Boxing: Lewis and Tyson may rumble in the jungle
The multi-million pound heavyweight showdown between world champion Lennox Lewis and challenger Mike Tyson could be staged in South Africa, a promoter said today.
The venue of the fight was cast into doubt today when the Nevada State Athletic Commission voted to deny Tyson a licence to fight Lewis in Las Vegas.
The decision did not end prospects for the fight because it could be licensed by another state or country.
But Lewis was wary after the melee that broke out last week at a New York news conference to formally announce the fight. He says Tyson bit him in the leg during the scuffle.
Rodney Berman, a South African promoter, said he approached Lewis’ business manager Adrian Ogun to discuss the possibility of staging the fight here.
’’Naturally it’s extremely contentious going against a ruling by one of the prevailing US boxing commissions but since the other states in the United States will be vying for the fight why shouldn’t we?’’ Berman said.
Berman runs the same boxing promotion company that staged Lewis’ losing championship fight against Hasim Rahman in South Africa last year.
Referring to the brawl in New York between the two boxers, Berman said no such outbursts would be tolerated.
’’Make no mistake. We will not be party to anything outlandish that would bring the sport into disrepute, and any disgraceful antics like the one we saw would be totally unacceptable, said Berman.
