis had hoped for a bout with Evander Holyfield for the undisputed championship, however he needed to have a mandatory defence against Henry Akinwande, as a result Lewis agreed to face with his number one contender, the undefeated Croatian Željko Mavrović.