British Heavyweight Lennox Lewis has signed a deal to meet Evander Holyfield in a £33 million unification fight in Las Vegas on April 25th, Lewis' promoter Panos Eliades said yesterday.
Victory could set up an autumn three-title defence against Mike Tyson, which Eliades estimates will be worth a staggering £66 to £99 million.
The deal, completed at Don King's Florida home at the weekend, now depends on WBA and IBF champion Holyfield agreeing to a guaranteed purse of around $30 million for facing WBC champion Lewis.
The take-home pay for both fighters will be even bigger if the Home Box Office viewing figures hit the jackpot.
It is all part of a four-fight contract agreed with King by Eliades, and includes the fight against Tyson, provided the former undisputed champion has his licence returned by the Nevada State Athletic Commission next July.
The Lewis-Holyfield fight will be hosted by Caesar's Palace, the MGM Grand or the Mirage, obviously depending on the size of site fee offered by the gambling barons of those casinos.
Eliades said: "We've agreed terms and we've entered into a contract. Now Don King has to agree with Holyfield to accept the balance available. Hopefully, by the end of the week we should know.
"The deal is that there's an upside to money, depending on pay-per-view. Holyfield will receive a definite amount, plus any upside. The same goes for Lewis.
"There's no problem with us. We are the first to agree and everyone is happy with what we've accepted. We've signed, now we are waiting for the other side to sign the contract and send it back.
"Money should not stand in the way of a Holyfield fight. If Evander is the man I think he is, he should fight for the right to unify the title.
"I'm delighted with the deal, and Tyson is in the mix as well. Funnily enough, I bumped into Tyson at the airport in Miami.
"We asked each other how we were, I said fine, he said fine. I told him we signed Lennox against Holyfield, and he said give him a good beating for me, and I'll look forward to fighting Lennox when you've beaten him.
"Tyson is a side deal in the contract I've done in respect of Lennox's future, depending on his getting his licence back.
"A fight against Tyson would happen very soon after he comes back, possibly around September or October. With three belts on the line, it would be colossal."
Lewis is committed to a WBC defence against European champion Zeljko Mavrovic, of Croatia, in London in June.
The WBC champion has not fought in London since losing that title to Oliver McCall at Wembley in September, 1994, which still stands as his only professional defeat.
Former British, Empire and European heavyweight champion Bruce Woodcock has died in an old people's home in Doncaster. Woodcock, 76, was the big name in British heavyweight boxing throughout the late 1940s and into 1950.Woodcock was born on January 18, 1921.
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