Heavyweight great Lennox Lewis isn’t too happy with Anthony Joshua’s upcoming shindig with Francis Ngannou.
It was formally announced earlier this week that London’s Joshua will be taking on the former UFC champion and boxing novice in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on March 8.
The “crossover” event follows on the heels of Ngannou’s highly publicized boxing debut in October, when the Cameroonian shocked the sporting world with a better-than-expected performance against WBC titlist Tyson Fury. Ngannou dropped England’s Fury early on in their 10-round bout en route to a razor close split decision loss. Legions of viewers insisted that Ngannou, who had never boxed professionally until that fight, deserved to win.
But not everyone has been impressed by boxing’s slide into what some critics call circus fights.
Lewis, the last heavyweight to achieve undisputed status in the division, recently lambasted the matchup between Joshua and Ngannou on his social media.
“Ngannou’s fight @Tyson Fury was a spectacle,” Lewis wrote in a post on X. “The fight with AJ is also a spectacle. Hats off to Ngannou for making the most of his opportunities. He’s done nothing wrong. This is just the HW division in the year 2024.”
“[In my opinion], this fight adds ZERO credibility to AJ’s resume,” Lewis added. “He’s supposed to win this fight and when he does, what does he gain or learn by beating someone in his second HW fight? If he loses, [then] it’s an absolute disaster. The same stood for Fury and it almost cost him everything. [face palm emoji].”
Lewis has leveled criticism at Joshua in the past, which has prompted accusations that he is an indiscriminate “hater” of the former heavyweight titlist. Lewis responded to that claim by saying that he only became critical of Joshua after he and his promoter, Eddie Hearn, failed to do his part to make a fight with Deontay Wilder years ago when both were still champions.
“Get off the Eddie Hearn narrative and open your eyes,” Lewis wrote in a post. “I only became a ‘hater’ after I criticized them for not making the Wilder fight for UNDISPUTED when they had the chance.”
Lewis then proposed that the winner of Joshua and Ngannou does not deserve to face the winner of the upcoming undisputed heavyweight championship between Fury and Oleksandr Usyk on Feb. 17 in Riyadh. Lewis said the winner of the heavyweight match between China’s Zhilei Zhang and New Zealand’s Joseph Parker would be more deserving of that opportunity. Zhang vs. Parker is scheduled as part of the Joshua Vs. Ngannou undercard. Both fighters are coming off highly lauded performances, Zhang a brutal knockout of Joe Joyce and Parker a dominant decision over Wilder.
“Ok @EddieHearn I know this is the promoter in you speaking, so I’ll break it down like the boxing fan I am,” Lewis wrote. ‘If AJ beats Ngannou, which he should, does that elevate him to a shot at undisputed? Beating Wallin & Ngannou? There’s a much better case for the winner of #ParkerZhang. And if AJ gets through Ngannou, and Usyk wins undisputed, is the appetite for #usykJoshua3 out there?”
“If Fury becomes undisputed, the man says he’s vacating all belts but the WBC and ring so Fury in effect becomes last undisputed until someone else can Thanos them back together. I still want to see AJ fight Fury and Wilder… those are big fights.”
Hearn, for his part, mostly refused to engage with Lewis.
“Break down whatever you want,” Hearn responded. “His Excellency confirmed the plan. Winner of #JoshuaNgannou v winner of #FuryUsyk. The dream has always been Undisputed and we are one win away from challenging for it. No problem with you preferring Parker or Zhang getting a shot at Undisputed over AJ.”
Sean Nam is the author of Murder on Federal Street: Tyrone Everett, the Black Mafia, and the Last Golden Age of Philadelphia Boxing.
By Sean Nam