The most recent unified heavyweight world champion, Lennox Lewis, has issued some words of advice to Tyson Fury as he looks to emulate the boxing hero against Oleksandr Usyk. The Brit has the opportunity to secure his legacy alongside the greats of the sport as he faces the Ukrainian in the first contest of its kind in over two decades.
Lewis was the last fighter to unify the heavyweight division after he defeated rival Evander Holyfield via unanimous decision in November 1999. Fast forward a quarter of a century and Fury comes into this era-defining clash as the WBC title holder, with his nemesis Usyk currently boasting the WBA, WBO and IBF belts.
The fight had previously been slated for February 17 in Saudi Arabia, with that event having been postponed after the Manchester-born colossus sustained a gash to the face. However, their date with destiny will now come on May 18, with both fighters putting in their final preparations for a landmark evening at the Kingdom Arena in Riyadh.
The debate over who will prevail continues to divide the boxing community, however, with the legendary Lewis having now backed Fury to edge the encounter. During an interview with the Guardian’s Donald McRae, the 58-year-old icon explained: “I believe the bigger guy, the better guy, wins.
“They both have good skill and Usyk has good movement, with good balance, and puts his punches together well,” he explained. “But he’s going up against a 6ft 9in guy and, for me, Tyson Fury is very elusive even if he is so big. If he makes you miss, he makes you pay.
“It’s an interesting matchup but I always say if two guys have the same technical skill, the bigger fighter wins because he can force his size on the other guy. It’s happened before where the smaller guy won but, in this case, Tyson Fury’s got lots of different weapons in his arsenal.
Citing Fury’s storied trio of clashes with Deontay Wilder, which saw him pull off two wins, alongside a draw, Lewis was convinced that the Brit will have too much for his opponent. “He has shown in the [three] fights with Deontay Wilder he is aggressive and moves forward well. Those fights really showed his skill, his talent, his ring generalship. I would put money on Fury – as long as it is the 100% focused Fury.”
It remains to be seen whether Fury will be able to return to his immovable best versus Usyk, as he looks to bounce back from a scare in his most recent foray in the ring last year. Despite beating Francis Ngannou by a split points decision, the win proved controversial as the former UFC heavyweight champion even knocked him down in Round 3 of their bout as he went the distance with “The Gypsy King”.
Reflecting on one of the more forgettable victories in Fury’s otherwise glittering career, Lewis admitted that he would have approached things differently, He contended: “If it had been me against Ngannou, I would go in there and show that boxing is way different to UFC. Fury should have gone after him and knocked him out. Anthony Joshua did that a few months later.
Lewis diplomatically added: “But Fury was not at his best. He was way overweight and didn’t take the fight seriously. Joshua showed that boxing is different. He hit Ngannou with a very good right hand and it didn’t look good the way he fell. This is a dangerous sport, where we don’t play.”
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