Tyson and Lewis set for June showdown

Lennox Lewis and Mike Tyson are set to meet on June 8th in Memphis for the heavyweight championship, under a deal wrapped up …

Lennox Lewis and Mike Tyson are set to meet on June 8th in Memphis for the heavyweight championship, under a deal wrapped up after weeks of on-again off-again negotiations.

Tyson adviser Shelly Finkel said both fighters have signed and committed themselves to the match.

The bout is expected to be held at the Pyramid arena, which will seat about 20,000. Ringside tickets will be priced as high as $2,500.

The major stumbling block, a $12.5 million site fee, reportedly has been resolved by giving local promoters in Memphis more time to get a letter of credit. Finkel said some details were still pending, but none that would derail the fight.

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The International Boxing Federation had given Lewis until yesterday to make the fight or else fight number one contender Chris Byrd.

The much-shopped bout was in jeopardy as late as Friday when local promoters couldn't come up with the site fee after a bank refused to issue a letter of credit because of "moral issues".

The fight was originally going to be on April 6th in Las Vegas, but Nevada boxing authorities refused to give Tyson a boxing licence after an outburst at a press conference in January.

AP