Oleksandr Usyk’s Moment With Lennox Lewis Takes a Dramatic Turn as Boxing World Debates Over Fantasy Match-Up

Mike Tyson vs. Roy Jones Jr., two different generations coming together to give fans their dream fight. While everyone enjoyed watching them duke it out inside the squared circle, their fight ignited a spiral of debates over fantasy match-ups in the boxing world. Recently, a social media post from Oleksandr Usyk had a similar effect—with Lennox Lewis becoming part of the debate.

Usyk, the former undisputed heavyweight champion of the modern era, vs. Lewis, the last undisputed heavyweight champion from the 3-belt era, is a dream fight anyone would pay to watch. While the fantasy match-up remains impossible, hardcore boxing fans can’t help but argue about who would win if they ever fought in their prime.

Oleksandr Usyk and Lennox Lewis link up

Oleksandr Usyk is in a grueling training camp for his rematch with Tyson Fury on December 21, 2024. While the Ukrainian boxer vows to continue his undefeated streak, the British star eyes to avenge his only loss. Slated to meet at the Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, both fighters will leave no stone unturned to settle the debate: Who is the best heavyweight of modern-era boxing?

Meanwhile, to everyone’s surprise, boxing legend Lennox Lewis joined Usyk during his training camp. The reigning champion wasted no time posting a photo of them together on his Instagram profile. Emphasizing their legacy, he captioned the image, “Union of two Undisputed: huge respect bridging two heavyweight generations.”

The post quickly gained momentum on social media, fetching over 50,000 likes at the time of writing. But that’s not the only thing it did. As aforementioned, akin to the Tyson vs. Jones fight, Usyk’s post ignited a debate—with fans making their pick in a dream fight between the Ukrainian boxer and Lennox Lewis.

Fans predict prime Usyk vs. prime Lewis fight outcome

Fans held no punches back while predicting prime Oleksandr Usyk vs. prime Lennox Lewis fantasy match-up. Some even went on to compare physical attributes. One fan expressed his frustration, stating: “Mad when people say Lewis would be far too big,“ contradicting popular opinion of Lewis being bigger compared to Usyk.

Much to everyone’s astonishment, even boxing legend Antonio Tarver weighed in his two cents on the same topic. “Lennox Don’t Look As Tall As He Use To Be… I Know Me & Usyk seeing eye to eye… and I’m looking up at Lennox,“ cited Tarver, pointing out from his own experience standing beside the two. Notably, Lewis stands tall at 6′ 5″ with 84″ reach, while Usyk’s height is 6′ 3″ and has a reach of 78″—which is visibly not evident in the recent photo shared by the Ukrainian boxer.

Nonetheless, another fan used the size argument to make their pick, stating, “Now I believe Usyk can beat Lewis in his prime there’s not too much difference between them here.“ Just excited to witness two legends together, one fan wrote, “My dream fight is these two, 2000 Lewis vs 2024 Usyk,“ but couldn’t pick one winner between his two favorite boxers.

Mike Tyson, Evander Holyfield, and the list goes on when it comes to counting some of Lewis’ historic wins. However, his victory over Vitali Klitschko has a special place in some fans’ hearts. “The last guy to beat one of the great heavyweight [Vitali] Klitschko,” an Instagram user wrote, pointing out why that particular win remains special.

Who do you think will win if a prime Lennox Lewis fights a prime Oleksandr Usyk?