LENNOX LEWIS has anointed Tyson Fury his heavyweight heir and pleaded for him and Oleksandr Usyk to decide the undisputed king.
The 57-year-old legend was the last man to unquestionably dominate the blue-riband division, when he held the WBC, IBF and WBA belts in 1999 - before the WBO was recognised as a major sanctioning body.
No heavyweight has dominated the four-belt era but the undefeated 34-year-old Gypsy King has held all four of the belts in two separate runs.
The 6ft 9in switch-hitter won the WBA, IBF and WBO belts when he dethroned Wladimir Klitschko in 2015.
And - after a doping ban and mental health battle sidelined him for two-and-half years - he returned to win the WBC belt from Deontay Wilder in 2020.
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And Lewis reckons Fury’s freakish frame, ambidexterity and respect for the icons who came before him, make the Gypsy King the perfect prince to battle Usyk and decide a new monarch.
The 1988 Olympic gold winner told Laureus.com: “The crop of heavyweights that we have now, we've got Tyson Fury at the top, a great heavyweight for this era.
“He's southpaw and orthodox, he boxes both ways. He loves Muhammad Ali, like me.
“And he was able to draw energy from me, Muhammad Ali, and the fighters that he loves and put them on himself.
“So, when you talk about eras, he's definitely the top man in this era.
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"And if you talk about the last era, you're only talking about me, Evander Holyfield and Mike Tyson.”
Lewis and fellow Londoner Anthony Joshua sadly have no relationship and avoid addressing each other publicly after a couple of spats.
The dreadlocked diplomat does not mention AJ by name but he does confirm that there are three elite men in the division now and hopefully he has the Watford icon in mind.
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But what he really wants is Fury and Usyk to finally meet to designate a clear No1.
“This era's definitely got three top guys,” he said
“The two guys that I want to see right now would probably be Tyson Fury and Usyk. That would be a great fight.
“Plus, I believe they have to meet me because I'm the last undisputed heavyweight champion of the world right now.
“So, in order for one of those guys to have my crown, they have to fight.”
