Anthony Joshua has seen the very best of Oleksandr Usyk so has a good idea of how he might have fared against Lennox Lewis.
Joshua came up against Usyk twice, the first time in 2021 at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium and a second time the following year at Wembley.
Going into those fights he was a unified belt holder with wins against the likes of Kubrat Pulev, Carlos Takam, and Wladimir Klitschko, and a revenge rematch victory over Andy Ruiz Jr.
As such he was in a good run of form, but that came to an end after 12 tight rounds with the Ukrainian who managed to stay away from Joshua’s biggest shots and land plenty of his own punches to take away a points win.
The rematch went the same way and again left Joshua frustrated and without any of his world title belts. Usyk has since twice beaten Tyson Fury to cement his status as the very best of the current era.
The last time one man was as dominant in the division was Lewis back at the turn of the millennium when he became the undisputed champion.
In a round of winner stays on with Mail Sport Boxing, ‘AJ’ was asked who would come out on top if Usyk and Lewis fought but he couldn’t decide.
“50-50.”
He was then forced for an answer.
“Oleksandr Usyk.”
Usyk doesn’t currently have a fight scheduled but many hope he might take on the winner of the fight between Joseph Parker and Daniel Dubois in a second undisputed contest.
Joshua, meanwhile, was hoping to fight Fury in what would be a career-defining fight, but Fury has since announced his retirement.
