A lot of observers believe former heavyweight world champions Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua could have held their own in any era – though Simon Jordan isn’t so sure.
Joshua and Fury have both suffered recent high-profile defeats to Oleksandr Usyk, and Jordan believes this is evidence they might not be of the caliber many pundits once thought.
‘AJ’ was on the wrong end of back-to-back losses to Usyk in 2021 and 2022, whilst ‘The Gypsy King’ was relieved of his world title by the Ukrainian in their undisputed clash earlier this year.
And speaking on talkSPORT, Jordan admitted these defeats had led him to have a rethink on his view on the two Brits.
“Can I ask you boys a question about this idea that we’ve got these generational heavyweights?
“We talk about Oleksandr Usyk, and we’ve seen cruiserweights step up [to heavyweight] before in Evander Holyfield and to a lesser degree David Haye.
“We’ve talked about Anthony Joshua and Tyson Fury as being great, great fighters.
“Is there a question to be asked and answered that they’re not as good as we think they are?
“Because I think if Oleksandr Usyk stepped up against Lennox Lewis, then Lennox Lewis would have rag dolled him.
“And I look at this generation of heavyweights and say, ‘Are they as good as we’ve made them out to be?’ I say, ‘Are Anthony Joshua and Tyson Fury as good as we made them out to be?’
“Because Oleksandr Usyk can step up – despite his great footwork, despite the angles that he makes, despite the boxing IQ – and do the damage that he’s done to these so-called invincible or significant heavyweights.”
Joshua attempts to become a three-time heavyweight world champion on September 21st when he takes on IBF champion Daniel Dubois, with victory potentially paving the way for a trilogy bout with Usyk.
Fury will have plenty to say about that however – he rematches the Ukrainian on December 21st and will likely be Joshua’s next opponent if he manages to reverse the result.
