This week, legendary boxing champion Lennox Lewis reminded his fellow British countryman Tyson Fury – there's still a lot to accomplish to become an eternal great champion! Fury now holds the WBC title and has previously won the WBA, IBF, WBO belts, so he himself is complacent, saying many times that he is the greatest champion.
Next week, Fury will take on Oreksandr Usyk in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, and the winner becomes the first heavyweight to hold four boxing organization titles at the same time. Lewis is the last undisputed champion in his division to date, so he is in a position to comment on Fury, who he hopes can further push his place in history.
Lewis said that even if Fury beats Usyk next week, there is still some way to go, stressing that the truly undisputed title is to beat all the top contemporaries so that fans and the media don't talk about it. Lewis thinks he apparently did it back then, and it's Fury's turn to do it.
"Once I become the undisputed champion, I can rest, and I'm even waiting for Mike Tyson so that there won't be anyone arguing about the best fighter of the era," Lewis said. I don't want anyone to sit in a barbershop arguing – who's the best? Tyson, Holyfield or Lewis? When I ended my career, show the world that I was the best of my time. ”
Lewis pointed out that Fury has 3 things that must be done in order to be a champion who will always be great. Lewis stressed that the first thing Fury's path to immortality is naturally to beat Usyk next week, but even if he succeeds, he needs to complete the rematch according to the agreement, which is the second thing, so that the world has no doubt about himself.
"If Fury and Usyk fight goes on for 12 rounds and the fans see the action, the tactics, then they're eager to watch it again and see if the other guy is right, if he did the right thing, if there's a way to come back," Lewis said. ”
If Fury accomplishes the first 2 things, the last hurdle he needs to overcome in Lewis's opinion is to beat Anthony Joshua, which is the third thing.
"Fury does need to fight Joshua, it's a British story, and I'm sure British fans want to get a taste of it," Lewis said. Throughout history, this has been our plan, and that is that there will always be a big fight between two British heavyweights. ”
If Fury does all three things right – defeating Usyk and Joshua in a row – his legacy will be perfect, at least for his time. However, it will be difficult for anyone to accomplish all three of these three things, and it is unclear whether Fury will be able to accomplish the first one, and if he loses the battle with Usyk seven days later, the plan will be severely damaged, and Fury's hopes will be to get revenge on Usyk in the rematch.