Right now there is no indication the fight is close to happening, but Lennox Lewis has still made a prediction as to what might happen should Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk ever face off for the undisputed heavyweight crown.
Usyk currently holds the WBA, WBO and IBF belts while Fury has the WBC championship. Both men have beaten off all comers in their careers to date, and both carry supreme footwork and technical skills. Usyk has most recently beaten Daniel Dubois, while next up for Fury is Francis Ngannou.
Plenty of people in boxing hope that after that, the pathways are clear for two of the best of their generation to finally meet in the ring and determine an ultimate victor.
In a YouTube short, Lewis – who is the last man to have been undisputed at heavyweight and the first Brit since 1899’s Bob Fitzsimmons – put forth Usyk’s credentials should the fight ever happen.
“Usyk cannot be taken lightly. He’s the undisputed champion under the heavyweights and he hasn’t lost.”
He then turned his attention to Usyk’s notorious training methods which often involve as much mental stimulation as physical workout, but also points out that Usyk has never fought anyone the size of Fury before.
“When he trains for a fight, when he boxes for a fight, there is mental and physical involved so it’s going to be a great fight. Whatever he does he will come to win, he will pull out the stops. He’s up against a different man. He’s not up against a 6 foot 7 guy, he’s up against a 6 foot 9 guy who boxes orthodox and southpaw and moves very well about the ring.”
He then made a final call and came down on the side of Fury as the bigger man.
“I always says a good small guy beats a good big guy, so there you have it.”
Whatever the outcome, the boxing world waits desperately for the fight to be made though Fury has recently claimed he isn’t interested in fighting anyone from the noble art.