Lennox Lewis reveals shock Oleksandr Usyk retirement opinion

"Retire on top. Like I did"

In 2024, Oleksandr Usyk (24-0, 15 KO’s) crowned himself as the first undisputed heavyweight champion since the reign of Lennox Lewis in the late 90s and early 00s.

Lewis, who dominated the scene with his polished fundamentals and probing jab, retired at the top of the sport, following a hard-fought victory over Vitali Klitschko in 2003. 

Speaking to Sky Sports, the British-Canadian hall of famer feels that Usyk should follow in his footsteps.

“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.

"So I would say to him to retire at your own time, but retire on top. Like I did.”

Reminiscing about the heavyweight scene during the Lewis reign, the 60-year-old admitted that the Ukrainian phenom would have found success even in his era.

"I think he would have fared really good because he's doing something Evander Holyfield did [move up from cruiser successfully]. 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," Lewis said.

Looking at Usyk's achievement, Lewis is the only man who can understand the difficulty and sacrifices that accompany the undisputed accomplishment.

He wasted no time in commending his fellow heavyweight King for what he has accomplished.

"It's definitely the hardest thing to do because you basically want to be the best in boxing and take all the belts for yourself and be the number one guy.

"There's always other boxers out there that don't want you to achieve that. They're standing by, they want to be beat you, they want to be the first boxer to beat you. That's why you've got to make sure that you retire on top.”