Lennox Lewis sees Oleksandr Usyk as a worthy successor as the “great” heavyweight world champion.
Usyk became the first undisputed world heavyweight champion since Lewis, who won his first fight against Tyson Fury in 2024.
The Ukrainian remained undefeated, with two wins over Fury, two wins over Anthony Joshua, and two wins over Daniel Dubois, establishing himself as the best heavyweight at the time.
Lewis sees Usyk in the camp and recognizes him as a suitable successor. “Yes, Oleksandr Usyk is a great champion and a great human being. He trains hard,” Lewis told Sky Sports.
“He did everything. He made sacrifices. He has a wonderful family and he deserves flowers.”
Usyk is entering the final stages of his career as box kickboxing star Rico Verhoeven takes on an unusual WBC title fight in Egypt. But for champions, especially heavyweight champions, it’s hard to stay retired.
Use Chrome Browser for a more accessible video player
Back in 2000, Lennox Lewis won his homecoming match in spectacular fashion by sending Frans Botha over the ropes with a brutal combination.
Fury, in particular, has been in and out of retirement multiple times.
Lewis, one of the greats in the sport, accomplished everything there was to do in the sport. But even for him, a comeback was difficult to resist.
“Many times I wanted to jump back into the ring, but my focus and discipline kept me there,” Lewis said.
“Let me tell you it was tough. I wanted to retire and say I would never come back, but it was tough being away from the ring. HBO gave me a job as a commentator, but I was back in front of boxing and trying to get away from boxing.”
“I said I’ve done everything, I don’t have to prove anything anymore. So I walked away from boxing.”
Use Chrome Browser for a more accessible video player
Dive into the most explosive boxing showdowns caught on camera, including Chris Eubank Jr. vs. Conor Benn, Lennox Lewis vs. Mike Tyson, and more!
He achieved a strong result by defeating future heavyweight champion Vitali Klitschko in a hard-fought battle.
“My trainer Emmanuel (Steward) said, ‘Listen, you can win this fight now and in the future,’ and I said, ‘Well, I’ll take it.’ It wasn’t a very good fight, but I still won,” he said.
Lewis will undoubtedly be happy to have become the best heavyweight of his era. “That was my goal. Ever since I started boxing, I wanted to be the best heavyweight,” he said.
“I wanted to be like Muhammad Ali and rise to the top and win all the honors, whether it was Europe, England, this, that.”
