Lennox Lewis ‘cannot go against’ Oleksandr Usyk in his rematch against Tyson Fury, believing the heavyweight champion no longer has anything to fear against ‘The Gypsy King.’
Usyk and Fury will be reunited in Saudi Arabia this week for the first time since their brutal 12-round war in May. After a blistering ninth round where he had the Briton staggering in a daze, the Ukrainian went onto clinch a split decision victory to become heavyweight boxing’s first undisputed world champion in 25 years.
The last man to hold that title was Lewis. He is also someone who knows a thing or to about rematches on the grandest stage.
After his controversial draw with Evander Holyfield in 1999, the former Olympian left no room for doubt in the rematch later in the year.
Either side of those Holyfield showdowns, Lewis went out to avenge shock defeats against Oliver McCall and Hasim Rahman in vicious fashion, reclaiming world titles on both occasions.
For Fury, the stakes are just as high having suffered the only defeat of his professional career last May. From rounds four to seven, Fury was in control, lashing through with shuddering uppercuts as he goaded and showboated in front of his opponent. Those antics would come back to haunt him and if he comes up short again on Saturday, may continue to do so for the rest of his career.
The WBO, WBA and WBC titles will be up for grabs this weekend with the IBF title now in the possession of Daniel Dubois. Lewis believes Fury will have learned from those mistakes and is desperate for him to even the score in Riyadh to set up an even bigger trilogy fight in 2025.
But the former undisputed king believes the current reign will continue at Fury’s expense.
‘Tyson will have learned the most from the first fight. He learned that this little rabbit is a big rabbit,’ Lewis said. ‘He [Usyk] knows how to move, be elusive and how to work at the right times. Now, he has to go back and reassess what he needs to do. The showboating and all that type of thing, he has to push that out of the way and be more focused to win.’
Lewis added: ‘I want to see the trilogy. Tyson is good at the trilogies and he’s boxed them before, he is used to what they are all about and what to do. Right now, he’s one down. He knows that and knows he needs to step up his game.’
Giving his fight prediction, Lewis said: ‘For one thing, Oleksandr Usyk has proven himself that he is a winner and he hasn’t lost yet. So I can’t go against Usyk. All I can say this fight is going to be a different fight. Tyson’s preparation I believe is a lot better than the first fight, so he is prepared and knows what needs to happen in the ring.
‘All he has to do is go out there and do it. I felt bad when Tyson was saying “I have won the fight already”. You have to go out and win the fight, you have to prove to the world that you deserve to win that fight.’
Fury has already shared trilogies with Deontay Wilder and Derek Chisora, largely dominating both of them with Anthony Joshua perhaps the only challenge left for him beyond his unfinished business with Usyk.
But leading into fight week, rumours over another epic rematch have begun to swirl. At 48 years old, Wladimir Klitschko, the man Fury dethroned to win his first world titles in 2015, is said to be giving serious thought to returning to the ring.
Turki Alalshikh, now perhaps the most influential man in boxing, described the rematch as a ‘dream’, eager to give the man who retired seven years ago a chance to become the oldest heavyweight champion in history.
Klitschko walked away from boxing after his defeat to Joshua in 2017 after he and his brother Vitali dominated heavyweight boxing for over a decade.
Vitali has served as mayor of Kyiv for the last decade with Wladimir aiding Ukraine’s war effort against Russia since the invasion of his homeland in February 2022. Assessing the chances of Wladimir returning to the ring next year, Lewis believes his focus will remain solely on the fight at home.
‘Everyone is saying he is going to come back and fight, I don’t think he is going to come back to fight, Lewis said. ‘He can’t come back to fight. They [the Klitschko brothers] are in the middle of a war right now. He wouldn’t be fighting outside of that. That is what they are focused on right now.
‘They are not going to do anything. If they do anything, that will be a surprise to me.’
Watch Usyk v Fury Reignited 2 on TNT Sports Box Office. Coverage starts from 4pm on Saturday 21st December. Find out how you can watch at tntsports.co.uk/boxoffice