A recent debate regarding the greatest British heavyweight ever pitted Lennox Lewis and Tyson Fury in the same bracket.
But former Lewis opponent Frank Bruno has sided with the man who stopped him in a 1993 WBC heavyweight title clash.
In the fight, Lewis was not a massive favorite to win. Still, he managed to stop Bruno in seven rounds.
LENNOX LEWIS
‘The Pugilist Specialist’ then became the first undisputed four-belt champion from the United Kingdom.
Despite the achievements of Lewis, Fury still gets put in the same bracket as a potential candidate for the best UK heavyweight ever.
Agreeing with many boxing insiders, Bruno went a little further than most who would say the legacy of Lewis far out-weighs that of Fury.
You only have to look at the opponent list of both men to know who can boast the honor.
Speaking to DAZN, Bruno said: [Tyson Fury] “knows deep down in his heart if he was around in my day, they’d [Lewis, Mike Tyson, Evander Holyfield and others would] eat him for dinner.
“I’m not going to sit here and disrespect him. But we’re talking about a different era. He’s living on a different cloud from what I was on.
“He’s number one. He deserves to be number one. I’ve got a lot of respect for him,” he added.
LEGACY
Fury doesn’t have any chance of enhancing his standing in the equation in his next bout. ‘The Gypsy King’ has a mandatory with Dillian Whyte to contend with if he wants to get to Oleksandr Usyk or Anthony Joshua.
Fights against Usyk or Joshua can add a bit more shine to what can only be a limited tenure at the top due to this era of heavyweights.
Gone are the times when several future Hall of Famers could pit their wits against each other.
Fury, Deontay Wilder, AJ, and possibly Usyk are the only four since Wladimir Klitschko with any claim to being on an induction list down the line.
Joshua, who has lost twice in recent years, could add weight to his claims. That’s if he can dethrone Usyk in a rematch later this year.
As for Fury over Lewis, the debate will undoubtedly rumble on due to the lack of high-caliber options available to the current number one and lineal champ.
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