Lennox Lewis urges Joshua and Fury to settle rivalry
Lennox Lewis has urged Anthony Joshua and Tyson Fury to settle their long-running rivalry before the opportunity slips away, warning Britain’s two heavyweight stars not to repeat the mistake that continues to haunt his own illustrious career, reports BritPanorama.
Lewis, the last undisputed heavyweight champion from Britain, states that while he avenged his only two professional defeats, his record lacks a significant fight against Riddick Bowe, the man he defeated for Olympic gold in 1988. This absence, he argues, remains a point of regret.
More than three decades later, Lewis sees his disappointment as a lesson for Joshua, 36, and Fury, 37, whose potential all-British clash has long drifted in and out of focus. Speaking in Miami at Joshua’s controversial bout against Jake Paul, Lewis expressed the urgency of the moment.
“I would say to them, listen, just get the fight on,” Lewis told The Sun. “The British public wants to see it, I want to see it and I think that’s the great next big fight out there.”
The implications of Lewis’s warning carry historical weight, drawing from his own experience when Bowe discarded the WBC belt rather than face him in 1992, a notorious moment that he still grapples with today. “He made a big mistake not fighting me, putting the belt in the garbage. It showed he didn’t want the fight,” he noted.
As Joshua prepares to face Paul, a YouTuber with a professional record of 12-1, Lewis believes the broader implications for Joshua’s legacy cannot be ignored. “If he were to walk away from boxing having fought Paul but never Fury, it leaves questions about his career,” he asserted.
With reports suggesting the highly anticipated Joshua vs. Fury fight has been signed, Lewis reflected on the public’s desire for this match, underscoring its significance in defining this heavyweight era. “The British public wants to see that fight,” he stated while acknowledging the stakes involved.
Ultimately, as Joshua steps into the ring, the broader conversation about legacy looms large. Will he embrace the chance to forge a defining moment, or will his decisions leave echoes of unfinished business? In boxing, as in life, clarity often emerges from the chaos of the ring.
