Boxing: Warren is keen to take Tyson to Cardiff

THE PROMOTER Frank Warren is making a bold attempt to bring Mike Tyson to fight in Britain during the new year. The promoter is hoping to feature Tyson, who has never fought in Europe before, in a bout at Cardiff's Millennium Stadium on 15 January.

However, Warren faces competition from Germany, where a rival promoter, Peter Kohl, is working to lure Tyson to Cologne, and has considerable financial backing from German television companies.

Showtime, an American cable network , is interested in any European deal, while Sky TV, which has a four-fight agreement with Tyson that began with his "no contest" against Orlin Norris, has provision for one of its bouts to be staged in Europe.

After the furore of the Norris fight - in which Tyson hit Norris a split second after the bell - and recent controversies, it might be the time for Tyson to pursue pastures new on this side of the Atlantic. "I'm trying to put it on," Warren said yesterday. "It would be great for Tyson to come to Britain and he would certainly draw a big crowd. When Tyson was in prison, he got a lot of mail from this country.

"But we are talking about telephone numbers; it would be one of the biggest amounts I've laid out on a promotion. We are talking about millions."

The American heavyweight Lou Savarese is one opponent being mentioned, and there is also talk of the British champion, Julius Francis, stepping in to the ring.