BY GABRIEL PRINCEWILL
British heavyweight challenger, Tyson Fury, has sparked a distasteful disagreement with former World heavyweight champion, Lennox Lewis by describing him as an old has been who is jealous of other fighters who are active. The unwarranted comments emerged after Fury’s father stated that a 27 year old Lewis would have beaten Wladimir Klitschko because Lewis would have been very hard to beat. John Fury added to his comments, ”even though he hates us, I don’t know why he hates us”.
Tyson Fury, who faces Wladimir Klitschko on October 24th in Germany, then responded ”tell you why he hates us. Because he’s a has been, he’s old, and he envies other fighters who are active. Has been a fighter, has been a champion, has been in the public eye, has been successful”.
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Lewis- an Olympic gold medal for Canada in Seoul in 1988, and an undisputed world heavyweight champion between 1999 and 2004 professional boxing, was quick to hit back via social media, responded :”Jealous of what? Olympic goal medal. British champ. Commonwealth champ. World champion. Undisputed champ. Hall of fame.”
Lewis proceeded to upload a video of a Fury interview from the past tagged ‘How quickly we forget #Reminder’ in which the 6’9″ challenger said: “I aim to be like Lennox Lewis. He’s my newest boxing hero in heavyweight boxing. Since Lennox Lewis, there’s been nobody has there? All his fights, he got better every time and when he got beat he came back and defeated the guy.”
Those quotes from Fury which Lewis uploaded makes Fury appear like a man of double standards and raises the more important question as to why he can be so scathing of Lennox Lewis who achieved what Fury is yet to achieve. In fact,Lewis unquestionably faced sterner opposition in his meteoric rise to world championship glory, beating the best in a time when the division was immersed in talent and potency, in marked contrast to today’s relatively contenders of mediocre caliber who have collectively weakened the appeal of the sport’s once flowery premiere division.
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The opponents on Lewis’s resume speak for itself, Tony Tucker, Andrew Golotta, Evander Holyfield, hannon Briggs(in his prime), Mike Tyson, Frank Bruno(Bruno was better than many of today’s heavyweight) Vitali Klitschko, to name a few. Even Michael Grant whose name I excluded from that list would have given Fury a run for his money today, and was unbeaten in 31 fights before Lewis’s second round demolition was the beginning of deteriorating career for the 6ft 7 1/2 muscular American. Grant actually hurt Lewis in the opening round of Lewis’s first defense, compelling Lewis to dig deep before flawing his rival a number of times in that round and then crushing him in the next. An ambassador for the sport, Lewis has always been the perfect gentleman, complementing his safety first approach in the ring with ‘fire for fire’ whenever the situation demanded.
His last fight with Vitali Klitscho in 2004 was an absolute cracker that pitted two giants of 6 ft 7 1/2 v 6ft 5 1/2, both of whom through bombs for the entire duration of six breathtaking rounds before the Klitschko was stopped on cuts. The level of adversity facing Lewis in that fight was evident in the fact he was losing marginally on points at the time of the stoppage, but the power and enormity of his shots meant the doctor deemed it to dangerous to allow the fight to continue. Vitali was incredibly durable and tenacious to still be on his feet, but such was the level of competitiveness in this world title fight that captured the imagination and interest of all who watched it.
Fury will be in similar shoes when he faces Wladimir Klitschko this October. Two giants of relatively comparable size and ability will clash for the most coveted prize in boxing and Fury who will be the underdog will need to show tremendous heart and spirit to pull off the upset. Klitschko at 39 looks in decline but still with the experience, athleticism and power to be considered the favorite for this showdown. Fury is yet to come into a havyweight fight looking in optimum shape, and he will be expected to do so for this highly anticipated encounter. His father says he will be in the best shape of his life.We shall see.
Yet, Fury is big and experienced enough to shock him. Besides the obvious disparity in experience and power, there is no reason to think there to be a golf in class between the reigning champion and a young Tyson Fury at 25. There will be no excuses for a dismal performance from Fury, and with all the talk and insults directed at both Klitschko and Lennox Lewis, the lest Fury can do is ensure he pulls off the upset.
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