EXCLUSIVE
undisputed
Lennox Lewis loves watching ‘special’ Tyson Fury fight and hopes he doesn’t retire – but former heavyweight champion is also impressed by Dillian Whyte who is getting better all the time
Lennox Lewis spoke glowingly about Tyson Fury and Dillian Whyte as the two British heavyweights prepare for their blockbuster fight.
Fury will put his WBC heavyweight title on the line against Whyte - who has earned his position as the number one challenger in the main event at Wembley on Saturday.
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Lewis is the last man to be undisputed heavyweight champion of the world and his illustrious career in the ring saw him take on and beat the best like Mike Tyson, Evander Holyfield and Vitali Klitschko.
But Fury is unlikely to join the 56-year-old in that historic achievement as he plans to retire after facing Whyte in front of 94,000 people at Wembley.
On the Gypsy King’s retirement plans, Lewis told talkSPORT: “I have to believe it. He may want another fight. He may want [Oleksandr] Usyk or [Anthony] Joshua, but right now he’s saying that.”
He continued: “It would be a shame [if Fury retired]. I love when Tyson Fury fights and I’ve actually commentated on a lot of his fights.
“I love the fact he can give you a great fight and can come out and sing for you after, that shows he’s still got his faculties.”
Lewis finished with a career record of 41-2-1 and knows a thing or two about what it takes to be a great champion.
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He gave Fury huge praise for his boxing IQ and explained why he is so tough to face.
Lewis said: “Tyson Fury can box orthodox, he can box southpaw, moves well and is also big and tall. That makes it difficult for a lot of boxers out there to get at him because of the size.
“How many times have you boxed against a 6ft 9in guy? Not too many. How many sparring partners can you get that are 6ft 9in? Not too many.
“He’s special.”
He added: “Very difficult [to get away from Fury’s jab] as he can jab with the right or the left. It really depends on how he feels about it.
“He’s very smart as a boxer. His ring IQ is very good and as far as inside fighting, it’s very good too. He can get inside you and put his weight on you and box on the inside.”
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It wasn’t just Fury that Lewis has been impressed by, he also spoke highly of Whyte and how he came back from his knockout by Alexander Povetkin.
He said: “Dillian Whyte has come a long way. I’ve seen his improvement all the way, even with the Povetkin fight. He got knocked out and came back and knocked Povetkin out.
“That shows his dedication, focus and he wants to be a champion.”
He continued: “Dillian as a fighter is a much improved fighter. He’s come a long way. He’s realised that if he does hard work, the results are his victory.
“In the Povetkin fight, he realised his mistakes and went back to training camp, fixed the mistakes, and knocked out Povetkin.
“That shows me that the man is really thinking and he’s climbing the stairs and getting better as he’s going along.”
talkSPORT will bring you live coverage of the huge heavyweight world title fight between Tyson Fury and Dillian Whyte at Wembley on Saturday night, with our coverage starting from 7.30pm and featuring expert ringside analysis from Ben Davison
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