Sept-Dec 2002
MOST RECENT NEWS ON TOP
DEC 27: Vitali Klitschko promoter Klaus-Peter Kohl has stated that Vitali's challenge against heavyweight champion Lennox Lewis will take place either April 12 in Las Vegas or April 19 in New York City. Meanwhile, brother Wladimir should see action in March in a title defense in Germany. (Fightnews)
DEC 11: Lennox Lewis will be a commentator on the international broadcast of Holyfield-Byrd not seen in the U.S. It will be televised live nationally by HBO (10 PM ET/PT). (Fightnews)
NOV 29: Vitali up next for Lennox!
By Lennox Lewis
There have been a number of reports in the media about my future plans and also my relationship with Don King. I want my fans to know that I am intending to defend my WBC title against Vitali Klitschko on March 8, 2003. My negotiating team has a preliminary agreement in place for that fight, as well as fights against Mike Tyson and Wladimir Klitschko in the event that I decide to continue fighting after the Vitali Klitschko fight. I expect the contract for the Vitali Klitschko fight will be finalized in meetings that will be scheduled during the week of December 9. I also want to make it clear that Don King is not part of my promotional or management team, and that he does not have the authority to speak on my behalf. (Fightnews)
Lewis-V. Klitschko almost set (Fightnews)
NOV 12: Lewis endorses King tourney!
WBC heavyweight champion Lennox Lewis once held and coveted both the WBA and IBF titles, but after being stripped of the WBA belt by court order and the IBF belt for not fighting a mandatory against Chris Byrd, Lewis doesn't mind seeing those belts around the waists of other fighters. The true heavyweight champion probably isn't too thrilled about his WBC belt either, as he is a target in a $56 million lawsuit filed by WBC president Jose Sulaiman. Lewis has a tentative March 8 date to fight WBC mandatory Vitali Klitschko. In the meantime, Lennox has been hired by promoter Don King to provide television commentary for King's upcoming heavyweight series. Lewis says, "I am happy to be part of the 'Hard Road to Glory' series...It has peaked my interest and I thoroughly endorse and support it." King himself acknowledges that Lewis is the emperor of the heavyweight world of boxing. His master plan consists of Evander Holyfield vs Chris Byrd fighting on December 14 for the IBF belt and Roy Jones Jr. facing John Ruiz for the WBA belt on March 1. King hopes the winners will meet at the end of 2003 and then challenge Lewis. (Fightnews)
NOV 4: I recently attended the Tribute to Ali in Toronto, I'll have more info such as Lennox's speech about Ali's influence on him soon.
SEP 16: Promoter Don King doesn't want to see Lewis-Tyson 2. "It would be an act of homicide for Mike to get in the ring again with Lewis," said King in a television interview Sunday. (Fightnews)
SEP 6: King paid Lewis $1 million!
Promoter Don King reportedly paid heavyweight champion Lennox Lewis $1 million plus threw in a Range Rover to help entice Lewis to discard his IBF title. King is now planning a four-man tournament to eventually unify the WBA/IBF portions of the world title. In King's grand design, WBA champ John Ruiz would defend against the as of yet unsigned Roy Jones Jr. on December 7. Chris Byrd and Evander Holyfield would meet for the vacant IBF belt on December 14. Lewis, still the WBC/IBO king, will likely look toward fights with the Klitschko Brothers and a possible rematch with Mike Tyson. (Fightnews)
SEP 5: Byrd lashes out, blames Manny!
By Flattop
Exclusive statement from #1 IBF Challenger Chris Byrd:
"It's Emmanuel Steward. That is the reason why Lennox Lewis will not fight me. Emmanuel knows my style beats Lennox. Lennox would never hit me and Steward wants somebody to stand in front of Lennox. That's why Lennox wants to fight the Klitschko brothers, because they will stand flat-footed in front of him. Lennox is too big and too slow and he is older now. He is 37 years old. My reflexes are quicker. I would make him look silly. I am too great of a challenge. You go ask anybody in the top ten, "Who do you NOT want to fight?" and everyone will tell you "Chris Byrd" because I am too quick, too slick and I will make you look bad. I wish Lennox had been a man about this. Evander Holyfied has said he wants to avoid me but he has always stepped up to the plate. Evander has never ducked a challenge. All of the great boxers fight everyone. Look at Ali! Look at Holyfield! Lennox will go through the rest of his life with people saying he avoided me. How can you say someone is not worthy who has earned the #1 spot? It is greedy. A true champion fights anyone in the division. I would fight whoever was there if I was champion. I have already proven I will fight anybody, anywhere. I have lost to Ike Ibeabuchi and Wladimir Klitschko. Ike would have been the future of boxing if he had stayed out of trouble and Wladimir is considered one of the best. Lennox was beat by Hasim Rahman and Oliver McCall. If I am not worthy, are Rahman or McCall worthy because they beat him?"
Holyfield camp responds!
"It is Evander Holyfield�s destiny to retire from the sport of boxing as the Undisputed Heavyweight Champion of the World. To do so, Evander will need to regain the IBF, WBA and WBC Heavyweight Titles. As a result of Lennox Lewis�s decision to vacate the IBF Title, it now appears that Evander will need to defeat three different opponents to achieve his goal, and the order in which he defeats those opponents is unimportant. Therefore, a fight with Chris Byrd is an attractive option for Evander, if the terms can be agreed upon, because that fight will take Evander one-third of the way toward his destination. Chris Byrd is a worthy opponent with a great record, and Evander looks forward to meeting him in the ring for the opportunity to become the only Five-Time, Heavyweight Champion of the World." --Jim Thomas, Evander Holyfield�s attorney and boxing management advisor
Your move, Evander!
By Scott Shaffer
In the wake of Lennox Lewis' decision to vacate the IBF belt, the next move belongs to Evander Holyfield, who occupies the second position in the IBF's heavyweight ratings. Holyfield must decide if he wants to fight the top-rated Chris Byrd to fill the vacancy. Because the matter is the subject of ongoing litigation, Holyfield will be forced to make his decision fairly quickly as Byrd is entitled to fight for the IBF belt by December 8. "There's no timetable at this minute, but I don't want Chris Byrd to be penalized by having to wait much longer," said IBF attorney Linda Torres. "We have to start moving quickly to get Chris his title shot." Torres added that she planned to confer with IBF president Marian Muhammad after she arrived in Portland, Oregon, where Roy Jones will defend his light heavyweight championship this weekend. Holyfield expressed a preference not to face Byrd during his post-fight interview after defeating Hasim Rahman. However, Holyfield has never been known to shrink from a challenge and he has consistently stated that his goal is to unify the heavyweight titles before he retires. (Fightnews)
Fightnews interview with Don King
Byrd Camp reaction!
By Flattop
Statement from John Hornewer, Attorney and advisor to #1 IBF challenger Chris Byrd: "First of all I am pleased Lennox Lewis has made some decision. This is something we expected when he defeated Hasim Rahman to regain his title. His statement is disappointing in that he fails to recognize that Chris Byrd has been one of the few boxers who have earned his #1 ranking in the ring. True champions fight their mandatories and it is disappointing that Lewis has chosen to add this as footnote to his legacy. Truthfully, we believe Chris Byrd posed unique challenges to the style of Lennox Lewis who claims to be the Pugilist specialist. Lennox has chosen to relinquish a belt rather than match his skills against a true pugilism specialist such as Chris Byrd. Legacy and championships made are earned in the ring no matter what money is available.
As champion, you would have hoped that Lewis would have been able to command the type of money to make any fight a winning proposition. It just goes to show, when you beat The Man (Mike Tyson) you don't necessary become The Man. Lewis is not The Man in the eyes of the public or in the sense of a true 'unified' world champion (who wants to keep his title at all cost). It is a sad statement because I know Chris had always held out hope to fight for the linear title. Chris wanted to match his skills against the best. Now that Lewis has taken himself out the picture, we will turn our sites to on a true champion, Evander Holyfield. Many observers believe Evander bested Lewis in their last fight. I am looking forward to Chris having his opportunity in fighting Evander Holyfield."
FightNews has confirmed with Team Holyfield attorney Jim Thomas that Evander Holyfield will respond to the Lennox Lewis dumping of the IBF title today. Holyfield is returning from a special engagement in New York City and will arrive back home in Atlanta this afternoon. It's no secret that Don King, Team Holyfield and the Chris Byrd camp have had preliminary discussion of a Holyfield vs. Byrd showdown anticipating this move by Lewis. Thomas said, "Never underestimate Don King."
Lewis vacates IBF title!
Official statement from heavyweight champion Lennox Lewis:
"Today I announced my decision to vacate my IBF heavyweight title. Prior to today, my team and I had already determined that there was no public interest in a Lennox Lewis/Chris Byrd bout. My decision was also based upon the fact that I believe, as I have said repeatedly, that Chris Byrd offers no competitive challenge to me. The fact is that the champion makes the belt important, not the other way around. Accordingly, in light of a court order and an IBF ruling that would have required me to fight a meaningless fight against Chris Byrd in order to keep the IBF belt, I had no choice but to vacate. As I have recently stated, the world has yet to see the best of Lennox Lewis."
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Lewis will retain his WBC and IBO heavyweight belts. The IBF title, which was scheduled to go to purse bid today, will now be contested between Byrd and a contender to be named. (More to come) (Fightnews)