Lennox Lewis says Tyson Fury is the most difficult to beat of the current crop of heavyweights

Former undisputed heavyweight champion Lennox “The Lion” Lewis 41-2-1 (32) has opened up about his view of the state of the heavyweight division on the eve of Tyson Fury’s second comeback fight after two-and-a-half years in exile.

Asked for his view on IBF, WBA and WBO champion Anthony Joshua, WBC champion Deontay Wilder and lineal champion Fury, Lewis played a straight bat to start with before nominating the boxer he thinks will reign supreme if the three were to fight each other.

“They are all very good in their different ways. Which is why I want to see them all fight each other the way we did in the last golden age for heavyweights. It would be fascinating to see which way it shakes out,” Lewis was quoted as saying in the Daily Mail this week.

“Anthony has a terrific right hand which makes him dangerous. Deontay has an even bigger right which completely concusses anyone if he connects and he is also faster on his feet.

“Tyson is perhaps the most difficult to beat. He is remarkably mobile and athletic for a man 6ft 9in tall and has that very long reach to go with it. His evasive style makes him very awkward to get to.”

So would he have had any trouble defeating any of the current ‘big three’?

“I would have boxed each one differently,” said the self-described ‘pugilist specialist’.

The ex-WBC, WBA and IBF heavyweight champion made the comments he revealed that the long-awaited rematch with his last opponent Vitali Klitschko, who he stopped on cuts after six competitive rounds at Los Angeles’ Staples Center 15 years ago, would take place over a chess board rather than with the gloves on.

The pair will meet at the WBC 56th Annual Convention in the Ukrainian capital of Kiev – where Klitschko, 47, is the mayor – in the first week of October.

“We are going to play a chess match inside a boxing ring,” clarified Lewis, 52. “We are too old now to be pulling on the gloves again.”