Boxing: Canadian challenges Lewis

It is a busy time for British heavyweights with an opponent shortly to be named for Lennox Lewis, a new trainer for Danny Williams and a long overdue return to the ring for Herbie Hide.

Lewis will make the latest defence of his undisputed world heavyweight title against Canada's Kirk Johnson on 21 June and the favourite from a long list of venues appears to be New York. Lewis holds the World Boxing Council and International Boxing Organisation versions of the title and is considered the dominant heavyweight.

The current British champion, Danny Williams, has decided to split with Jim McDonnell and will be trained by Dudley's Dean Powell for his defence of the Commonwealth title against Australia's Bob Mirovic at the Fountain Leisure Centre in Brentford on 26 April.

Powell will take control until America's Hector Rocca is formally hired as Williams' full-time trainer. The fight against Mirovic is the first for Williams since he was knocked out in Germany by Sinan Samil Sam in February.

Lewis used to be the British champion, Williams is the British champion and Hide also held the British title before briefly holding, on two occasions, the World Boxing Organisation heavyweight title, but that all seems so long ago.

Hide, only 31, returns to Britain for a fight against Kettering's journeyman Derek McCafferty on 16 April at the Nottingham Ice Arena. Hide has not fought since being stopped by Joseph Chingangu in September 2001.

The talented but unpredictable heavyweight has been based in Las Vegas since before Christmas and is trained by the former world champions Eddie Mustafa Muhammad and Mike McCallum. He has also gained the assistance of Crocodile, who served for years as Mike Tyson's motivator.

The defeat that Williams suffered in Germany eliminated him from the race to challenge Lewis but he will now have to look over his shoulder because Hide could be just one or two fights away from another British title fight. If he secured that challenge that would at least raise the profile of the domestic heavyweight division.

* Frank Warren has issued a formal complaint to the British Boxing Board of Control over what he described as "unreasonable financial and other demands" made by the Vince Phillips camp prior to the American's unsuccessful World Boxing Union light-welterweight title challenge to Ricky Hatton in Manchester on Saturday night.