Disgraced former world heavyweight champion Mike Tyson could make a comeback fight against former British heavyweight title holder Joe Bugner in Australia, according to an international boxing promotion and management group.

Andrew Haberfield, chief executive of International Sports Corporation, said he had received a tentative inquiry from an unnamed group associated with Tyson, which was interested in him fighting the winner of Saturday's World Boxing Federation title fight between Bugner and James "Bonecrusher" Smith in Australia's Gold Coast.

"It was just an initial chat and there are many ifs and buts, especially over Tyson being granted a boxing licence and problems with Don King," said Haberfield.

"But the talk was that maybe Tyson can come here and fight either Joe or James."

Bugner (48), last fought for the world title in 1975, when he was beaten by Muhammad Ali on points. He became British champion four years earlier with a controversial win over Henry Cooper, but is now an Australian citizen.

Tyson was banned from the sport for 12 months by the Nevada Athletics Commission on July 9th last year after he bit world champion Evander Holyfield's ears. He is reportedly re-applying for his licence.

King is embroiled in a contractual dispute with Tyson and is currently in court in the United States on an unrelated fraud matter.

Haberfield revealed he was surprised and delighted over the interest from the group, which he said was legitimate but whose name he could not reveal.

"It's just a case of waiting and seeing but the talk was maybe a fight at the end of the year or early next year," he said.

Meanwhile, the money has been put on a table for Lennox Lewis' heavyweight showdown against Holyfield. Now it is a matter of Holyfield and his promoter, King, accepting a £12 million-plus purse on offer from American cable network Home Box Office for a three-title unification bout on December 5th or 12th.

That is Holyfield's asking price, but it remains doubtful whether even a fortune of that magnitude will be enough to cut through the politics of big-time boxing.

Holyfield is contracted to King, whose promotions are screened by HBO's big competitors, Showtime.

But Lewis has now signed a new seven-fight deal with HBO which could be worth around £40 million if pay-per-view figures hit the right peaks.

Had Lewis decided to fight for Showtime, it would have made a Holyfield fight easier to get together.