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He understands it, but that doesn't mean the questions don't irritate him. No big deal, though, since Lewis isn't very likely to verbally attack those who irritate him, or pollute the air with racist diatribes, or threaten to put bullets in the skulls of his enemies.
No, that's Tyson's bag. So ask away.
"(To be asked about Tyson) is irritating to me," he said. "I'm trying to stay focused on this fight. What can I say? Right now (Tyson) is retired and my focus is on David Tua. But it's just the sport I'm in - there's that big fight out there, and people want to see it."
Lewis said he believes Tyson will watch his fight with Tua closely on Saturday. "We'll have to see whether this fight brings him out, whether he can see a chink in Lennox Lewis's armor and feels he can expose it," he said.
Lewis said there's no getting around the fact that Lewis-Tyson is the biggest fight on the horizon right now. "There's an opportunity out there to really make a big fight of this era," he said.
That Tyson has numerous fans is an indication that people see what they want to in Tyson, Lewis said. Today's Tyson is no longer the Tyson of legend after being beaten twice by Evander Holyfield. And after the second Holyfield bout - a low point in sports history - things really went downhill.
"Tyson's last few have basically been traveling circus shows," Lewis said. "I understand that he still has a lot of fans out there, but they're fans that look at him when Tyson was Tyson. The Tyson of today is a different man."
Be that as it may, Lewis knows a business opportunity when he sees one.
"A fight with Tyson would generate a lot of money," he said. "We could make history in one sense."
Lewis had no predictions as to whether the fight would ever come together. "We'll have to see what happens," he said. "I've left the door open for him on numerous occasions. We'll have to see after this fight whether he takes me up on my offer."
Clifton Dowell is a sports content editor at the SportServer. You can reach him at [email protected].
Tyson only a ghost of former self, says Lewis
The verbal sparring came here Wednesday at a news conference for Saturday's
World Boxing Council and International Boxing Federation title defense by
Britain's Lewis against David Tua, a Samoan now living in New Zealand.
Members of Tyson's entourage yelled warnings to Lewis, who laughed off the
buffoonery as "immature" and fired back that Tyson's best days are behind him,
even though fan interest is high in a Lewis-Tyson matchup.
"Fighting Tyson is like fighting a ghost," Lewis said. "Look at my last
five fights. Look at Mike Tyson's last five fights. If you put both together
and say who would win, boxing fans would say it's obvious.
"Then you will get guys who say, 'Look at what he used to do.' I only look
at the reality sense."
Former undisputed champion Tyson has served three years in prison for rape
and another jail stint last year for assault since his glory days more than a
decade ago. But he overpowered Andrew Golota last month in his comeback bid.
Trainer Emanuel Steward found himself shouting down a heckler after
mentioning Tyson.
"I know all about Mike Tyson," Steward said. "He is going through some
psychological changes. He's praying David Tua wins so he can fight for the
title. He doesn't want to fight that big, mean old Lennox Lewis."
Tyson and Tua have common promoters and could easily book a title deal if
the Samoan can upset Lewis, a 4-1 favorite.
Tyson, best known for biting off a chunk of Evander Holyfield's ear during
a title fight, once said he would eat Lewis' children in a savage post-match challenge. But
Tyson snubbed Lewis before facing Holyfield, dropping the World Boxing Council
crown because it meant a mandatory defense against Lewis.
"He wants to bite Lennox. He wants to shoot Lennox. He just doesn't want to
fight him in the ring," Steward said. "Mike Tyson gave up a title rather than
fight Lennox Lewis."
Steward challenged Tyson to sign a contract to meet Lewis and added, "You
know we want him. You know we will knock him out."
Tyson is interested in Lewis. He briefly watched a Lewis public workout in
New York last week and had friends keeping an eye upon Lewis as he prepared for
Tua. But Lewis said having such visitors was no distraction from Tua's threat.
"It's great they want to see my workouts. Everyone wants to see what the
undisputed is up to," Lewis said. "They came to see Lennox Lewis, the enigma.
They're checking me out. It's nice. It's a compliment they're checking me out.
"But I'm taking nothing lightly. I don't see Mike Tyson as a distraction.
I'm not going to get distracted. Tua wants to take my head off."
Standing in the way of a Lewis-Tyson matchup are rival television contracts
that make negotiating pay-per-view rights problematic. But Lewis sees fan
desire for that fight and little excitement over any other heavyweight bout
driving him and Lewis into a matchup next year.
"I think it will come to be," Lewis said. "There is too much money
involved, too many people pushing this fight together. In one sense, it's
inevitable. The fight will come about.
"Public demand brings about great fights. This is a fight people want to
see. The whole world wants to see this fight and wherever he goes, people are
going to tell him this is the fight they want to see."
