Hall of Famer, Barry McGuigan, has claimed that Lennox Lewis would ‘beat up’ Tyson Fury if the pair were fighting in the same era.
Lewis, considered by many as one of the greatest heavyweights of all time, hung up the gloves with a record of 41 wins from 44 fights. He was the last undisputed heavyweight champion – a feat Fury is attempting to emulate as of writing.
As for ‘The Gypsy King’, he remains undefeated in a career that’s still going, and is currently on his second go as heavyweight world champion.
McGuigan began a fan forum on Twitter, posing the question does Fury rank alongside Lewis? He responded to many opinions with a clear one of his own.
“There is no way that Fury is better than Lennox Lewis, not a chance.”
“Tyson Fury is not nearly the physical specimen that Lennox Lewis was in his prime, Lennox would beat Fury up and knock him out in the Championship rounds.”
McGuigan went on to compare resumes of the two, giving Lewis the clear edge with the likes of Hasim Rahman, Oliver McCall, Evander Holyfield, and Mike Tyson featuring.
You have to compare the quality and standard of the opposition’s in each era. In my opinion, @LennoxLewis opponents Miles better, HasimRahman, OliverMcCall, RayMercer, MikeTyson, VitaliKlitschko, DavidTua, EvanderHolyfield TommyMorrison, FrankBruno, I rest my case. https://t.co/APo8yN1klH
— Barry McGuigan (@ClonesCyclone) November 18, 2022
Fans defending Fury pointed to the fact that the Morecambe man has beaten two long-reigning world champions on their home turf in Wladimir Klitschko and Deontay Wilder, but the fighter-turned-manager wasn’t having it.
Despite clearly a big fan of ‘The Lion’, McGuigan did agree with the idea that Fury can only face what’s in front of him, and if the heavyweight division was more competitive in the previous era there wasn’t much any fighter could do about.
Having said that, he does feel that Fury must face the likes of Oleksandr Usyk and Anthony Joshua before he hangs up the gloves in order to leave the best legacy possible.
I’ve given him loads of credit over the years, I’m simply saying Fury’s record doesn’t “yet” compare to LennoxLewis. It’s a discussion point in the context of my story in the Daily Mirror today and on line. If you don’t like it don’t read it. https://t.co/Mb7A6kzJSh
— Barry McGuigan (@ClonesCyclone) November 19, 2022
The frustration of fantasy fights for many fans is that they’re just that – fantasies. No true winner of this discussion can ever be crowned, even despite the knowledgable McGuigan saying that Fury does not compare with Lewis, ‘end of.’