Britain's Lewis, the World Boxing Council (WBC) and International Boxing
Federation (IBF) champion, has effectively ruled out the possibility of the
fight happening this year despite earlier suggestions from his business manager,
Adrian Ogun, that he was working toward a July 21 date.
Despite both sides' statements of intent, Lewis' and Tyson's advisers are
yet to get around the table to discuss a date, and Lewis told the Daily Mail:
"There's no chance of it taking place in the foreseeable future.
"I'm fed up with Mike and his manager Shelly Finkel pretending that I'm the
one who doesn't want the fight.
"They are the ones who keep messing me about and keeping me waiting. Then
they blame me for taking the other fights I need to keep in shape."
Lewis next defends his title against American Hasim Rahman in Johannesburg
on April 21 and has a shortage of credible challengers should the Tyson fight
not come off.
A third fight with Evander Holyfield was apparently scuppered over the
weekend when he was beaten in his WBA title defense by Johnny Ruiz - and the
prospect of a Lewis-Ruiz fight hardly has punters breathless with excitement.
Showtime chief Jay Larkin, whose company contracts former undisputed
heavyweight champion Tyson while Lewis is with rival American television
network Home Box Office, also dismissed predictions that the fight would happen
this year.
Showtime insists it will not allow a Lewis-Tyson bout to be shown on HBO -
but Lewis refuses to break his present deal and fight on Showtime.
Larkin said: "The fight is not going to happen. Not on July 21, not this
year, perhaps never."
"I would like for the whole world to know that I am back. I would
also like the world to know that Lennox Lewis is a ducker and a
dodger, and is full of excuses with all the reasons that he will not
fight Tyson. Lewis won't fight Tyson because he is scared (that is
my opinion) and Lewis won't fight me because he is scared, (that
is a fact). Then who will he fight? I am challenging Lennox Lewis to
a rematch, and I am doing it publicly through my favorite online
newspaper, Fightnews.com. As the whole world knows, I was
robbed in our first fight, as Lennox was in his first fight with
Holyfield. Let's give the world a great heavyweight fight" --'Merciless'
Ray Mercer
Mercer blasts Lewis!