With the August 3 Riyadh Season card in Los Angeles, the boxing season has kind of heated up. After last week’s Canelo Alvarez–Edgar Berlanga showdown, fans are eagerly awaiting the Wembley clash between Anthony Joshua and Daniel Dubois. However, some fans might be staring at the future. At the back of their minds, it is December 21, when Oleksandr Usyk will try to defend his unified title from Tyson Fury. The rematch follows the epic May 18 square-off. Usyk dazzled the world with an electric performance, knocking down ‘The Gypsy King’ to secure a split decision win.
All eyes will be on the two heavyweights. Will Tyson Fury finally exact his revenge? Or with yet another triumph, Oleksandr Usyk finally cements his place among boxing greats. Social media is already loaded with analysis and debates about the potential outcome. When asked for his view on Oleksandr Usyk during an interview, Lennox Lewis let out an interesting take. Who knows whether some Fury fans have caught notice of it?
Lennox Lewis: I’m unbeatable for you
Boxing News was speaking with the 20th century’s last undisputed heavyweight champion and one of the sport’s greatest exponents. So the reporter highlighted how Oleksandr Usyk has established himself as one of the marquee performers of modern boxing and is now the pound-for-pound best. Hence, they wanted to know how the Ukrainian champion would have fared in the bygone era of Lewis. When the British-Canadian champion fought the likes of Riddick Bowe, Evander Holyfield, and of course Mike Tyson.
So if given a choice, Lennox Lewis, who turned 59 on September 2, would prefer to keep Usyk on par with his former adviser Evander Holyfield. Incidentally, their career tracks are also quite similar. Both won medals at the Olympics. Like Holyfield, Oleksandr Usyk first made a name at cruiserweight, becoming an undisputed champion. The conquest of the heavyweight division followed.
However, when it came to a personal one-on-one, ‘The Lion’ appeared certain that he would have an upper hand over the London Olympics gold medalist. How come? “I throw a mean uppercut in there, and I noticed he gets caught with uppercuts, so he wouldn’t have been able to stand up to my uppercuts,” said Lennox Lewis confidently.
Now is that an expose? Not sure, but it’s a point many experts have highlighted before. Now most fans also believe that body shots remain one of the Achilles’ heels of Oleksandr Usyk. Discarding the legalities surrounding the punch, check out how Daniel Dubois dropped him last August.
Warning signs galore
Then take this year’s fight itself. During the ‘Ring of Fire’, the battle started with both Fury and Usyk testing each other, trying to find their rhythm. However, by the fourth round, ‘The Gypsy King’ gradually crawled back into the fight. Focusing on Usyk’s body, he started tipping the scale in his favor. A left uppercut in the fourth round visibly shook the Ukrainian champ, who nonetheless continued. The round witnessed the Mancunian throwing another right uppercut.
The pattern continued. A right on the body saw Usyk staggering. With roughly a minute in the round, Tyson Fury threw a neat left and followed it up with a precise right uppercut as Usyk came closer. The impact had seemingly hurt the Ukrainian champion. Clearly, it forced him and the corner into a rethink. From the seventh round onwards, Usyk started asserting himself, and the ninth-round knockdown, in many ways, sealed Fury’s fate.
Thus, what Lennox Lewis said was not entirely off the mark. Usyk fans must be hoping that their icon is duly taking care of and addressing the glaring vulnerability in his style.
