Like the rest of the planet’s population, heavyweight great Lennox Lewis wants to see Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk get it on in a historic four-belt heavyweight unification showdown. Lewis, the last undisputed world heavyweight king (this in the three-belt era; the WBO strap not in Lennox’ day considered to be a legit world title), has said that “in order for one of those guys to have my crown, they have to fight.”
Lewis may not have given up on seeing Usyk and Fury in the ring this year, although plenty of us have lost faith due to all those silly “negotiation” tactics employed by Fury; Fury the man most people blame for the fight not happening.
Speaking with Laureus.com, all-time great Lewis said that “this era’s definitely got three top guys” at heavyweight.
“The crop of heavyweights that we have now, we’ve got Tyson Fury at the top, a great heavyweight for this era,” Lennox said. “He’s southpaw and orthodox, he boxes both ways. He loves Muhammad Ali, like me. And he was able to draw energy from me, Muhammad Ali, and the fighters that he loves and put them on himself. So, when you talk about eras, he’s definitely the top man in this era…. This era’s definitely got three top guys. The two guys that I want to see right now would probably be Fury and Usyk. That would be a great fight. Plus, I believe they have to meet because I’m the last undisputed heavyweight champion of the world right now. So, in order for one of those guys to have my crown, they have to fight.”
As far as the three top guys of today’s heavyweight era and who Lewis was referring to, it’s possible he meant Deontay Wilder as the third guy. But until he fights and defeats Usyk, is Fury “definitely the top man in this era?” No, this is why we all wanted to see Fury and Usyk fight, to settle it once and for all.
Will we ever see another undisputed world heavyweight champion? It’s possible, but plenty of fans are not willing to hold their breath. Lewis, as we know, fought each and every worthy opponent he could barring Riddick Bowe (who was the man who caused that fight to fall apart) and this is why Lennox is held in such high regard today. Lewis basically cleaned up the division, and no heavyweight has come close to doing that today.