He was one of the best boxers of all time, and in the view of many fight fans he was the best.

In his professional career Lewis fought as a Briton, but he had spent several years in Canada as a child and saw out his amateur career under the Canadian flag.

He won his first senior international title as a 20-year-old in the Commonwealth Games - and it was without doubt the easiest win of what would become a stellar career.

It came in Edinburgh in 1986 when Lewis became the first super-heavyweight champion, a weight class that had never been contested before.

When he won Olympic gold in Seoul two years later Lewis had to defeat Riddick Bowe, the American who would also become the undisputed heavyweight champion after turning professional.

In Edinburgh he had to beat Aneurin Evans, one of the luckiest medallists in any sport in the history of the Commonwealth Games, and a man who has never been heard of since.

When the BBC cameras focused on Welshman Evans just before the final began, the legendary boxing commentator Harry Carpenter said: "If I were him I'd be running for my life."

Evans did just that - he spent the next few minutes trying, unsuccessfully, to evade the brutal punches of Lewis.

He survived until 23 seconds into round two, when his corner threw in the towel.

By 1986, Lewis had already fought at the Olympics and won a North American championship. 

Evans had fought only 20 times in his life, and should not even have been in Edinburgh. 

Two days before the Games started there were only two entries in the new super-heavyweight class, Lewis and the Englishman James Oyebola, who had beaten Evans in the ABA final. 

The boycott by African countries, protesting over New Zealand's presence at a time when the All Blacks were still playing rugby against apartheid-era South Africa, hurt boxing more than any other sport.

Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya, Uganda and Zambia all had strong contenders who stayed at home.

A late rallying call by officials led to Wales nominating Evans, coached by the 1958 Commonwealth bronze medallist Don Braithwaite.

His luck was in: he drew a bye into the final. Lewis made short work of the 6ft 9in Oyebola first, then pounded Evans into submission.

Canada took home half of the 12 boxing golds in Edinburgh.

Lewis was born in London to Jamaican parents, and moved to Ontario with his mother, Violet, for a year.

He returned to London to stay with an aunt, then went back to Canada, aged 12, until he turned professional.

Lewis' elder brother, Dennis, said Lennox was often in trouble in the East End, picked a lot of fights, and "would be in prison or worse" if he had stayed.

In Kitchener, near Toronto, Lewis focused on sport and "turned out to be one of the most beautiful kids", said Violet, who brought him up as a single parent.

Lewis was an outstanding basketball player and a talented footballer and shot-putter, but once he had tried boxing at Arnie Boehm's gym, attached to the Kitchener police headquarters, he was hooked.

He often fought older boys, won six national championships, and went to the Los Angeles Olympics in 1984 at 18.

The money and titles started rolling in when he turned professional, and he enjoyed success after success until his retirement in 2004.

While Lewis went on to world fame after 1986, Evans returned to obscurity in South Wales, and later moved to England.

Oyebola fought as a professional, won the British heavyweight title, and fought on the undercard of a Lewis bill in Atlantic City.

He was killed in 2007.

Working in a London nightclub, Oyebola asked three men to stop smoking, and one of them shot him in the neck.

The killer was jailed for life.