Lennox Lewis is well placed to talk about the biggest fights in boxing having been part of so many during his decorated career. One that remains is, despite both coming off defeats, Anthony Joshua versus Tyson Fury.
Though Lewis was the last undisputed champion before Oleksandr Usyk achieved that status this May, he had plenty of adversity in his career before achieving that feat, including two shock defeats when he was stopped by huge underdogs.
The first was in September 1994 when Lewis lost the WBC heavyweight title to Oliver McCall via a second-round technical knockout at Wembley Arena in London. The unexpected loss was a significant setback, as was his defeat at the fists of Hasim Rahman through a fifth-round knockout in Brakpan, South Africa. That defeat resulted in Lewis losing his WBC, IBF, and IBO belts. He famously avenged both of those losses in rematches, both by stoppage.
Former heavyweight champion, Anthony Joshua, is coming off the back of a knockout loss to Daniel Dubois in September and must now decide whether he is to go into an immediate rematch or wait around to potentially face Tyson Fury, who has his own rematch with Usyk for three of the four major world titles in December.
Speaking to Boxing News, Lewis was asked about a potential fight between Joshua and Fury and believes it would only be good for ‘The Gypsy King.’
“Any fight where you have two British fighters is a great fight. It’s always a great promotion. It always brings in the streets, who the country likes the best, and I say that if Anthony Joshua fights Tyson Fury it’d be a great fight but you know, would it be a great fight for Anthony Joshua? It would be probably a great fight for Tyson Fury, but would it be great for Anthony Joshua?”
Whoever comes out on top when Usyk and Fury renew their rivalry, an-all British showdown between Fury and Joshua will always be huge for the sport.
