Roy Jones Jr has weighed in on a fantasy fight between modern heavyweight greats Lennox Lewis and Oleksandr Usyk.
Lewis cleaned out the heavyweight division but his career wasn’t without bumps in the road that saw him take two upset losses, first to Oliver McCall and then to Hasim Rahman. Both were knockouts, but both were avenged once he hooked up with the legendary Manny Steward.
Usyk has not yet lost in the professional ring. He completed the cruiserweight division, becoming undisputed there in 2018 before moving up and doing the same at heavyweight. Along the way he beat Derek Chisora, Daniel Dubois and fought Anthony Joshua and Tyson Fury twice each in back-to-back 12-rounders, winning all four of those fights on the cards.
In a round of winner stays on with Mail Sport Boxing, the former multi-weight world champion Jones Jr was asked who would come out on top were Usyk and Lewis to do battle in their primes and after a brief pause he gave his answer.
“Lennox Lewis”
Lewis was famous for his ramrod jab and fast, effective straight right hand. It was enough for him to beat every man he faced – though McCall and Rahman at the second point of asking – and to retire on his own terms in 2003.
The Usyk story continues into 2025, with many people expecting the accomplished southpaw to fight the winner of Daniel Dubios’s IBF title defence against Joseph Parker on February 22. Should he do so, it would be a chance to be a two-time undisputed heavyweight ruler.
