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Former world heavyweight champion Lennox Lewis says he can see WBC heavyweight champion Tyson Fury 31-0-1 (22) gunning for an early knockout when he takes on mandatory challenger Dillian Whyte 28-2 (19) at Wembley Stadium in London, England on Saturday night.
Lewis, 56, fought the best names on his generation and unified the WBC, IBF and WBA heavyweight titles when he defeated Evander Holyfield in 1999. He retired in 2003 after defeating Mike Tyson and Vitali Klitschko in back-to-back fights with a record of 41-2-1 (32). He avenged his two losses and the draw.
The 33-year-old Fury has developed from boxer to puncher since joining the Kronk gym in Detroit under the tuteledge of new coach SugarHill Steward, the nephew of the late great trainer Emanuel Steward. The change in style has seen him twice knockout former world champion Deontay Wilder 42-2-1 (41) in back-to-back fight.
Lewis is expecting Fury to employ this new style against the 34-year-old Whyte.
“I think it’s going to be difficult for Dillian Whyte in the first few rounds just to adjust and I think in the middle rounds he’ll adjust a little better and it’ll be a great fight up until then,” Lewis told iFL TV.
“I think Tyson’s got a lot more bag of tricks that he may come out with.
“I don’t really know how Tyson’s going to come out.
“I’m going to guess and think he’s going to come straight at him and be right there in the pocket and box him and maybe try and knock him out.
“Because he realises he’s got knockout power now, so he may try and knock out Dillian Whyte.”
Lewis also says he can see both boxers hitting the canvas. Fury was down four times in his trilogy series against Wilder but got up off the canvas each time.
“Oh yeah, there’s always that possibility,” Lewis said. “That’s what I love about heavyweight fighting and boxing, you never know what kind of drama is going to happen, and there’s always drama at a fight.
“Looking forward to it!”
At 6-foot-9 Fury will have a five-inch height advantage of Whyte. That physical discrepancy is why Lewis sees the fight being difficult for Whyte in the early going.
“Dillian Whyte has been taking a steady climb to the top and he has reached the top right now,” Whyte told BT Sport.
“Is there more room for improvement? Yeah, he is going to be boxing a better guy in an important fight. All of a sudden you do improve, you become better.
“The fact that he has isolated himself and stayed away from everything, that shows me he’s got true focus, he’s focusing on this fight.
“So we’re in for a surprise.
“I think he might find it pretty sticky in the first couple of rounds because he’s got to get used to Tyson Fury’s size, I call it his jig, and he’s got to get used to all of that because he hasn’t boxed him for ten years when they used to spar.
“So that’s going to be interesting to see the first couple of rounds.”
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