Tyson v. Lewis : Boxing Match of the Century
Sports
May 28, 2002, 22:16
By Kelly Reynolds Staff
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Boxing will reach new heights when Mike Tyson and Lennox Lewis square off on June 8, 2002 in what promises to be the boxing match of the century. Originally, the fight was scheduled to take place on April 6, 2002 at the MGM Grand Garden in Las Vegas, Nevada. However, Tyson decided to take a quarter size bite out of Lewis’ upper thigh at a press conference held on January 29 to announce the date of the upcoming Lewis v. Tyson boxing match. As a result of these antics, the Nevada State Athletic Commission refused to re-license the former heavyweight boxing champion.
As it now stands, Lennox Lewis will defend both his WBC and IBF heavyweight boxing titles against Mike Tyson on June 8 at the Pyramid Arena in Memphis, Tennessee. With a seating capacity of 21,000, the Pyramid Arena sold out overnight and generated more than $23 million dollars in ticket sales. This amount exceeds the previous record by nearly $6 million dollars, which was spawned by the 1999 boxing match between Lennox Lewis and Evander Holyfield.
Co-produced and distributed by HBO Pay-Per-View and SHOWTIME Event Television, the Lewis v. Tyson fight will air at 9:00 PM ET / 6:00 PM PT at a cost of $54.95. This will be the first boxing match in history to be jointly distributed by the two cable networks. Lewis has a deal with SHOWTIME, while Tyson, who has been a contender in six of the ten highest grossing pay-per-view events, has a contract with HBO.
Although Lewis is the reigning three time world boxing heavyweight champion, Tyson has won five different belts througthout his career and is currently ranked Number One by the WBC. Physically speaking, Lewis has the advantage over Tyson with seven inches in height and a 13 inch difference in reach. Unfortunately, when it comes to Mike Tyson no one can be quite sure what to expect. As long as Tyson has a big breakfast, lunch, and dinner Lewis just might be able to come out of this boxing match an unscathed champion.
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