Boxing: Finkel keen to fix Lewis fight date

Mike Tyson's manager Shelley Finkel said his fighter will meet Lennox Lewis next April.

Lewis regained two versions of the world heavyweight championship by knocking out Hasim Rahman in the fourth round in Las Vegas last weekend and has set his sights on a long-awaited and lucrative meeting with Tyson, the former undisputed champion.

Finkel confirmed that the fight will take place "in April 2002, in the United States, probably Las Vegas" following Tyson's fight with Ray Mercer on 19 January.

"Mike and my side will be ready whenever Lennox is ready to sit down and make a deal happen," Finkel said. "The general feeling is both sides want it so we'll work on it in the next couple of weeks."

A likely date is 6 April and the sport's two major television players – Showtime and HBO – have reached an agreement in principle for the fight to go ahead.

Lewis has rejected overtures from Don King to promote the fight, which Finkel says suits his camp.

"One of the things that helped is that Lennox is not with Don King because Mike would find it very hard to work with Don King," Finkel said.