Lennox Lewis Sues Mike Tyson

[JSU*Toi]

Lennox Lewis Sues Mike Tyson

WASHINGTON, Dec 5, 2001 (Xinhua via COMTEX) -- Lennox Lewis has filed a suit against Mike Tyson in New York, seeking to prevent Tyson from fighting on January 19 as he claimed that it would hurt him financially.

In the suit filed in a U.S. District Court in Manhattan on Tuesday, Lewis also named the World Boxing Council (WBC) as a defendant, requesting the WBC to remove Tyson from the mandatory challenger`s position for the January fight as he is expected to fight Tyson next spring.

On November 17, Lewis regained the WBC-IBF heavyweight titles by knocking out Hasim Rahman. Tyson is scheduled to fight Ray Mercer next month and supposed to challenge Lewis in April, but the fight is not yet signed.

In a statement released on Wednesday, Tyson said he was "outraged by Lennox`s attempt to interfere with my career. I stepped aside as the WBC challenger in November to allow the rematch with Rahman. Lennox makes his own rules only when they suit him."

Lewis claimed that "if Tyson fights on January 19, it will be impossible successfully to promote a timely championship bout that will maximize revenues, especially if Tyson is injured in the January 19 bout."

Tyson said in his statement that "Lennox, if you want me, we can fight on January 19. I`m sure Ray Mercer would much rather fight me for the heavyweight crown after I finished you off."

 

[Mike]

WTF????

Lewis is sced!!!!! Tyson is gonna knock his arse da _ _ _ _ out!!!!

 

[Robber]

Make sure you get the low down before you form an opinion on this. Mike Tyson and the WBC cut an illegal deal. WBC rules mandate that a mandatory challenger (Tyson) cannot take another fight withing 90 days of his scheduled title fight. If the mandatory challenger (Tyson) takes a fight within the 90 days, or can't make the fight, he is stripped of his mandatory status and it's given to another figher. But the WBC cut a deal to let Mike fight Ray Mercer, and if Mike gets pushed and needs time to recover, they would allow Mike to have the Lewis fight delayed for additional time, without taking Mike's mandatory challenger status as the rules dictate. At the same time, the deal forbids Lennox from fighting anyone now, or while Mike heals after the Mercer fight if Mike needs that delay. Lennox would be forced to sit on his arse all that time while Tyson takes a fight, and recovers from that fight, if necessary.

And on top of that, the WBC agreed to give Mike 45% of the money if the fight has to go to purse bids. When title fights are made, fighters agree to their money at whatever amounts and percentages they agree on. But when they can't agree, the fights go to purse bids, and the promoter that makes the highest bid to pay the fighters will win the right to promote the fight. By rule, in purse bids, the champ (Lennox) gets 75% of the bid and the challenger (Tyson) gets 25%. But the deal that Tyson and the WBC made, Tyson is guaranteed 45%. Now, if you were Lennox, would you let them potentially take that money out of your pockets??? I wouldn't. If it goes to purse bids and Don King bids $100M, by rule Lennox should get $75M and Tyson, $25M. Under that illegal deal, Lennox would get $55M and Tyson, $45M.

I thought Lennox was being a biaaaa when I first heard it. But when I discovered this stuff, I saw it differently. And Tyson's lawyers lied to a judge that Lennox approved of the illegal deal. Lennox's lawsuit denies that. Lennox just wants to make sure that all the rules are enforced. If Mike took the Mercer fight, he would have to be ready to fight on the agreed date, and that Lennox wouldn't get screwed out of his money if they went to purse bids.