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``I'm
100 % a Woman's Man''
Lewis and Rahman argue the gay thing
and duke it out ... during an interview
(Click
here for other anti-gay remarks by jocks)
By Jim Buzinski
Outsports.com
We were watching SportsCenter on Thursday afternoon and a wrestling match broke out.
  Heavyweight boxers Lennox Lewis
(left) and Hasim Rahman collapsed a desk and rolled around on the ground like a couple of 5-year-olds at the ESPN
Zone in Anaheim, Calif., after a war of words that included references about Lewis' sexual orientation. No one was injured, except boxing's already-sullied reputation.
"Why are you starting with that gay stuff?" Lewis asked Rahman seconds before the scuffle broke out. "I'm 100 percent a woman's man. If he has worries about that bring your sister, bring anyone."
The two, who will fight in a rematch for the heavyweight belt Nov. 17, were 16 minutes into an interview with anchor Gary Miller that was to be aired next week. Miller brought up the fact that Rahman, the champion who
dethroned Lewis earlier this year, had question the Brit's sexuality in a radio interview.
``I'm not gay, Lewis said to Raham during the ESPN taping. ``Why are you calling me gay? He said he's not calling me gay, so I don't understand that.''
Responded Raham: ``I said what he did was gay. He wanted to take it to the courts ... I said that's gay to take it to the courts. I mean, I don't know why he was offended.'' Rahman was referring to Lewis' action of taking Rahman to court for breach of
contract prior to securing a rematch.
After a few more ``so's your momma'' type of back-and-forth remarks, Lewis pushed Raham and it was on. The melee lasted about three minutes. The funniest part was hearing a woman's voice over the intercom during the melee asking people to not stand on the
chairs (we mustn't dirty Disney property). ESPN says the incident was not staged to hype the fight and its announcers seemed to think the bad feelings were genuine.
This is not the first time the gay question has been addressed by Lewis, who lives with his mother and pet
poodle in London
"I am definitely, definitely not gay and never have been," he told London's Daily Telegraph last year. "I love women." He also has a high opinion of himself, adding that he likes to stand naked in front of the mirror and admire his body. "And I thank the Lord," he says. "I thank God for what he has given me."
Despite the un-American assertion that bringing legal action is somehow ``gay,'' Thursday's incident was more high comedy than anything else. While it points up the fact that calling someone gay is still a slur, Rahman comes across like such a boob that it's hard to take him seriously. Lewis should have reached over and kissed him. That's some man-to-man contact between heavyweights we'd pay to see.
Posted Aug. 30, 2001
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