The last undisputed heavyweight champion, Lennox Lewis, has explained how he’d fight Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk.
Fury and Usyk confirmed their four-belt battle in Saudi Arabia for February 17. The winner will become the first since Lewis to reign supreme with four championships.
Lewis did in 1999 when carrying the WBA, IBF, WBA, and IBO belts. He defeated Evander Holyfield [arguably twice] to secure his place as the king.
Lennox Lewis on how he’d fight Fury and Usyk
Speaking in Riyadh as he took in Fury vs Ngannou, Lewis was asked how he’d tackle Fury and Usyk inside the ropes.
“I would just go after him,” Lewis told Top Rank. “I’d go after him because I like to go after big guys.
“I feel like I can fight, so it’d going to be a fight.
On Usyk, he added to Gareth A. Davies: “I would rush him. I’d show him he doesn’t belong in my weight classes.
“Fury might do that because he has the weight and knows how to use his weight. He’s used his weight in the Deontay fights, and it’s worked for him.
“He knows how to come forward throwing punches. I don’t think in this fight he’s going to move back. He doesn’t need to be.
Ring of Fire
Fury vs Usyk, tagged ‘Ring of Fire,’ is the most significant heavyweight bout of the modern era. There’s also a two-way rematch clause to stage a second event at the start of Riyadh Season 2024 around October.
Usyk begins a slight underdog due to Fury [34-0-1, 24 KOs] being the reigning lineal heavyweight champion since November 2015.
“The Gypsy King” took a break from boxing due to personal challenges. However, he made an impressive comeback by defeating Deontay Wilder to claim the WBC world title in their rematch.
Fury sealed their trilogy with a knockout victory in 2021.
Ukraine’s Usyk [21-0, 14 KOs] has done things differently. He’s a road warrior and a Brit basher with an Olympic gold medal.
After establishing his dominance there, he decided to move up from the cruiserweight division to the heavyweight division.
He caused an upset by defeating Anthony Joshua and becoming the unified heavyweight champion.
Usyk successfully defended his titles against Joshua in a rematch. Now, he sets his sights on becoming only the second cruiserweight champion ever to achieve undisputed status in the heavyweight division.
Boxing’s two heavyweight world champions will finally meet to crown this era’s undisputed world champion.
Lewis will be ringside as a guest to see who follows him as the all-conquering ruler of the top division.
