Lennox Lewis has been given 11 days to decide if he will face Mike Tyson in a rematch.
The deadline has been imposed by the World Boxing Council (WBC), who want Lewis to face Vitali Klitschko if a deal with Tyson cannot be agreed soon.
Lewis has not defended his WBC crown since he destroyed Tyson in Memphis on June 8th last year.
A money-spinning rematch has been mooted but Tyson has claimed he needs more fights before he can face the Briton.
The WBC confirmed the rematch would be considered a title bout if it were to take place by June, with the winner facing a mandatory defence against number one challenger Klitschko next.
However, if no decision is made on a Tyson rematch before April 15th, Lewis will have 30 days to discuss the mandatory defence against Klitschko.
If Lewis vacated the crown then usually the two top contenders, in this case Klitschko and Hasim Rahman, would contest the title.
PA