Benn fight 'worth $50m'

Boxing

Don King placed a price tag of $50 million (about pounds 33m) on a Nigel Benn- Roy Jones unification fight yesterday. The American promoter believes sheer appeal and hard cash could eventually break down the pay-per-view television politics to bring the two super-middleweights together.

It is the match that the WBC champion, Benn, most wants to climax his career. "It could be worth 50 million so let's bring Jones out," King said. "He can have half of the money in the world, we'll have half of the money in the world."

A major stumbling block is that Jones, the IBF holder, is tied to the Home Box Office organisation while Benn, with his King connection, fights for a rival American network, Showtime.

Benn, who meets replacement Danny Ray Perez in the ninth defence of his title on the Oliver McCall-Frank Bruno bill at Wembley Stadium on Saturday, remains optimistic of meeting Jones. "I think I'll get a crack at him," he said. "The people over here will push for it and so will the Americans."

Ex-marine Perez, from North Carolina, a subsitute for Steve Little has won 18 of his 21 fights but has stopped only five opponents.