The manner of his frantic recovery win has left more questions than answers, as a collision course between former heavyweight champions between him and Tyson Fury remains the plan later this year.

Yet that display did little to dissuade Hall of Fame legend Lennox Lewis from his longtime belief about who would prevail, should they eventually meet.

The former three-time heavyweight champion watched from Hanover, Jamaica where his League of Champions Foundation runs annual youth summer camps.

"I think Fury boxes to the level of his opposition," Lewis told The Ring.

"He's trying to keep sharp for Joshua, the right thing to do, and needed to have a tick-over fight. Him going some more rounds in his legs is what he wanted and did, so just a warm-up for another [future] fight."

Fury banked seven rounds against faded former title challenger Mariusz Wach in Pattaya, Thailand before the Polish veteran retired on his stool.

Little more than 24 hours later, it was anything but straightforward as expected for Joshua.

Still finding his feet in a new training camp, having survived a car accident tragically killing two close friends on December 29, Lewis wonders whether boxing is the best place for him right now.

"Does he really belong in the ring right now?" Lewis questioned. "A virtual novice put him on the ground twice in the first round. Is that it, have we seen the last of him? It's not like he's his old self." A long-mooted matchup between the two juggernauts didn't materialize during their respective primes for many reasons and while past its sell-by date, is now targeted for November.

"Obviously, this has turned into a money thing," Lewis continued. "The fight should have happened [years ago], but they want to make the fight, and [still] can make some money out of it. You can't say either is at their best now.

"Definitely, Fury is closer but both are shadows of their former selves. I'd side with Fury ... he showed me more in his two fights [Arslanbek Makhmudov, then Wach] than Joshua has recently. He boxed a YouTuber [Jake Paul], now boxed a guy who knocked him down twice and next faces Fury? That's a big step up."