Boxing: Lewis considers dates

Lennox Lewis's long-awaited attempt to regain the World Boxing Council heavyweight title, has been pencilled in for January 24 or February 1.

His re-match with the American Oliver McCall for the title relinquished by Mike Tyson will go ahead in Atlantic City or London, with the January date looking the more likely of the two. McCall originally took the WBC title from the Briton.

Lewis' victory in a New Jersey court on Wednesday knocked out the politics as well as the purse bid by Tyson's American promoter, Don King. The court ruled that King had lost his right to promote the contest and his offer of $9.152m (pounds 5.68m) was replaced by the second-highest bid of $6.151m (pounds 6.83m) submitted by Lewis's American promoters, Main Events.

It will cost Lewis around $1m, but he regards that as a small price to pay to get back the title he lost dramatically to McCall in two rounds at the Wembley Arena in September, 1994. His initial financial loss of $1.5m was, however, cut by Judge Amos Saunders' award of half of King's deposit for the fight, $500,000.

Lewis said: "I pleased that finally I'm going to get back into ring. The financial loss is not important, it's winning the title back that's important."

It was the second big victory inside a week for Dino Duva, the president of Main Events, over King. On Saturday, the Main Events-promoted Evander Holyfield upset Tyson in Las Vegas to win the WBA crown.

Naseem Hamed will make the fifth defence of his World Boxing Organisation featherweight title on February 1 or 8 against a challenger to be named.