JAKARTA Former heavyweight boxer, Lennox Lewis, denounced the fight of former two-time world champion Anthony Joshua, against former UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou.
The duel between Ngannou vs Joshua was officially announced earlier this week. The two fighters will board the ring on March 8, 2024, in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Lewis, the last boxer to win the world title, is undisputed in the heavyweight division, openly through social media X said he was not impressed by the duel.
"Ngannou's fight against Tyson Fury is a show. The fight against Anthony Joshua is also a show. Take off the hat for Ngannou who has taken the best chance possible. He made no mistake. This is just a heavyweight division in 2024," Lewis wrote.
Ngannou previously made his boxing debut in October 2023 against Fury. At that time, he had made Fury fall, but then lost through a separate decision (split decision).
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Lewis assessed that the fight against Ngannou did not add value to Joshua even though he won. On the other hand, if he loses, Joshua's big name will be lost.
"This fight adds zero credibility to Joshua's resume. He should have won this fight. When he wins, what does he get or learn by defeating someone in his second heavyweight game? If he loses, (then) it will be a big disaster. The same thing happened to Fury and it almost cost him everything," he said.
The winner of the Joshua vs Ngannou duel is planned to face the winner of the heavyweight unification of Tyson Fury vs Oleksandr Usyk which will take place on February 17, 2024.
Lewis firmly said that it was a ridiculous plan. He called the winner of the clash between Zhilei Zhang and Joseph Parker more appropriate against Fury or Usyk.
"If AJ beats Ngannou, what he should have done, will it lead him to an undeniable fight? There is a much better case for the winner of Parker vs Zhang. If AJ manages to get past Ngannou, and Usyk wins undisputedly, is there any desire for Usyk vs Joshua in the third volume?" he wrote.
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