Boxing: Benn and Bruno set for autumn

THE eagerly awaited showdowns between the heavyweights Lennox Lewis and Frank Bruno and the rematch between the super-middleweight champions, Nigel Benn and Chris Eubank, look likely to be staged within a week of each other this Autumn.

The Lewis-Bruno bout will be held on either 1 or 15 October, while the Benn-Eubank encounter is already booked for 9 October at Old Trafford.

The closeness of the two fights is sure to test supporters' pockets and many may have to choose between Manchester or Wembley Stadium, the likely venue for Lewis and Bruno.

Bruno figured again in Lewis's plans after the latter's proposed World Boxing Council championship defence against the World Boxing Organisation champion, Tommy Morrison, was delayed because of a problem over the date of the fight. It is now likely to go ahead at the newly built MGM Grand in Las Vegas in late February or early March.

'They gave us a December 30 date for Lewis and Morrison, but that wasn't acceptable,' Frank Maloney, Lewis's manager, said. 'But their offer of the last week in February and first week in March was OK for Lennox.'