Lennox Lewis has called for a unification bout between Oleksandr Usyk and Tyson Fury after the Ukrainian held onto his belts against Anthony Joshua.
The British legend, who is the last undisputed heavyweight champion, had his say in the aftermath of the rematch between Usyk and Joshua in Saudi Arabia.
Joshua had been bidding to become a three-time unified world champion in the sport’s premier division against the man who dethroned him of the WBA Super, IBF, IBO and WBO titles at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London last September.
But it wasn’t enough as Usyk, the man who became undisputed champion at cruiserweight before moving up to heavyweight, retained the titles and added the recently-relinquished Ring Magazine belt to his collection.
And Lewis, 56, believes the fans deserve a showdown between Usyk and ‘The Gypsy King’ Fury, the WBC champion, who holds the other piece of real estate in the weight class.
Taking to Twitter in the aftermath of the fight, Lewis said:
“Hey Tyson Fury & Oleksandr Usyk, can we finally give the fans an UNDISPUTED HW Championship fight?
“19 years is a long time and fans deserve it! Let’s get it cracking!”
Hey @Tyson_Fury & @usykaa Can we finally give the fans an UNDISPUTED HW Championship fight? 19 years is a long time and fans deserve it! 👊🏾💥 Let’s get it cracking!
— Lennox Lewis, CBE, CM (@LennoxLewis) August 21, 2022
He also congratulated both Usyk and AJ for a great fight:
“Great fight by Usyk. Congrats on the win. Definitely earned it.
“Good showing by AJ too… don’t fret. There are still big fights out there we want to see.”
It would appear, however, that Lewis’ calls for the pair to meet are somewhat unnecessary as both men had their say on the potential £200million fight in the aftermath.
Lewis’ praise of Joshua for his performance, with his new coach Robert Garcia in the corner for the first time, appears to put to bed their feud which has stretched over a number of years.
After rumours of a potential partnership between the two following Joshua’s Olympic victory in 2012, the relationship turned sour after suggestions from Lewis that the now-32-year-old was only interested in making money, with Joshua previously branding Lewis “a clown”.