Tyson, Lewis to fight on same card

LAS VEGAS: Mike Tyson and Lennox Lewis may fight in the same ring June 21 — just not against each other.

Talks are under way for the two heavyweights to appear in separate fights of a heavyweight doubleheader, perhaps in Buffalo, New York. Possible opponents for Lewis include No 1-ranked Vitali Klitschko, Kirk Johnson or Buffalo’s Joe Mesi. Tyson’s fight would be against someone along the lines of his last opponent, perhaps a fading Oleg Maskaev. Lewis had been hoping to fight Tyson, but Tyson has been adamant that he needs at least two more fights before he challenges Lewis for the title again. Lewis gave Tyson a beating last June before finally stopping him in the eighth round in Memphis.

Though Lewis has a contract calling for a Tyson rematch, talks are being held for the two fighters to appear on the same card and push the rematch back to a later date. “We’re trying to work that out,” said Shelly Finkel, Tyson’s manager. “That’s part of the ongoing negotiations.” If Mesi is on the card — whether against Lewis, Tyson or someone else — the fight would be big in Buffalo, where the undefeated local heavyweight is a huge attraction. If it was held in Buffalo, it likely would be outdoors at Ralph Wilson Stadium, where the Buffalo Bills play. Representatives of the two camps are also looking at other sites, including Las Vegas.

Lewis hasn’t fought since beating Tyson last June 8, and there has been increasing speculation that the 37-year-old WBC champion really doesn’t want to fight anymore. Lewis backed out of a proposed April bout with Klitschko, saying he wanted to wait and fight Tyson in June instead. Tyson, though, said after stopping Clifford Etienne in 49 seconds Feb. 22 in Memphis that he needed more fights before taking on Lewis again. Despite efforts to get him to change his mind, both the Tyson and Lewis camps are now reconciled to the fact the two heavyweights will not meet each other in June.

Klitschko’s lawyers have secured an agreement from the WBC saying Lewis has to fight him by the end of October or give up his belt, but the Lewis camp has been unhappy with the size of the purse that Klitschko is demanding to challenge the champion. Mesi is 25-0, but he has been brought along carefully, matched up with no-names or over-the-hill heavyweights, mostly in fights in or around his hometown.