By Edward Chaykovsky
They were on friendly terms, but only for a short while. Tyson Fury and Lennox Lewis had exchanged words in the past, but the hatchet appeared to be buried last month. Fury and Lewis went to dinner together in Dusseldorf - prior to Fury's shattering decision win over Wladimir Klitschko to capture the WBA/WBO/IBO/IBF heavyweight titles. After his big win, Fury apologized to Lewis for the numerous insults that were made in the past.
The friendship is over after Fury lashed out at Lewis an interview on an episode of The MMA Hour. He was asked about his current relationship with Lewis and labeled the retired champion as a "jealous hater."
"He's a jealous old man because I'm active, on top of the world, and he's a has-been. He has been a world champion - great for him - but listen, whenever Lennox Lewis wants to come out of retirement, I'm here waiting for him because I'm the best British fighter to come out of these shores," Fury stated.
"I don't care how old he is, if he's that good let him come back and beat George Foreman's record. I'm hoping for that fight, whenever he wants it, any time, any place, anywhere."
Lewis responded on the social networks and was shocked at the unexpected attack by Fury.
"I'm honestly at a loss. I just heard Tyson Fury calling me out AGAIN because I apparently hate him and am jealous of him. Neither are true and just when I thought we squashed anything between us, I hear his interview," Lewis stated to his followers.
"It seems to me that Tyson Fury has a LOT to say, EXCEPT when he's in my face. I had dinner with him the night before his win over Klitschko and it was all very cordial and the next day he even apologised for the things he's said. I thought we were good so you can imagine my surprise to hear this interview today. I'm honestly not sure if he's got two personalities or what.
"Nonetheless, he's done NOTHING for ME to be jealous of nor do I hate him. I'm actually starting to think its the other way around. In my prime, I didn't call out retired champions. In my era, we respected them. Ali is my idol. If he picked Holyfield or Tyson to beat me, he would STILL be my idol. With the exception of Bowe, I've gotten along well, and shown plenty of love and respect, to all of my opponents, as well as the champions before me.
"This is how it's done. For a man that has battled and fought very hard to get the respect he deserves, it's seems to me that he missed the most important lesson... that it's a two way street."
