“U Don’t Play Boxing”: Lennox Lewis Argues Why Anthony Joshua Outperformed Tyson Fury Against Francis Ngannou

After former unified heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua defeated former UFC champion Francis Ngannou on March 8th, Claressa Shields credited the outcome to boxing’s superiority over MMA as a sport. Why? Well, since in his debut against Tyson Fury, Ngannou had knocked down the former and fought toe-to-toe, several people expected the Cameroonian-French fighter to exceed some of the active boxers in the sport.

However, with his stunning victory over Ngannou, Joshua proved himself to be head and shoulders above ‘The Predator’. In this context, former unified Heavyweight champion Lennox Lewis took to social media and explained why ‘AJ’ outperformed Fury against Ngannou in the ring.

“AJ did what he was supposed to do”: Former Undisputed Champion evaluates ‘Knockout Chaos’

When Tyson Fury faced Francis Ngannou in October last year, ‘The Gypsy King’ weighed the highest in his career at 277¾ lbs. Therefore, several people from the boxing community including the former WBC Cruiserweight champion Tony Bellew accused Fury of not taking Ngannou seriously. Likewise, they believed Ngannou knocked the WBC Heavyweight champion in only his debut match and went the distance of twelve rounds. Lennox Lewis is not in defiance of those who feel Fury took Ngannou a little too lightly.

Taking to X, Lewis wrote, “As I’ve always said, it’s all about the pedigree.” In his opinion, Anthony Joshua “exposed the difference pedigree and experience make” in his fight against Ngannou. However, Fury “took Ngannou lightly and almost paid for it.” “AJ did not!” exclaimed Lennox Lewis. In addition, in a follow-up, Lennox Lewis claimed the boxing fraternity owed Joshua “gratitude” as he reasserted that “u don’t play boxing.”

Soon, in this context, Lennox Lewis referred to Anthony Joshua vs. Vladimir Klitschko fight and compared it to Fury’s performance against the latter.

Past dredged up to compare Fury and AJ!

According to Lennox Lewis, Vladimir Klitschko was “the consummate athlete” as he never took an opponent lightly in his career. In Lewis’ opinion, since Klitschko was not used to fighting an opponent “as mobile and big as Fury,” he lost to ‘The Gypsy King’ in 2015. However, Lewis believes Anthony Joshua vs. Klitschko was “an incredible fight” as the boxers were of the same height and possessed the same reach in the ring.

Read More – Doctor Explains Francis Ngannou Was ‘Already Concussed’ Before Anthony Joshua Knocked Him Out

“AJ’s win over Klitschko was a great victory in an incredible fight,” said Lewis. If proved wrong, he even promised to “send u an autographed glove.” With that said, what do you have to say about Lewis’ evaluation of Joshua vs. Ngannou? Do you think unlike Fury, Joshua took Ngannou seriously in the ring? Let us know in the comments below.

Also Read – Anthony Joshua Reveals Lesson Learned From Francis Ngannou Fight