Lennox Lewis has admitted he’s worried that talk of a potential fight with Anthony Joshua could be a ‘bad distraction’ for Tyson Fury as he prepares to face Oleksandr Usyk for a second time.
The two men are poised to face each other on December 21, seven months after their initial clash in May.
Fury had gone into his showdown with Usyk hoping to preserve his unbeaten record in professional boxing.
However, the 36-year-old was outclassed by his rival – with Usyk winning via split decision to take all of the belts on offer.
Boxing news: Lennox Lewis has admitted he’s worried that talk of a potential fight with Anthony Joshua could be a ‘bad distraction’ for Tyson Fury as he prepares to face Oleksandr Usyk for a second time
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Fast-forward to now, and speculation surrounding a potential fight between Fury and Joshua continues to rumble on.
For years, rumours of a lucrative bout have persisted. And while Joshua’s stock has fallen in the wake of his defeat to Daniel Dubois in September, there remains a big desire to make a clash happen.
Yet Lewis, speaking to The Sun, fears that Joshua could represent a ‘bad distraction’ for Fury as he looks to conquer Usyk second time around.
He said: “I think it is a bad distraction to have in your head.
Many have been quick to write off Fury given how he struggled against Usyk first time out.
Yet Lewis feels there’s still a possibility the Briton will reign supreme.
And the former boxing star believes that, if Fury does beat Usyk, then the two men must negotiate for a third contest.
“If it gets to 1-1 then there has to be the trilogy,” he continued.
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“You need the third one as the decider.
“Tyson Fury loves the trilogy aspect, he lost the first so he will want to win the second one and, if he wins, he will want the third one.
“It doesn’t matter that one of the belts has been taken away, this is still the undisputed fight for most people.
“These are the two top guys and even though all the belts are not there, the public opinion will be that the winner is the undisputed champion of the world.”
Boxing news: Tyson Fury will be hoping to beat Oleksandr Usyk in their rematch next weekend
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On what his advice to Fury would be, Lewis added: “Use your skill, use your gifts and don’t fool around.
“Be so serious that you just seek and destroy. Winning is all that you need to do, winning is what you must do.”
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