Boxing: Lewis to fight Jackson

LENNOX LEWIS, the World Boxing Council heavyweight champion, will make his next defence against the American, Phil Jackson, in May, his promoters, Main Events, announced in New York last night.

The fight, Lewis's first since he stopped Frank Bruno in his last defence in Cardiff in October, will be held in Atlantic City or Reno, Nevada.

Jackson, a 29-year-old from Miami, has won 29 of his 30 professional fights and is currently ranked No 5 by the World Boxing Council.

Gary Mason, the former British heavyweight champion, will make a return to the ring this weekend, nearly three years after giving up boxing following surgery on a detached retina. The Londoner, now 31, has been cleared to fight by the Virginia State Commission after favourable medical reports in the United States and is to meet the journeyman, Kimmuel Odun, over 10 rounds in North Dakota on Saturday.