Lewis was impressed by Jones Jr (left) on Saturday

Jones made the successful step up from middleweight on Saturday to outpoint fellow American John Ruiz.

But Lewis, the current WBC champion, insisted a fight with Jones Jr was not on the cards.

He told BBC Radio Five Live: "I don't think Roy Jones Jr would fight me at this point. What for really?"

What now for Jones Jr

Jones Jr too was reticent about fighting Lewis and said: "Lennox is a great heavyweight champion and I love him to death.

HAVE YOUR SAY Jones has been running scared from a lot of boxers. If he thinks beating Ruiz will get him the respect he craves, he's wrong. From Tim Thorne, UK Join the debate

"We go back a long way and I think Lennox is definitely the best of the heavyweights."

Jones Jr's unanimous points victory over Ruiz made him the first former middleweight champion since 1897 to capture the heavyweight title.

Jones Jr claims historic win

Despite ruling out a fight with Jones Jr, Lewis insisted he was impressed by the American.

"I always said that Roy Jones Jr even in his own weight class does not get hit," said the Brit.

"To move up to heavyweight he has got two advantages. One is overwhelming speed and another is weight. He can really move around and stay away from you.

"I believe there's a lot of heavyweights Roy Jones Jr can beat out there. He creates new excitement in boxing."

At this point I'm not excited by anyone Lennox Lewis on his fighting future

Lewis has not fought since 8 June when he beat Mike Tyson in Memphis.

The pair are lined up to meet again but Lewis remained tentative over any potential clash.

"It really depends on him," said Lewis. "I'm not forcing any man to fight me. But when we signed for the first fight, we signed for two fights.

"I'm waiting for him to write to me to let me know his next move."

Speculation has been mounting over the last six months that Lewis will retire from the sport altogether rather than step back into the ring.

And on Sunday he fuelled those rumours, saying: "Retirement - that is an option for me. I can sit as the emperor of boxing, as Don King kindly described me. It's certainly tempting."

Photos from the fight

At one point, Lewis had been tipped to fight Ukrainian Wladimir Klitschko but the 37-year-old Briton insisted he had no interest.

"For me, I really need a fight to make me feel the desire to go through all the training," said Lewis. "It has to get me excited. At this point I'm not excited by anyone."