Lewis set for comeback but Tyson fight not set
British World Heavyweight champion boxer Lennox Lewis (l) and Canadian challenger Kirk Johnson (r) pose for photographs during a press conference in Los Angeles. Lewis will face Johnson on 21 June at the Staples Center in Los Angeles. AFP PHOTO/Hector MATA
LOS ANGELES (AFP) Britain's Lennox Lewis will not be defending his World Boxing Council crown when he fights Canada's Kirk Johnson here on 21 June and Mike Tyson is not yet signed to fight on the same heavyweight card.
Those details were revealed here Thursday
when promoters announced the fight card to be conducted at Staples
Center, a venue secured in part because California agreed to provide
Tyson with a license to fight.
Tyson is expected to fight Oleg Maskaev of Kazakhstan but has
not yet signed a contract for the fight, promoter Gary Shaw said.
"We just haven't completed a deal for
Mike to fight on this card, but we are cautiously optimistic,"
Shaw said.
Lewis was not worried about Tyson, 50-4 with 44 knockouts. His
addition on the card could mean tens of millions of dollars in
pay-per-view sales.
"Were optimistic about it. I'm not really worried about that right now," said Lewis. "I'm the champion. With Tyson on the card, it's an added bonus."
The WBC had threatened to strip Lewis of his crown if he did not face Vitali Klitschko, the top-ranked challenger from Ukraine, or Tyson, who said he needed more fights before a rematch with the man who knocked him out last June.
Instead, the WBC will not sanction the fight
against Johnson. The only true crown at stake for Lewis is the
"linear" title, going to the man who beat the prior
champion in the ring, regardless of sanctioning body decisions.
"That's the biggest belt out there," Lewis said. "There
is no higher."
Adrian Ogun, Lewis' manager, said that if
favored Lewis beats Johnson, talks are set to begin in July for
a bout with Klitschko. Ogun blamed Klitschko's promoter for their
four million-dollar offer to the fighter being rejected.
"We believe there is a problem there," Ogun said. "We
believe the problem will be resolved. We will start negotiations
in the first of July."
Asked if that meant Lewis would fight Klitschko next, Ogun replied, "We will uphold their (WBC) rules", which could leave open the door for a Tyson fight.
"There are still a lot of Tyson fans out there and a lot of disbelievers in the first fight," Lewis said. "I'm the emperor. If he wants to fight, I'm here. If not I understand."
Lewis said the Ukrainian's promoter, Universum Box-Promotion, has scuttled deals even though Klitschko wants to fight Lewis.
"I believe Vitali Klitschko wants to
fight me," Lewis said. "His promoter just wants to be
bigger than me."
Lewis justified fighting Johnson by saying he is a more dangerous
opponent than Chris Byrd, the International Boxing Federation
champion who won the IBF title Lewis gave up rather than fight
him.
"I can't fight everybody at once. I have to take them one at a time," Lewis said. "Kirk Johnson is a more exciting fighter than Chris Byrd. Kirk throws some heavy punches. He's a knockout puncher. He's dangerous. I think he's well deserving of a shot."
Lewis, who had considered retirement, said he plans another fight this year after Johnson.
"I'm still in the game," Lewis said. "I have still been training. I'm here. I'm prepared. I'm still young. Consider me like a fine wine. I get better with age."
Lewis, 37, was born in England but raised in Canada. He is 40-2 with one drawn and 31 knockouts and will not have fought for more than a year since his eighth-round knockout of Tyson last June in Memphis. He said any "ring rust" would be gone within 30 seconds after his fight with Johnson starts.
"I have been busy for a long time. I'm deserving of a rest," Lewis said. "I'm in great shape. I have been doing a lot of maintenance work. My body is telling me to go into camp and put on the final touches."
Emanuel Steward, Lewis' trainer, said Lewis
was not hurt by the layoff and could extend his reign to age 40.
"Lennox is fighting better than ever and enjoying himself.
You have not seen the best of him yet," Steward said. "If
he desires to, I think he could fight for the next two or three
years.
"He could hold onto the heavyweight championship as long as he would like right now. I don't see anybody out there."
Johnson, 30, is 34-1 with one draw and 25
knockouts. He stopped Lou Savarese in the fourth round 15 March
but suffered a disqualification for low blows last July in losing
to John Ruiz for the World Boxing Association title.
"All the low blows that were called were not low blows,"
Johnson said. "I can't control the referees. I have just
got to go do my thing."
Johnson said not having the WBC crown at stake did not matter because a victory over Lewis would bring him the respect accorded a champion.
"Once I beat Lennox Lewis, people will recognize Kirk Johnson as the man who beat the man who beat the man," he said.