Former heavyweight king Lennox Lewis is today safe in the knowledge that he exited the sport on his terms, on top, as champ. Lewis managed to avoid the fate so many of the great ones fall victim to, this when they stuck around too long and consequently took a beating and left the sport with a defeat or defeats on their record.
Now, Lewis has urged current heavyweight ruler, and future Hall of Famer, Oleksandr Usyk to “do what I did,” and that’s retire while he’s still on top, before he has fallen victim to Father Time. Lewis, speaking with Sky Sports, pointed out that, the longer Usyk does continue fighting, the more guys there will be who are determined to become the first to beat him.
Why Lennox Thinks Timing Is Everything
Retiring at the right time is crucial, Lennox says.
“When a guy retires, it’s really down to him. He’s got to feel that push that he wants to retire; but he can teach a lot of young boxers a lot of different things: dedication, hard work, sacrifice, because he’s been through that,” Lewis said. “So I would say for him to retire at your own time, but retire in top. Like I did. I think he would have fared really good [in my era] because he’s doing something Evander Holyfield did [move up from cruiserweight to become heavyweight champion also]. In this era he’s beaten all the big guys and all the guys that were in front of him. So he’s done a great job.”
Will Usyk Follow The Rare Path Of Retiring Undefeated?
Nobody disagrees with Lewis when he says Usyk has done a good job, a great job; the question now is, does Usyk, at age 38 (coincidentally the age Lewis was when he made the decision to hang up the gloves) feel “that push” to want to retire? It’s so tough, for all fighters, deciding they want to retire – especially when they are still on top of their game the way Usyk is.
Usyk has spoken of having one, maybe two more fights, before walking away. Can Usyk do what only one heavyweight king did before him, and that’s retire with a perfect, unbeaten record? Rocky Marciano went out at a legendary 49-0. Maybe Usyk will go out at a pristine 25-0, or 26-0.
