A poll launched (now removed without trace, for obvious reasons) by the folks at Sky Sports News, that asks the simply ridiculous question: Is Anthony Joshua Britain’s greatest ever heavyweight – has been derided by many people; including heavyweight great Lennox Lewis.
It’s a sign of the times that Joshua, a good fighter who still has many years ahead of him, is even having such a question asked of him at this, still very early stage in his career. Yes Joshua has that excellent win over a 41 year old Wladimir Klitschko, but does this, along with his current achievements, make such a question a valid one? Not a chance.
“Things like this make me wonder who’s running @SkySportsNews these days. AJ is good but is this really what’s on their minds over there,” Lewis tweeted upon seeing the online poll.
Practically every fight fan who has seen the poll and felt the urge to leave a comment, has left a comment that is very critical of the question. Fans agree that AJ, still just 19-0(19) at pro level, is a very good fighter, one with a promising future, but that to even suggest he might be the best big man British boxing has ever produced is way off mark, not to mention wholly premature.
Is Joshua even the best current heavyweight hailing from Britain, one fan asked – would AJ beat a fully fit Tyson Fury? Fury of course also beat Klitschko, and he didn’t have to get off the floor from a heavy knockdown to do so, yet was the question that has been asked about Joshua asked about Fury? No, it wasn’t.
And as to whether or not Joshua’s current achievements come anywhere near close to even matching those of Lewis, well, such a notion is utterly ridiculous. Lewis, by far the finest British heavyweight in history – a three-time ruler, with wins over fellow greats such as Evander Holyfield, Mike Tyson and Vitali Klitschko – is totally right to be dumbfounded by the question the folks at Sky Sports News have asked.
Really, with as knowledgable a head of boxing as Sky Sports has in Adam Smith, this ludicrous online poll should never have materialised in the first place. Come back in around five years, and then ask the same question about Joshua.
