As this generation of top heavyweights, including Anthony Joshua, Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk, look set to put the final touches on careers in the coming years, some talk has turned to how the group stack up against the greats of the past.

2024 has now seen an undisputed champion in the division for the first time in 25 years. Usyk finally took the mantle from Lennox Lewis as the last sole heavyweight king, having beaten Joshua and Fury to get there.

A rematch with ‘The Gypsy King’ beckons and then ‘AJ’ is angling for a third fight between the pair with a newfound confidence and swagger under trainer Ben Davison.

The three men – alongside former long-reigning WBC champ Deontay Wilder – are the defining big men of this era, but how would they fare in years gone by?

Taking part in a game of heavyweight ‘winner stays on’ with Mail Sport, Lewis backed his former opponent Mike Tyson to beat Anthony Joshua with little doubt.

Tyson is recognised as one of the most fearsome fighters to ever lace up the gloves, often beating opponents mentally before they made their ring walk. He called time on a career in which he was undisputed heavyweight champion back in 2005, but has controversially signed to take on Jake Paul this year in a pro bout with specific rules – a fight Joshua predicts he will lose due to the 30 year age gap.

‘AJ’ has heaped praised ‘Iron Mike’ in the past and said the now 57-year-old had a big impact on his career as a young fighter. His relationship with Lewis has been more prickly, with a few cross-generational digs over the years.