Forgotten Legends: Andrew “Six Heads” Lewis

June 12, 2014 by Leave a Comment

By: Steve Gallegos

In 2001, there were 3 undefeated welterweight champions. The WBC champion was “Sugar” Shane Mosley and the IBF champion was the late Vernon Forrest. There was another unbeaten champion at that time that held the WBA title; however he didn’t get a chance to take on the other two champions and he wasn’t able to reach that next level to greatness, despite having all the tools to do so. That fighter was Andrew “Six Heads” Lewis.

“Six Heads“, a southpaw was a destroyer inside the ring, dismantling opponents with power in either hand. He got the nickname “Six Heads” after knocking out an opponent and all he saw was six heads; therefore the name stuck. Lewis was born and raised in Georgetown, Guyana and had a fair amount of success as an amateur, representing Guyana in international competition. He turned pro in 1993 and would go 8-0-1 in his first nine bouts, all by KO. All of these bouts were in his hometown of Georgetown, Guyana and he knew he had to step out his home country in order to make a name for himself in the sport of boxing.

In 1996, he relocated to Brooklyn, NY and continued his streak of Knockouts, winning his next 12 bouts over the next four years, 11 by KO. Lewis didn’t get the exposure he deserved during this time as promoter Don King didn’t provide “Six Heads” with the same promotional push that he gave some of his other fighters like Felix Trinidad and Sharmba Mitchell.

The world finally got to know who Andrew “Six Heads” Lewis was when he fought for a world title. He would meet former welterweight champion James Page on 02/17/01 at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas for the vacant WBA welterweight title. It was part of an HBO Boxing After Dark doubleheader and “Six Heads” was sure not to disappoint on his biggest stage.

Page was also known his tremendous punching power, particularly his left hook and the question going into this bout was whether “Six Heads” would be able to take Page’s punch. “Six Heads” would quickly change the story of the fight. “Six Heads“, known for his punching power, also had very good hand speed and he showed it in the first round by getting off first and firing quick combinations. Page hadn’t been in the ring for almost two years and Lewis took advantage of the ring rust and dominated him in the first round.

“Six Heads” continued the pace in the second round, landing many unanswerd shots. With 50 seconds to go in the seconnd, “Six Heads” landed a huge uppercut that put Page on the canvas. Page was able to get up and make it out of the round, however “Six Heads” delivered a great deal of punishment to end the second round.

“Six Heads” continued to pick James Page apart in the third round, landing hard shots at will, particularly the left uppercut. Lewis switched it up to begin the fourth round by using his jab more, not electing to go for broke as he did in rounds 1-3. “Six Heads” continued to use his jab effectively in the fifth and sixth rounds while using it to set up quick combinations.

In the seventh, Lewis would land a short right hand that put Page down again. Page was able to get up, but was hurt, causing referee Kenny Bayless to stop the bout. A sensational TKO victory for Andrew “Six Heads” Lewis, earning him a world title and the world finally got to know who he was.

HBO was so impressed by this performance, that they quickly had him back on the air just two months later on their short lived boxing series “KO Nation”. “Six Heads” was victorious in a 12 round unanimous decison over Larry Marks. There were talks about a welterweight unification between Lewis and Shane Mosley to take place that summer, however it didn’t materialize and Mosley decided to take a much safer route by defending his title against Adrian Stone as compared to “Six Heads” Lewis.

“Six Heads” would then take on relatively unknown Nicaraugan challenger Ricardo Mayorga. They met on 07/28/01 at Staples Center, Los Angeles, California on a huge Pay Per View card headlined by Roy Jones vs Julio Gonzalez. The fight was stopped in the second round due to a clash of heads which caused a bad cut over Lewis‘ eye, therefore the fight was ruled a No-Contest.

“Six Heads” and Mayorga would meet again nine months later in Reading, PA. It was an exciting fight for the first four rounds. “Six Heads” opted to slug more with Mayorga, which was more of Mayorga’s fight. In the fifth round, Mayorga landed a hard left hook followed by another left and right that put “Six Heads” down on his back. He was able to get up, however didn’t respond to referee Rudy Battle when he asked if he could continue; therefore the fight was stopped. It would be the last time Andrew “Six Heads” Lewis would be a world champion.

He rebounded with a first round KO eight months later, which put him back in line for another title shot, however he was stoppped by WBO Welterweight champion Antonio Margarito in two rounds in February of 2003. Lewis would be out of the ring for 2 1/2 years and returned to his home country of Guyana and had a series of fights with fellow countryman Denny Dalton. Their first encounter in October 2005 ended in a technical draw.

In the rematch sixth months later, Lewis was leading on all cards up until the seventh round, when he began to complain of bowel issues in which he needed to go to the bathroom; therefore the fight was stopped. He would avenge the loss a year later in a 12 round decision win. He would fight one more time in 2008, losing a 12 round split decision to Howard Eastman before calling it a career.

His record as a professional stands at 23-4-2 with 20 KO’s. While his time in the spotlight was brief, it was exciting. It was unfortunate he wasn’t able to measure himself against Mosley and Forrest, with whom he had the style and power to give both a run for their money. In the end, it’s another case of a very good fighter who was never able to be great.
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