Boxing: Bowe aims his arrow at Lewis

RIDDICK BOWE will not pull out of a world heavyweight title fight against Lennox Lewis, Rock Neuman, his manager, stressed yesterday in an aggrieved response to a warning from Jose Sulaiman. The World Boxing Council president had said that if Evander Holyfield or Bowe refused to fight either Lewis or Razor Ruddock, the winner of Saturday's final eliminator would be declared champion.

Bowe has signed a contract to defend the title against the Earls Court winner, provided he himself beats Holyfield in Las Vegas on 13 November. 'Bowe's angry and I'm angry about what has been said,' Neuman said. 'We are willing to fight Lewis.'

Chris Pyatt awoke yesterday morning as the new World Boxing Council international middleweight champion following a controversial bout in Leicester. Pyatt floored his Colombian opponent, Adolfo Caballero, with barely a minute gone. Apparently confused by the timekeeper's count, the Dutch referee, Henk Adriaanse, thought he had counted Caballero out. Chaos reigned for a full minute before Caballero was permitted to box on, Pyatt eventually finishing the job in the fifth.

Billy Schwer won the British and Commonwealth lightweight titles at the Albert Hall last night when Carl Crook, the holder, was forced to retire in the ninth round. The Commonwealth cruiserweight champion, Derek Angol, meanwhile, has been reunited with his former manager, Terry Lawless.