Lennox Lewis has to be bear the top ten best heavyweights of all time for me. Every man he stepped into the ring with he beat (the losses he had he avenged). A comment he made has come in for a lot of scrutiny, but is he right though?

The comment pertains to a Telegraph Report headline from Lewis that reads:

“I would be heavyweight king if still in the ring today.”

Well, that would imply he’d beat the latest crop that includes Deontay Wilder, Anthony Joshua and Tyson Fury, which, a rational argument could be made for at this point in time.

But comparing past eras is always difficult and Lewis himself has clarified this comment in response to the controversial headline:

Please keep in mind this was a tongue in cheek statement, clearly made in jest, that somehow ended up sounding like a serious headline. I don’t like to compare eras. Ali had his, Holmes had his, I had mine and the new crop has theirs. HW’s get bigger and stronger each era. https://t.co/capcRdvpjB

— Lennox Lewis (@LennoxLewis) August 31, 2018

Ultimately, it’s unfair to compare the above fighters to Lewis at this stage anyway, as they still have quite some time to go until all three of their careers are finished.

Then, and only then, would it be fair to compare – really.