King tempts Lewis with Tyson payday

Boxing

Don King claimed yesterday that Lennox Lewis will fight Mike Tyson for the heavyweight championship in Las Vegas next year.

King who is promoting Tyson's challenge for the World Boxing Association title held by Bruce Seldon at the MGM Grand Garden in Las Vegas on Saturday, is adamant the fight will happen despite the Tyson and Lewis camps being locked in dispute over the terms.

"We're saying to Lewis he can have $16m (pounds 10.2m) to fight Tyson. We're saying he can take home $16m even if he loses. The guy has just got to accept that challenge," King said.

Tyson, however, is in no mood to talk about future fights. He told a press conference on Tuesday that he was not interested in discussing himself as a fighter or about s uch possble future opponents as Lewis or Riddick Bowe. As for his opponent on Saturday he said: "I don't know him at all. I'll just do my job, I'll take him out."

How long does Tyson want to continue boxing? "I enjoy fighting, I don't enjoy the training," he said. "I fight for my children. When [retirement] happens, I'll just say: 'Forget it."'

Tyson was more talkative about his life outside the ring. He feels that he has changed for the better: "I'm on probation, on parole. I have no freedom. I can't go where I want to." Tyson, who served three years in prison on a rape conviction before being released in March 1995, must get permission to travel. He has homes at Southington, Ohio, and Las Vegas.

Colin McMillan, the former World Boxing Organisation featherweight champion and secretary of the Professional Boxers' Association, produced some textbook boxing to overcome Zimbabwe's Trust Ndlovu to win Tuesday's Commonwealth title final eliminator at York Hall, Bethnal Green, in east London.

McMillan stopped Ndlovu after one minute 40 seconds of the seventh round, showing the sharp skills and slick moves of old. The current WBO champion, Naseem Hamed, is at the top of his "hit list".