Lennox Lewis believes boxing has a place for fights that are purely for entertainment purposes.
Jake Paul and Mike Tyson recently drew 60 million people to Netflix for their November 15 clash.
Unsurprisingly, the 27-year-old internet celebrity, who is more than three decades younger than “Iron Mike,” walked away with a unanimous decision victory, leaving some fans feeling shortchanged.
Now, former undisputed heavyweight champion Lennox Lewis has commented on the matchup.
Photo by Richard Pelham/Getty Images
Lennox Lewis talks new fights versus real boxing
Lennox Lewis believes fights like Paul vs. Tyson do nothing to damage boxing's reputation.
The 59-year-old insists they can coexist with serious world title fights.
Lewis used the upcoming three-belt rematch between Oleksandr Usyk and Tyson Fury, which will take place in Saudi Arabia on December 21, to make his point.
“To me you are talking about different events,” he told The Mirror.
“You're talking about an event where Tyso fans can actually see him in the ring again, and YouTuber fans can actually see him in the ring with Tyson.
“In the end you have a big event that many people enjoyed attending and felt good about. The boxing purists didn't feel okay, they felt it wasn't the right thing to do. They were two different events.”
“Then you have the real event: the Undisputed Heavyweight Championship of the World, where the two best fighters in the world actually meet and box and we can see who is the better of the two, and who is the king. of heavyweight boxing right now.
“That kind of boxing doesn't take away from great boxing like Usyk and Fury because you have two different types of eras and there are things going on. You have entertainment and you can fight drama very well.
Lennox Lewis offered a bizarre comeback fight
Lennox Lewis has not fought professionally since beating Vitali Klitschko in July 2003.
Amid the rise of crossover boxing, 'The Lion' flirted with the idea of returning to the ring.
Now he gets the chance to avenge Mike Tyson by taking on Jake Paul in a bizarre tag team match.
“Since we are in this age of social media, the age of influencer boxing, big names are organizing big events. What bigger names are there than Roy Jones and Jake Paul?” Roy Jones Jr. said.
“I would definitely do that (do a tag team match against Jake Paul and Logan Paul). That idea seems great to me. I would probably choose Lennox Lewis as my partner. Lennox is a big heavyweight and both brothers are big heavyweights.
“Lennox was a heavyweight champion, and I was a heavyweight champion. But I've never been a real heavyweight. So if I'm going to fight two heavyweights, why not give me a heavyweight too?” Jones Jr offered.
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