The Champ gets a knockout
Evander Holyfield. Mike Tyson. Vitali Klitschko. And many others. They all tried, and failed, to conquer Lennox Lewis.
Two Fridays ago, the Champ surrendered. He didn’t even bother to raise his dukes.
He long knew it would be this way.
So, the man acknowledged as the undisputed heavyweight champ merely said “I do” to a five foot nine, 125-pounder who was outclassed in the tale of the tape – height, weight and reach.
Really, the champ married his Violet Chang. And not even the threat of a hurricane kept him away from that ring.
For most of the morning of July 15, residents of the little town of Falmouth on Jamaica’s north coast jostled with a gaggle of photographers clambering atop walls and roofs for a glimpse of the former champ and his bride, but were kept at bay, much to their collective disappointment.
The couple, both of whom are of Jamaican parentage, exchanged vows at a private ceremony at the William Knibb Baptist Church witnessed by 200 of their closest friends and family.
Violet, a former Miss Jamaica USA, wore a pearl Ann Barge gown that had a beaded corset top and a bustled satin skirt, and completed her look with a hand-made lace Roger Gary veil edged with Swarovski crystals, while the Champ chose a silk Oswald Boateng suit in the same shade.
Opting to keep the event family-focused, the bride and groom did not have a bridal party, but instead were escorted down the aisle by members of their immediate family, Lennox by his mother Violet Blake and the couple’s infant son, and Violet on the arms of her mother Valerie Brewster and her uncle Kenneth Brewster. The brief ceremony, officiated by Rev Eron Henry, was a simple yet joyous one, punctuated by amusing moments and quips by the couple, and a performance of the classic show tune Our Love Is Here To Stay. The church, a sunny nineteenth-century cut-stone building with huge windows and a vaulted ceiling, was painstakingly decorated with white, violet and lavender accents, with purple orchid and rose petals strewn along the centre aisle.
After the ceremony, which ended with the newlyweds ‘jumping the broom’, guests were whisked to the Good Hope Country House, an elegant great house atop a hill overlooking 2,000 acres of Jamaica’s unspoilt Trelawny countryside, where the couple hosted an informal brunch.
But the real festivities came later in the evening, when in defiance of the impending threat of Hurricane Emily, Lennox and Violet threw an unforgettable bash at the ruins of the aqueduct by the seaside at the Wyndham Rose Hall Resort.
There, after passing through several security checkpoints, guests were ushered along a violet-carpeted walkway to the ruins, where they enjoyed cocktails on chaise lounges and plush armchairs, illuminated by a reluctant moon and a sea of tea lights that dotted the surrounding lawns.
Spared by the rain that lashed other areas of the country that night, the reception featured a six-course meal catered by the Wyndham, and the cutting of the cake, a four-tiered square creation topped with a pair of boxing gloves sporting the couple’s signature LVL logo. A night of music and dancing followed, with Atlanta-based band Contagious the group that stole the show at Muhammed Ali’s Butterfly Ball earlier this year-keeping guests entertained and partying till the wee hours of the morning.
Guests who attended the reception were treated to signature gifts – men took home silver boxing-glove cufflinks, while women delighted in silver compact mirrors engraved with the couple’s logo. The next night, while the island was still feeling the effects of the passing storm, the newlyweds and their guests again kicked up a storm, at a nightclub in Montego Bay, where they hosted a Reggae Party that featured Lennox himself trying his hand at deejaying. ‘Twas a fun-filled end to a truly fabulous event.
